Clueless about Insurance

audiocr381ve

My wife and I are preparing for her to stop working full-time to stay at home with our 1 year old daughter. She has been climbing the corporate ladder for 10 years and is in a terrific position for a big promotion now, but wants to be home with our daughter more than anything which is what I believe is best for all of us. So, we finally decided to make it happen. She has terrific benefits through her work now and as soon as she switches to being part-time, we'll lose those benefits, which is a huge bummer.

We've always counted on her benefits and now that they'll be gone we need to prepare to buy some type of insurance package each month. Problem is, I'm a complete NOOB in this department and don't know what's out there or even what to look for. I mean that quite literally. Any help or guidance would be much appreciated!

deronb1

Insurance for a family is increadibly expensive. Not sure what you make, but you are going to lose a good chunk of your wife's income, plus you are going to lose more money in purchasing insurance. My guess is around $1,000 mo. min.

Hard to go with cheap insurance with a 1 yr old. It is a stark reality anymore, that most families need two full time incomes to have the comforts, benefits and security that contribute to a decent quality of life.

JMO, but you might want to seriously reconsider this move for awhile.

steveinaz

Given the job situation and economy, I don't think you'll have the luxury to do this---but I don't know all the particulars. There are far worse situations to be in, but I understand your desire to have Mom at home during the "critical" years. It's a tough call man, talk to some professionals in the insurance business and get a look at the numbers.

Joe08867

I have to agree with Deron on this one. Nowadays two incomes with benefits are a must.

Not sure what you do but is you job so secure that you aren't worried about the economy?
I have a very secure job but it still has me worried.

Family insurance for the self employed can be extremely expensive.

Your best bet would be to talk to a financial planner before she quits her gig..

SDA1C

If you looking for an opinion on insurance I'd say get the best you can....HMO was the best option for our situation. If your looking for an pinion on the move your about to make I say hang on for a couple more years until your child is past the terrible two's. Honestly! Having three myself I speak from experience when I say you'll be questioning every decision you ever made in the next year to 18 month's. You really won't want to stack on another MAJOR decision to think about such as a serious loss of income and quality source of insurance.

Either way, good luck to you and your new family.

1C

heiney9

I have to ask, why didn't you check into this and have something in place BEFORE she quit??? It's going to be very, very expensive to buy good insurance as an individual. Atleast $1K a month and probably more if you don't want huge out of pocket expenses (deductible). I am not trying to berate you, but benefits are HUGE and now after she has quit to try and find out about all of it.......................very poor planning, very poor.

Unless of course you have money to burn and $12-15K a year for good insurance is no big deal.

H9

steveinaz

Some things to consider:

How is your families health in general? Any nagging problems, allergies, disabilities, etc--or are you all in generally good health?

Dental...any potential problems there? Could you go without dental insurance?

What would be your ability to pay, without coverage? For a period of about 4 years I had no insurance---you'd be amazed how cheap the doctor bill is when they realize you are paying out of your pocket. We're talking relatively minor stuff here...but I was seen for walking pnuemonia...was given 3 prescriptions, total cost? $68. What I'm saying is, while this is not an ideal arrangement---it doesn't mean the end of the world either.

I'm also assuming that that once baby is school age, your wife would return to full time.

The point I'm driving at, is that if you all are in relatively good health---and don't expect that to change significantly; look for a cheaper policy with higher co-pays, and maybe less "frills."

With this economy, we all have to find creative ways to save a little money. Do some research, consider what it is you could get by with (be realistic), etc. What other things can you live without that could help cover the insurance costs (ie, cell phones, that awesome NFL package on DTV)...

inspiredsports

In theory your idea sounds great for your daughter, but you just don't have any idea of the financial hit you will take if your wife gives up those terrific benefits.

You need to consider that your daughter's quality of life may actually end up being worse with less family income and poor benefits.

My wife left the workforce for 17 years when our first of 4 was born in 1988 and I'm guessing the compounded value of those 17 years was close to 2 million dollars. Now covering health care and tuition is a struggle.

tonyb

Lasareath wrote: »

You're in SoCAL?

