Insurance sure costs a lot

[nun]

Your health insurance is a bargain. As a retired city of chicago employee my annual health premium is 12600 or 1050 a month. Of course I am a public employee that supposedly gets showered with all these great benefits that the media and the wealthy elite have mislead the general public to believe.

Yes they lure you in and then screw you. My health is also from a public employer....state of MA....right now at 55 my premiums for health will go down to $1300/year, but the state is looking at cost savings and new legislation would eliminate my (and most active employees) eligibility for any state retiree health insurance, so I'd have to go on ACA. But if that happened I'd probably move back to the UK (I'm a dual US/UK citizen) and get coverage under the NHS.

 

[ripper1]

I'm interested that very few people carry dental insurance. Maybe I have an over aggressive dentist, or a mouth full of old fillings, but I've had a fair amount of dental costs over the last 10 years - crowns etc and I obviously go in for a cleaning every 6 months. So $27/month for dental insurance sounds like value for money to me.

I find this hard to believe. If and when you retire you will be paying 400 a month to have that kind of work done. Yeah, when you retire you might be able to pay 27 a month for dental insurance but all you will be doing is prepaying for cleanings. They wont pay for anything else.

 

[38Chevy454]

Yes, agree insurance costs seem to only be getting higher! My figures yearly costs for my wife and I:

House = $1075 for 2000 sq ft house with additional coverage for large detached shop garage
Auto = $1800 for 4 vehicles (Only 1 with full coverage, other 3 liability and comp with no collision)
Classic Cars = $900 for 5 vehicles full coverage
Motorhome = $600 full coverage
$1M Umbrella = $330
Dental, Vision and Life = $0 (provided through work)
Health = $5400 (subsidized also provided through work)

no LTC. Still working for now, so figuring health care related costs will rise to approx $12000/yr once out of working.

Yes I realize I have a lot of vehicle related costs, but the old cars are my hobby so just a cost to do that.

 

[MRG]

I'm interested that very few people carry dental insurance. Maybe I have an over aggressive dentist, or a mouth full of old fillings, but I've had a fair amount of dental costs over the last 10 years - crowns etc and I obviously go in for a cleaning every 6 months. So $27/month for dental insurance sounds like value for money to me.

The plan's I've reviewed, the yearly max payout is only in the $1000- $1200 range. I'd pay for the policy and get my premiums back on my two yearly visits. It's just there's not much upside. I've had a number of crowns, so I might be able to get part of one a year replaced.

Thing that ticks me off, I wear a Bruxism guard(NTI). Insurance will not cover those, at least any policy I've reviewed. I eat one every 2 years(like clockwork), ~$600 a pop. The guard helps my crowns and few fillings protected from my 'heavy grinding', and my TMJ is much improved. If insurance would cover those I'd sign up.
MRG

 

[ripper1]

Take care of your teeth. Dental insurance is a ripoff.

 

[wmc1000]

I pay $157 annually for my family for a dental discount plan. The itemized bill we get from the dentist usually has a 40-50% discount off "rack rates" - I figure it gets us to about the same result as a dental insurance plan but there is no cutoff like an insurance plan that only pays a max of $1000 or so a year.

1 year I checked with our dentist to see if we paid for dental insurance how much more we would save and it came out that the additional savings didn't offset the monthly added cost. I doubt the dentist office even checks, other than initially, if we are still signed up for the discount but it is low enough that I haven't cancelled and have paid for it for the last 6 years.

 

[TallTim]

Yes it is expensive!!

We live in SoCal (high auto rates already) and rent ... DW is SAHM .. I am still working .. 2 teen drivers at home

In annual figures:

Health + Dental $2800 (through employer; pre-tax $$ and includes 1x salary life on me) .. we modeled this under ACA/Covered CA and for the same plan we have now it will be $1650 per month when we RE

Auto $3050 (3 cars, 4 drivers - 2 of whom are teens; this is 2x what we would pay w/o DD DS)

Life $4250 ($2MM (1.5 term, 500 whole) on me, $500k on DW, plus disability on me)... will drop disability next year and drop life as soon as DW and DS get to college or RE (whichever sooner). The term is cheap - we got it 15+ yrs ago, but the whole is not. Bought as a hedge and a place to park otherwise dormant cash ... but with bonds/annuities so low, the value of this plan has proven lousy over time.

