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Something has disturbed me for a long time every time there is death of a Kenya in any Kenyan community in the US.
The one common denominator is fundraiser for burial either here or shipping to Kenya.
The answer to all this is we all buy term life insurance. it is not expensive at al. We are just ignorant and we think it is very expensive.
Term life insurance is not just for burial but it is something to leave those we leave behind who depend on us.
By Gathee Maina | gathee@yahoo.com
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Kenyans don't like discussing death, especially their own. Tell them it's insurance policy to ensure they will have plenty of goat meat and alcohol in the afterlife. They will subscribe to that.
Mr. Gathee,
I too have often been troubled by that. But term life actually doesn't pay on time for a funeral. Fellow Kenyans need to consult licensed Insurance agents for advice. The best is Final expense Life insurance for Burial expenses and Term Life to leave a legacy to your loved ones which pays typically a few months after death. Most final expense policies pay out in less than a week upon death.
Term life insurance does pay for burial expenses. All you have to tell the funeral home is that the dead had insurance and give them the insurance company and if possible the policy number. The insurance company gives funeral home a promisory note.
A close Kenyan friend told me about this idea 5 years ago and I thought it was a fallacy. Two years ago, my wife asked me we buy one but I declined. Last week, someone passed away that I have never met but I have never been affected by death like that. I asked my wife about the idea she had and finally we decided to enrol.
To fellow Kenyans, it's not a karma, please get one that you can afford. Shop wisely and I promise you will get one that suits your needs. THANK YOU @Maina Gathee for calling a spade a spade and dealing headon with a topic that many will dare talk about..
Yes it does pay but there are many more reasons why Term Life is not a great fit for everybody:
1. You must die during the term for the beneficially to collect.
2. It's not renewable for life coverage even if affordable ends at some point
3. It starts really cheap and upon renewal gets more expensive as you age even much more than permanent Life.
If one must go for term life, then insist on ROP Term i.e Return of Premium Term at the end of the term, it costs a little bit more but returns all your cash at the end of the term if you outlive it, and trust me most people do because statistics show about 97% of term life owners outlive their policies and have to start allover albeit much older and with health issues and we know You cannot BUY term life past a certain age 75yrs to 80yrs with most carriers.
Do your due diligence.
Insurance is not an investment. Is you auto insurance an investment, are you going to get back all the money you paid at the end of the car if it was not through an accident?
I agree one should be insured for final expense but it is not that cheap. Last time I checked a $20,000.00 insurance worked out to over $200 a month.
$120 @ per yr for 20,000 if you engage a company in a group as a Kenyan community. I can give u a ref. to follow up with.
How do i know if my current life insurance will cover for my final expenses if at all? I am more than interested. Am in the market
I need to know.
Hi JT, review your policy during the free look period (All policies have a free look period of about 31dys or longer so you can see if you like it or not and if not, can return it for a full refund) and most importantly, call the issuing company and ask about their claim process if not well documnted in the policy.
Before you buy call and talk to somebody and ask those questions.
Maina
That's ridiculous, Are you over 80yrs old? Doesn't sound like traditional whole life for final expense. Who was the carrier? Just helped a 65yr old with $20,000 coverage for less than 50% of that in premium. Shop around and especially if you're in great health, there are 100's of companies that do fully underwritten WL policies e.g fraternal societies at about 60% cheaper rates than the best simplified issue carriers in America. Thats why I said we all have to educate ourselves on what might be a good fit for ourselves and then talk to an agent with an idea in mind. If you need an agent in your area, best place to go to find independent agents is your states insurance commissioner's website.
N.B Most brick and mortar agents will charge you arm and leg, gotta pay for their overhead, try independent agents who work with multiple carriers and not captive to just one company.
What if you are the only family member in the US.....who do U put on the insurance policy........hizo harambee generally help in finding kenyans who are willing to travel with the body and locate family member of the decesead.....the dynamics of diaspora is more complex hence buying life insurance can only assist people who have family member or trsuted friends to claim it......a lot of people don't have this and also those who do normally u will just get invited to the wake......not fundraising........U will be surprised how isolated some kenyans live in the US.....becoz of choice or circumstance.....hizo harambee help a lot.........By the way ur article..Mr.Gathee is very snoobish...harambee have assisted a lot of families.