Hire a nice little old mexican lady for $200 a week. There's a plus, Your daughter will learn spanish too!

Thats the best option yet, I like it.

Reconsider your wife getting out of the work force. Good jobs these days are hard to come by. No sense in purposely tossing one away. Have you considered what would happen if you lost your job while the wife is at home ? It would destroy you. Keep the job with the benefits, I know it's a hard reality, but kids aren't cheap, and neither are individual insurance policies.

DaveHo

Can you add her & daughter to your plan? Her change in employment status would be considered a life changing event & you would not have to wait unitl the next open enrollment period. If not insurance cost will be huge. In fact, unless you make some serious coin, I'd say you can't really make the decision for her to go part time until you find out what that cost will be.

-Dave

heiney9

DaveHo wrote: »

Can you add her & daughter to your plan? Her change in employment status would be considered a life changing event & you would not have to wait unitl the next open enrollment period. If not insurance cost will be huge. In fact, unless you make some serious coin, I'd say you can't really make the decision for her to go part time until you find out what that cost will be.

-Dave

IIRC, he is self employed so I'm guessing that's not an option.

H9

exalted512

You also have to think about utilities are going to see an increase as well from having people at home 24/7.
-Cody

cstmar01

Also you need to take into account that there are mulitple types of ins that can be obtained.

Health, life, dental, AD&D, etc and they all cost $$.

My employer pays out AD&D and doubles my salary for life insurance as long as I'm full time. Also my health and dental and vision all remain cheaper when I'm full time.

If I moved to part time my bennys go way way up. I would be paying over double and be only part time status as well as if its a family its even more. I would also lose my AD&D, sick days, and life insurance they pay for.

Also think about your future planning. Is she going to be able to contribute to the 401K or savings like she did in the past? Do you have life insurance in place if something does happen and the employer doesn't offer it anymore. Also are you saving for your children's college at all or will you now not be able to due to the decrease in income.

Also remember being part time doesn't always mean you are going to get the hours either. Granted if you work more in a corp setting not so bad as its usually fixed but it can happen.

In the long run I think you need to think very very hard about what your doing. It may seem like a good idea at the start but can lead to a very hard and rocky road ahead.

cfrizz

I have to disagree Steve. You were simply incredibly lucky that something major didn't happen. Just like those fools that didn't want to spend 75.00 & it ended up costing them their home when it caught on fire. All it takes is one time for a disaster of some sort to hit then you are screwed.

Good luck to you Audio & your wife. I personally think you are doing the wrong thing. having two salaries & benefits especially with having a child is the way to go.

steveinaz wrote: »

Some things to consider:

How is your families health in general? Any nagging problems, allergies, disabilities, etc--or are you all in generally good health?

Dental...any potential problems there? Could you go without dental insurance?

What would be your ability to pay, without coverage? For a period of about 4 years I had no insurance---you'd be amazed how cheap the doctor bill is when they realize you are paying out of your pocket. We're talking relatively minor stuff here...but I was seen for walking pnuemonia...was given 3 prescriptions, total cost? $68. What I'm saying is, while this is not an ideal arrangement---it doesn't mean the end of the world either.

I'm also assuming that that once baby is school age, your wife would return to full time.

The point I'm driving at, is that if you all are in relatively good health---and don't expect that to change significantly; look for a cheaper policy with higher co-pays, and maybe less "frills."

With this economy, we all have to find creative ways to save a little money. Do some research, consider what it is you could get by with (be realistic), etc. What other things can you live without that could help cover the insurance costs (ie, cell phones, that awesome NFL package on DTV)...

Sherardp

If your wife has climbed that corporate ladder to the top in 10 yrs, there is no way I would suggest leaving that career. Perhaps she can take a leave of absence, but given the economy surely not resignation. I would also suggest hiring a Nanny as mentioned above, that's a good choice to consider. Family insurance will definitely hit your pockets.