Renters $480

No LTC
No Umbrella

 

[Marita40]

Single woman, 57, Twin Cities, 2013 costs:

Medical insurance pre tax $1241.10
Dental insurance pre tax $301.06
State Farm umbrella (1 Million) $72.00
State Farm car $736.45
State Farm condo $307.00.
Genworth LTC: $2300.00

 

[nun]

I find this hard to believe. If and when you retire you will be paying 400 a month to have that kind of work done. Yeah, when you retire you might be able to pay 27 a month for dental insurance but all you will be doing is prepaying for cleanings. They wont pay for anything else.

I agree.

The plan has a max annual payout of $1250, but the cost of procdures is very reasonable. In network preventative and exams is 100% covered and things like fillings, root canals and crowns are 80% covered. As I have so many crowns I worry about needing root canals at some point. Under this insurance a root canal would cost $750 and I'd be responsible for 20% of that.

 

[NYEXPAT]

60 y/o married with 2 children.

Auto $0 (no car) but 5 years ago I paid $50.00/year
LTC $0 (Young wife and two younger sisters are nurses who I support)
Home $0 ( Only risk is Earthquake and it did just fine in the last 8.0)
Dental $0 (In 10 years I have probably spent $1,000.00 on Dental)
$2M Umbrella $0 ( It does not rain in Lima)
Health $0 ( My wife and sisters all work for Doctors in the best hospital in Lima and as a Professional courtesy do not charge for medical care)

Mine appear to be a lot less as I have self-insured for many years.

When we repatriate Stateside, I imagine it will cost quite a bit more.

 

[nun]

60 y/o married with 2 children.

Auto $0 (no car) but 5 years ago I paid $50.00/year
LTC $0 (Young wife and two younger sisters are nurses who I support)
Home $0 ( Only risk is Earthquake and it did just fine in the last 8.0)
Dental $0 (In 10 years I have probably spent $1,000.00 on Dental)
$2M Umbrella $0 ( It does not rain in Lima)
Health $0 ( My wife and sisters all work for Doctors in the best hospital in Lima and as a Professional courtesy do not charge for medical care)

Mine appear to be a lot less as I have self-insured for many years.

When we repatriate Stateside, I imagine it will cost quite a bit more.

If I return to the UK my insurance costs would likely be

Medical $0
Dental $0
Home $500
Auto $900
LTC $0
Umbrella $0

This would reduce the percentage of my budget set aside for insurance from 22% to 4%. That's a frightening comparison.

 

[REWahoo]

If I return to the UK my insurance costs would likely be

Medical $0
Dental $0
Home $500
Auto $900
LTC $0
Umbrella $0

This would reduce the percentage of my budget set aside for insurance from 22% to 4%. That's a frightening comparison.

Sounds like you need to go.

 

[nun]

Sounds like you need to go.

If I get the MA state retiree health plan at $1300/year my insurance will go down to 11% of my budget. But 4% of my budget for insurance makes the UK a definite a possibility in the future.

 

[W2R]

Here are my annual insurance costs going into ER. I am a single 52 year old male and live in MA. Do these seem reasonable? How do they compare with yours?

Auto $500
Long Term Care $340
Home $1300
Dental $320
$2M Umbrella $235
Health $5160

My health insurance is a former employer's plan that will reduce to $1300 in 2.5 years when I reach 55. I could also go with an ACA plan which would probably cost $2000/year, but have far higher deductibles and give far less coverage.

Not bad! Once your health insurance goes down at age 55, I think you'll be set.

Or, you could go to the UK but then I think you might need to include tax comparisons as well?

 

[rodi]

Still working so dental and health are partially paid by employer.

Home: 2000sf house and 700sf granny flat/rental unit. $1196

Auto: 8 year old hybrid suv and 15 year old gas guzzling truck. $1000. (Kids still too young to drive.)

Health: $3504 for a family of 4, Kaiser Perm. HMO with low copays.
(Would be $14400 under cobra, and ACA with higher deductibles is about $15k.)