I have gone through the same for a long time until I found that there are so many vehicles to get insurance. YOU JUST HAVE TO DECIDE WHICH WORKS FOR YOU. I have each member of my family insured under JUBILEE while still in NJ
A breath of fresh air...a topic that goes beyond tribe....thanks Mr. Gathee.
I do not know much about the insurance though I know many of us might have it through our employers here in the US. One thing I know that can be of help is the Diaspora Sacco, for those who are members..... there is a 'last respect' plan... I don't know how fast it would pay, but the fact that it is based in the US and in Kenya means that those without family in the US can still get to help while still in Kenya.....
Thanks Mr. Gathee for bringing up this topic. In response to this problem, I recently organized a group of Kenyans and invited a Kenyan Life Insurance Agent to address them. She spoke wonderfully explaining some difficult legal words in Kiswahili. She spoke from our background to our current life in the U.S. But I don't think our people were impressed or were willing to take action.
But someone made me see the other side of the coin when she told me that many Kenyans here have term life insurance. But that does not stop these fundraisings because the money from the Insurance is not for funerals but something to leave behind to one's children or relatives. So with or without life insurance, fundraisings will continue.
I wish we would all buy life insurances that release funeral funds immediately after the insured person has died so that we can leave fundraisings to our people back in Kenya who do it out of necessity.
That's exactly correct. It's why insist for the purpose of burial/funeral, Whole Life or final expense is the best as death is permanent and most final expense companies designed the coverage to pay out quicker and it's why the coverage is capped at a small amount say maximum $50,000.
I think as an agent that most people need a combination, term life to ensure if you have a mortgage, that get's paid off upon your demise and Whole life to take care of final expenses because the premiums are locked in when you sign up and can also be used as a last resort as a loan (Yes Whole life builds cash value you can borrow from for emergency, no questions asked, term life doesn't) Heck, you can even have a 10 or 20yr pay policy where it will be fully paid off in that time frame.
I think we should have a debate about the pros and cons of each type of coverage to allow all Kenyans make an educated decision based on their circumstance.
Why do you want to borrow you own money and pay interest?. Invest the money instead. Roth IRA, Growth mutual funds, mary go round, chama etc.
Whole life insurance is the worst insurance out there. People who sell it know that but for a commission.
My names are Eston Maina Ndekere
I had used Maina Gathee to protect me because i did not know what reaction i would get from Kenyas.
I am happy to see that we have taken this well and that most have been thinking about it.
I have 20 yr term $350, 000.00 and a $15, 000.00 child rider. I pay $19.58 month. I got this 6 yrs ago and the reason the low rate. I was much younger.
Some of you who are in the 20s, 30s and in good health, non-smokers would be amazed how cheap it is.
If you are single, jusy buy enough to cater for burial if you die before you have a family. You can still buy big and have your family members in the US as beneficiary.
If no family here have the person of your choice back home as a benefiaciary ie mother, father. This answers one of the person who said they had no family here or something.
Child ridre would cover for our kids burial expenses if they died.
Again, Term life insurance will cover funeral costs. Please find out before you buy that this is the case.
Mine will cover even if i died in Kenya or elsewhere in the world.
One other thing we need to start thinking when we get to 60yrs old and are planning on retirering here is long term care insurance. That is a topic for another day.
For now please ignore all the advice and comments and visit the website of call them toll free 1-800-356-4282 and learn it yourself.
My email estonndekere@sbcglobal.net incase one has questions.
Maina Gathee was my nickname when i grew up in Nyahururu
What most people might be trying to buy is whole life insurance it is expensive. could cost $200 a month or more.
Please do not buy term life insurance at work or add it to your auto insurance. If you leave your work or change auto insurance company you cannot go with it. No rollover.
It is 100% that we are all going to died, young or old.
Let us leave harambees to other issues like death and medical biills back in Kenya, medical bills that are beyond insurance cover we have etc. Let us protect ourselves here with that little education.
I have talked to many of my friends in the US and they have bought term life and they can tell you how easy and relaxing life is knowing that if they die, their families would be able to pay for burail, mortgage, bills, education. They willbe replaced.
I have mine through AIG, american life general.
Please visit Zanderins.com. They will help you search for the most competitive and really you prefer. It takes a few minutes to get a quote.
