I often hear this from people who have life insurance. Any truth to this?
My life insurance value is worth 22 months of gross salary. My accident insurance value is maybe 40 months of work.
Nah, I choose “life.”
Probably true for a lot of people. First, if you leave out future earnings there are a lot of people carrying more life insurance than their net worth. Second, let’s say you have just $50,000 in life insurance, how many people would pay that much for you?
My life insurance (at least until the end of June) is worth a good 5 years of my salary. Enough to pay off the house and leave a lot left over. That in itself makes me worth a lot dead.
Life insurance is cheap. I have a policy worth at least 20 years salary and it costs somewhere between my Netflix and water bill. If I died, my family would have no financial concern at all.
Yeah, I’m at the five-years-of-salary level, too. It’s the highest level my company offers without going through pre-qualifying hoops, so most employees here have the same. Given that I have more than five years until retirement, and the rate at which my salary has increased historically, the TimeWindress shouldn’t bump me off just yet.
I have 5X annual salary in life insurance, as does my wife. Our net worth is 10x annual salary. Ten years ago when we bought the policies, we had 5X in net worth and 10X in insurance. That’s the way our financial advisor (who happens to be my brother) said it was supposed to work. As your future earning years decrease your net worth should be growing and insurance needs falling.
When my policies are about to expire (at age 60-62) and I am about to retire, I may very well be worth more dead than alive to my wife, except that she is planning to get a lot of free labor in her garden from me after that point. Hopefully, companionship figures in there somewhere too.
I have about 2 years income worth. Enough for my girlfriend to get back in shape and find a new boyfriend if I croak.
That’s a bit of a worry.
I am worth about 10 years of mrAru’s income dead, though I don’t believe he gets anything left to me from my parent’s will if I croak before my Mom does. Hm, I think he is worth about 5 years income, and the house is almost totally paid off, though if he dies I think I will move to a much smaller condo. I simply don’t want to do any yardwork or maintenance.I would prefer to move somewhere that has a very stable weather system, the barometric rollercoaster this winter has been has been purgatorial.
I’m retired, so financially speaking, I’m a net loss to my wife.
I think she’s just waiting for the right moment.
You could just marry a new slave.
Not if you have a pension that goes away after you die. OTOH, if she keeps receiving the pension after you die …
If I was to die suddenly, my husband would be able to collect around 250 - 300 hundred thousand. My two kids would get a good monthly social security pay out until they are adults.
I belief it is up to others to put a value on your life. Would it be worth the money? I certainly hope not, for my sake. 
Between my 401k and insurance, my wife stands go gain a significant chunk of change should I shuffle off this mortal coil. Guess it’s a good thing I’m such a phenomenal lover!
No, mrAru is the love of my life, while I don’t discount falling in love again, I wouldn’t want to marry someone if I was not in love with them just to have someone take care of my lawn.
Some comedian remarked that having life insurance as a married guy was stupid: “It’s like ordering a hit on yourself”
Between investment accounts, company provided insurance ( at a nominal monthly fee to me ), my 401K, and an annuity, Ms. DrumBum would be well provided for when I shake off these mortal coils. If I die croak on the job in some sort of accident she would get an extra $500,000 so the running joke is to drag my body into the office if I die in my sleep. 
“I’m worth more dead than alive.”
To whom?
To me… once I’m dead, I’m done, no life insurance does anything positive for me.
To those named in my life insurance policies, they suddenly have nearly half a million dollars showing up.
My retirement account and other debts still come out to a positive balance before the life insurance ever shows up.
So great for them… no positive for me… Hence, I’m happy to keep on living because I’m pretty much enjoying life and even in my deepest down moments, I feel confident that things will get better.
I wonder if someone with an actuarial / statistical bent might feel like crunching the numbers. Insurance equal to X years of salary, versus working those same X years, with assumptions re inflation / raises, and growth, versus the costs of continuing to live and eat.
Say you earn 50,000 a year and have 500,000 in insurance. In 10 years, that insurance would grow to 550,000. and with raises you’re earning 60,000 a year (guessing your interim salary averages out to 55,000 a year) so your total earnings during that time are 550,000.
BUT, during that same time, it cost 20,000 a year for your car, your food, your clothing (assuming housing is the same).
So if you stay alive 10 years, that 550,000 is reduced to 350,000. Versus the 550,000 from the insurance.
OK, so the 350,000 is money presumably poured into the family coffers (pays mortgage etc.) so we subtract that from the 550,000 of insurance, leaving 200,000.
So at the end of 10 years, if you die now your family has 200,000. If you live the 10 years, they have nothing (except the joy of having you around. Are you really worth that much to them? (best not to ask, really…)
Oh, and: my insurance is about 11 times my salary, plus another 2x from my employer. My husband is similarly insured. Arguably, this makes either of us worth more in an urn than in an armchair.