Dental: 300/year for the four of us. This includes a $100 ded. per person, $200 per family. My son has a problem mouth and DH and I have aging fillings and crowns, so we're in the replacement phase of our mouths. Dental knocks the rate down to a lower rate AND pays 50% on crowns, 80% on fillings. Also included orthodontia - which saved us $4k overall. Both boys are in braces. Dental has been a jackpot winner for us.

 

[nun]

Not bad! Once your health insurance goes down at age 55, I think you'll be set.

Or, you could go to the UK but then I think you might need to include tax comparisons as well?

True, but overall tax is a little less if I go to the UK and have income of $35k. The combination of US federal and state tax is a little more than the tax I'd pay in the UK and real estate tax is less in the UK. So foreign tax credits will cover my US federal tax liability, and there will be no state liability. There is the 20% VAT tax on goods and services in the UK to consider, but I've looked and expenses and my budget would not be much different.

Right now I really enjoy living in Boston and have a good social life there, but if health, or any other costs, become a real issue I will probably move back to the UK as my total cost of living will be far less there.

 

[LazyErik]

These are just about the same as we are experiencing. The one exception is that your umbrella is a bit lower than ours. Your home insurance is also about $150 lower than ours, but that is based on home replacement costs, so it is difficult to compare apples to apples.

 

[meierlde]

Note on the networth umbrella size issue, consider what the your state protects in bankruptcy. 401ks are protected nation wide, in Tx your house is protected. SS is protected also.

 

[ripper1]

If I return to the UK my insurance costs would likely be

Medical $0
Dental $0
Home $500
Auto $900
LTC $0
Umbrella $0

This would reduce the percentage of my budget set aside for insurance from 22% to 4%. That's a frightening comparison.

Maybe not a bad place for all of us to retire to so our insurance would be practically NUN. But I heard you might have to pay for umbrella insurance seeing that it rains there all the time. Just kidding good luck to you.

 

[InParadise]

Wow, teen drivers are expensive......figures I suppose.

Teens are insanely expensive...about $1,000 each here in the Philly Burbs, and that's for kids with good grades. We learned the hard way that you have to get insurance for them as soon as they get their license, whether they drive the car or not! Eldest is in college 13 hours away, home for maybe 3 months a year if he works summer here and not elsewhere, so they are "generous" and give us a $200 break for him.

Philly is crazy expensive for insurance anyway. I would tell you what we pay for that, but it would depress me to look it up. Can't wait to downsize and leave this high COL.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

That does sound high, but it will depend on the assessed value, contents etc.

My home is assessed at $450k and has a 2000 sf unit and a 1000sf unit downstairs. I pay insurance of $1300 a year.

My assessed value is only 1/4 of that. I have been to several companies they all charge around the same for my home. I am stumped. My house it about a 65 years old a ranch in the suburbs.

 

[dtbach]

Perhaps there should be an ACA for all insurance (home, auto, renter, dental, LTC, did I miss a few?). Sure would like to sluff some of it off to the poor working stiffs still left.

 

[MRG]

My assessed value is only 1/4 of that. I have been to several companies they all charge around the same for my home. I am stumped. My house it about a 65 years old a ranch in the suburbs.

Maybe it's county? We're in Jackson. Age? We were fortune to by a new home at the peak. Where's the nearest Fire Department? Two miles from us, paid for by huge property taxes. Is there a water souce? We have no fire hydrants for a mile or more. Maybe all or some apply.
MRG

 

[nun]

Maybe not a bad place for all of us to retire to so our insurance would be practically NUN. But I heard you might have to pay for umbrella insurance seeing that it rains there all the time. Just kidding good luck to you.

Those auto and home insurance numbers are the average amounts people pay in the UK. Health and Dental is usually zero, although some people do have some private dental insurance. LTC and Umbrella are not that common in the UK.

 

[Buckeye]

Seattle area 2,400 sq ft Cost $792

08 accord 03 pilot 96 corolla 79 ford pickup 4 people ages 47,46,20,17
Cost $1,992

$1 million umbrella $624

Life $1 million $312

Health $0 (still working)

Your Umbrella is very expensive but you might have dangerous/expensive hobbies or a less than stellar driving record.....Still seems expensive.