While I applaud you for having coverage in place, Term life is perfect for younger healthy individuals and for protecting temporary things like mortgages, education for kids etc. Let me ask you this, what will happen after 20yrs if you are still around? How much will your premiums be for the same coverage? (Look at the renewal table if you haven't) The insurance companies know that only about 3% of policy holders ever collect on term life and that's why it gets really expensive upon renewal and eventually you can't renew it beyond a certain age even if you are wealthy enough to afford the exorbitant rates at that old age.
Term is meant for temporary coverage and not permanent coverage, maybe in 20yrs your mortgage and other big ticket bills will be paid off and thus no need for coverage. But I am certain You will be in the market again at 20yrs older.
P.S I am not here promoting one company over another, just educating people about this are that I am passionate about.
You have answered yourself. You do not need term life insurance or any other insurance if you are wealthy.
Insurance is not an investment. It is there for broke people like me who cannot afford to bury themselves. It is supposed to replace me i.e replace my income, that way my family can pay mortgage, college for kids, keep lights on etc.
The idea is that when you have a 10, 15, 20 yr term is that when it is about to expire you will have paid off your mortgage and most debts and if you die then whoever you live behind will be debt free. Kids will have finished school and on their own.
We should learn from mzungu, they never fundraise for funeral. Wanajipanga and they live some kwacha to those they live behind.
That is why you should never take a 30 yr term mortgage. Go for 15 yrs. Most times your monthly mortgage is almost the same. We do it just because that is all we know.
It is for each individiual to look at their situation and determine how much to pay. Example if you are young and single, just buy enough for your burial expense. When situations change i.e you get married you can always add.
AGAIN, Insurance is not an investment. Ask yourself this, in your lifetime in the US how much have you paid for Auto insurance? Will you ever see that money again.
We insure against that which we cannot replace if something bad happened, otherwise if you are wealthy and no debt no need for insurance.
Maina
You do not need to be a green card holder or citizen to buy. Please stop confusing people. There are so many insurance companies. If one ask for "papers", jump to another one. Lets stop having reasons not to do it. Everybody do your own ground work.
You are both correct, not all carriers require status but YES, you do need status with most of the carriers out there.
The health Insurance offered to International students include Emergency Medical Evacuation and Repatriation of Remains insurance coverage but it is hard to get such coverage if you are not an International student.
http://cic.co.ke/
Kenya Coop Bank suopported insurance tailored for Kenyans...for burial isues.
Monthly $10, $15, $20 will be given $10000, $15000, and $20000 for burial expenses and other cost on presentation of death certificate, proof of being in the Diaspora. Read and inform yourselves. Kenyans in several corners are benefiting from this. We all just have to jipanga and not leave it to the Beavers...if we all jipanga, when one dies, we can focus on celebrating their lives and sending them home vizuri instead of sctratching pennies. Time life has small print...citizen or resident is the question. How many days out of the country can disqualify you. Did you travel to high risk areas. Small prnt must be read. Just saying
@president kddc
......as for Kddc....kama u want to help kenyans in US...provide solutions or suggestions that are easily verifiable in US.....otherwise this SCREAMS..opportunists......I personally didn't come to the US to get insurance with a company in kenya.
And ati read small prints. U mean fine print.....ukoraa ni ukoraa....na wasaidie watu kenya kwanza.
Watu wengine wanashangaza......sasa post imekua yao.... si mtu aandike yake.... Don't water down Gathee's noble idea.... Unajijua...baggy mama
Pongezi Gathee for bringing up that topic. It is sth that has bothered me alot. You find ppl wenye they were earning gud money... Ati we coming for fund raising. It shudnt have come to that at all wen most insurance plans charge as low as $8 a month. Do the search!
One question raised above is how quick they pay out. As per the laws they are suppose to pay like within seven day period frm the day claims were made.
I wish all of us Kenyans in diapora do the noble thing and buy an insurance.
Excellent observation and thought Gathee.
Bottom line, Gathee gave us a very good idea that some of us know about but have ignored for a long time. In States, if you are a member of a Credit Union, I promise you they have the best rates out there for anything. Lakini, us Kenyans have to bank with Wells Fargo, BOA, BO..Your state. Our mentality that banking with name banks make us look prestigious makes people miss alot of opportunities including low rates in morgage, insurances, and loans.
Educate them about this issue because most of them they do not know about it. Advice them on which Companies pay on time and which companies that does not pay.