Literally Free Insurance (Freeloader)

During my Freeloader Challenge activity, I came across a pair of websites that offer free life insurance. I know a lot of Theta Gangsters are skeptical of life insurance because you have to pay a premium, and that premium is better invested in the S&P.

Good news, you can get a degree of life insurance for free. It is not a lot, but it is enough to pay for your own cremation. For me, this free life insurance also ensures that my Freeloader Challenge goals will be met, dead or alive.

I will talk about these during the 3rd episode of the Freeloader Challenge, but that video may be a few months away and I want to make sure this reaches people early since we can die at any time.

For transparency, I have a $650,000 term life policy and a $100,000 whole life policy from MetLife. I also have a $100,000 group life policy from Booz Allen Hamilton (my employer) that will expire 30 days after I quit.

tl;dr: Use safetynetcommunity.org for $10,000 free AD&D insurance. Use Abriva for $1,000+ group coverage.

Safety Net Community: $10,000 AD&D

Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance pays out to your beneficiaries if you die in an accident. It also pays out to you if you lose the use of your limbs, eyes, ears, or speech.

It is morbid, but accidental deaths are the leading cause of death of 25-44 year-olds. This insurance is worth having.

The benefit: People with active accounts on Safety Net Community receive $10,000 of coverage provided by Prudential or Amalgamated Life Insurance Company depending on your state. You do not need to pay any money in premiums. 

The catch: You must log-in to the website every 90 days to stay active. According to the site, it takes 2-clicks and can be achieved by clicking a hyperlink in an email reminder. Also, this $10k of AD&D coverage is a teaser with the expectation you will buy more insurance later. If you need life insurance, then indulge by all means. However, there is no evident advantage to using Safety Net Community over another insurance resource.

Recommendations is a code word for "upsell solicitation." Anticipate emails for more insurance. Scroll down to the bottom and unsubscribe.

How to claim: Go to safetynetcommunity.org and make an account. It is a real insurance policy, so you will have to provide identifying data and anticipate a policy letter in the mail. The link above is my affiliate link, but it does not appear to do anything for you or for me. It is not clear why this website has an affiliate program.

Abriva: $1,000-$10,000 Group Life 

Group life policies cover you for as long as you are part of an organization. You get a short grace period to remain covered under some policies.

For Abriva, being part of the organization means having an account with the service. 

The benefit: If you die with an active Abriva account, your beneficiaries will receive at least $1,000 of death benefit. This is very low, but can be increased to $10,000 by reading articles or participating in discussions on the app.

For reading an article about the importance of clean air, my policy got increased by $10. There are some videos that increase it by $50, and activities (track steps, etc.) that boost it by $200. This increase is miniscule and should not be something you commit your free time to. However, the information is actually good, and it is nice to be rewarded while learning more about your health.

The catch: Like Safety Net Community, the $1,000+ coverage is a teaser and you should expect solicitation emails encouraging you to buy more insurance. You should unsubscribe from these, unless you actually want more life insurance. 

To remain active in the group, you must log into the app every 30 days and either click an article link or view a video. If you do not, then your coverage lapses and you are not part of the group anymore. You can rejoin easily by logging in again, but your coverage will be reset to $1,000.

How to claim: On mobile, download the app and make an account. https://avibra.app.link/tbsQk37CMjb This link is my referral and will award you and I both $100 of extra death benefit. However, we are all likely to let our participation lapse at some point by not logging-in, so this extra benefit will almost certainly disappear during the life of the policy.

Consideration

I am a proponent for having life insurance, and I have a lot of it because I have a young daughter. Not everyone needs $750k coverage. 

Consider how much money your family would need if you died, and look for the most dollar-efficient way of getting there. 

My advice: Don't be cheap. At least pay for your own funeral. $10k AD&D will make a dent if you die in a covered fashion, and $1k+ will pay for a cremation.

Also, your time is valuable. If you do not want to have to log in to an app every month or click through an email link, then that is okay too. That is the expense you pay in order to avoid dollar-value premiums. More serious life insurance policies require no such activity on your end, and are more likely what you need anyway.