PSOVLSK

Tough decision and one I can admire. My wife and I were in a similar situation a few years ago and we decided that it would be best if she continued to work, but we made some changes. First, I quit working a part time job so that I could be home more to help out. Second, we hired a maid service to keep the house clean. My working less and the maids cost about $20K/year, but that's far less than her salary and it allows her to work without having so much other stuff to do after work. Ultimately, the economy was a major factor. As much as we wanted her to not work, it just didn't make sense to us in this economy.

Whatever you do, do it 100% and don't look back and 2nd guess.

Best of Luck.

quadzilla

Wish I could help with this. I had private insurance years ago, but the last 20+, I've been in the corporate world. I'd recommend starting here though: http://www.healthcare.ca.gov/ Then try a google search for california health insurance.

Willow

Why don't you stay home, let your wife enjoy her climb and ensure benefits? JFFT

inspiredsports

I don't know if you are surpirsed by the responses where the concensus is that you seriously reconsider the idea that your wife quits her job. You should have here read the responses.

steveinaz

cfrizz wrote: »

I have to disagree Steve. You were simply incredibly lucky that something major didn't happen. Just like those fools that didn't want to spend 75.00 & it ended up costing them their home when it caught on fire. All it takes is one time for a disaster of some sort to hit then you are screwed.

It's definitely a less-than-desireable situation for sure. Personally, I'd opt in the direction of the wife continuing to work--but I can certainly understand a strong desire to stay home with the child until they are in school. Tough times call for tough decisions; I'm just offering some alternatives....

My daughter-in-law is a teacher, but decided to stay at home with the kids until they were school-age, and man it has paid off big time. They were living "thin" for awhile, but it will certainly be worth it in the long run.

tonyb

I think we just scared the crap out of the poor guy, he hasn't posted back in his own thread. Hopefully he's reconsidering this decision. On another note, I also hope he isn't putting all his eggs in one basket thinking he will get healthcare for free by way of Obamacare. That would be a mistake.

steveinaz

If the economy wasn't so bad, it would be a slam-dunk to recommend staying at home, but....

audiocr381ve

Wow, thanks for chiming in everybody.

I should have mentioned, we want more kids and we want to do whatever it takes with our financial situation to make it happen. If that means living on a tight budget and giving up luxuries then so be it because kids are so worth it. Also, we don't plan to make a move until late 2012 (if the human race survives :P ), so I'm planning ahead as much as possible.

I found several companies that offer part-time work with benefits, including Starbucks, Nordstrom, REI, Lowe's, JCPenny, etc. I think having my wife work part-time at a company that offers benefits to part-time employees might be a good move for us although the insurance isn't as top notch as what we have now. I'm sure the wife could handle working part-time with 2 kids because both of our families are in town.

About my work, I'm in the video industry. It's competitive for sure but I set up a wedding video/photography company that is growing fast and we live in a perfect area for this business. The plan is to book 4 weddings a month. People come here from all over the country to get married and I don't think people are going to stop getting married so I'm not too concerned about the economy.

I really appreciate the help and would love more thoughts.

steveinaz

Sounds like you got a plan. Nothing replaces mom being at home, that's for sure.

audiocr381ve

steveinaz wrote: »

Sounds like you got a plan. Nothing replaces mom being at home, that's for sure.

Whole-heartedly agree with that!

inspiredsports

audiocr381ve wrote: »

Wow, thanks for chiming in everybody.

I should have mentioned, we want more kids and we want to do whatever it takes with our financial situation to make it happen. If that means living on a tight budget and giving up luxuries then so be it because kids are so worth it. Also, we don't plan to make a move until late 2012 (if the human race survives :P ), so I'm planning ahead as much as possible.

I found several companies that offer part-time work with benefits, including Starbucks, Nordstrom, REI, Lowe's, JCPenny, etc. I think having my wife work part-time at a company that offers benefits to part-time employees might be a good move for us although the insurance isn't as top notch as what we have now. I'm sure the wife could handle working part-time with 2 kids because both of our families are in town.

About my work, I'm in the video industry. It's competitive for sure but I set up a wedding video/photography company that is growing fast and we live in a perfect area for this business. The plan is to book 4 weddings a month. People come here from all over the country to get married and I don't think people are going to stop getting married so I'm not too concerned about the economy.

I really appreciate the help and would love more thoughts.

When you say more kids I assume that's at least 2 more in addition to your daughter.

We started saving for college in 1988 when my first was 6 months old (I was 30) and we'd obtained a Social Security number for her. We did the same at 6 months in 1990, 1992 and 1994 when 2, 3 and 4 came along (all planned).

From '81 to '88 my wife made lots of money, and I made more. By the time we started our family we had travelled much of the world, had 60% equity in a nice home and what I thought was a fortune in aggressive investments, personal savings, a 401K and Ohio STRS.

My wife stopped working in 1988, and I left my cushy day job and started a business in 1994. We were literally on top of the world percentage-wise.

Fast forward to now (16 years later). all 6 of us are relatively healthy, but we've paid out an astounding $486,000 in insurance premiums or out of pocket medical/dental/optical expenses. Little things add up. 3 out of 4 needed braces. A different 3 out of 4 needed wisdom teeth extracted. 3 out of 4 plus both my wife and I wear glasses. My wife and I are old enough that we have 8 crowns between us. My eldest had an allergic reaction many years ago that necessitated a 3 day hospital stay and I had a hernia repaired 5 years ago.

I've also notice our health care premiums increase every year with age. When the economy was good, I had generate just over $2 of sales to cover a $1 of profit. As the economy deterioriated (yet health care costs continued to rise), my profit margin decreased and I now need to generate nearly $3.25 in sales to generate $1 of profit. Health care expenses come out of profit.

This year has been a "good" year in that we've accrued just $24,000 in health care expenses. But guess what, thats $78,000 in sales just to cover health care.

I'm not trying to scare the s out of you, but this is the real deal.

inspiredsports

Got a call and timed out (but covered a couple hundred of profit!)

College, Have been tripled up for several years. The eldest will graduate in June, middle 2 still in and youngest will start next fall. The wonderful investment accounts we started for each at 6 mos old skyrocketed, until they enrolled in college when the stock market first cracked. Then 2008 came along and cut them in half again. We never withdrew anything as the market might come back some day. We've done it out of pocket. So about another $200K of sales need to be generated to cover enough profit so I can pay myself enough to cover tuition and taxes.

Last, my audio addiction . . . well, you already know how that works

In 2006 I got out from under my office lease, started a work from home program for the employees I was able to keep and began working from home and my wife went back to work. That allowed me to taxi those that couldn't drive to school and be available for emergencies.

Long story short. The economy changed and the plans we made (that I considered excellent at the time) evaporated along with our savings and net worth.

What is it that you see on the horizon that makes you believe it will be easier to make a buck over then next 2 decades?

steveinaz

If ANYONE saw the "end-game" of having A child, they'd never do it. The cost is staggering. People manage however.

cfrizz

A couple of excellent real life examples there to think about!

tonyb

inspiredsports wrote: »

You need to consider that your daughter's quality of life may actually end up being worse with less family income and poor benefits.

.

Bingo.....add in more kids and it compounds itself. My best advice is to not try and determine what the future holds, but to hold on to a shure thing in way of income and benefits. God forbid anything happens to you that you couldn't work, where would that leave your family if the wife gives up her job ? I know we all do what we feel is right for ourselves, but take it from some old timers who have been down that road and made the same mistakes. Wedding photography maybe good today, but life tends to throw curveballs at you when you least expect it. Trick is to best prepare yourself as well as you can for those times and with the wife not working and with limited benefits, you can only prepare so much and the slightest curveball can send you into the poor house quick. Think about it.

JimKellyfan

Try this link and look at some of the plans and companies and all their differences. Be prepared to spend a good amount of time reading fine print, but it should help you pick a plan. This is assuming you don't put her and the kid(s) on your plan
http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/

Good Luck