Should A Soldier Buy Life Insurance If He Is Going To Afghanistan?

Risking life and limb: British troops in action in Afghanistan are failing to buy life insurance which costs up to £74 per month

Tragedy Of The 50 Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan Who Couldn't Afford Life Insurance -- Daily Mail

* £74 per month premium equivalent of 5% of a young soldier's salary
* 35,600 troops have served in Afghanistan without life insurance
* Further 26,400 took out less than maximum cover

Fifty British troops have been killed in Afghanistan without taking out life insurance.

They could not afford premiums of up to £74 a month to cover their loved ones in the event of their death or serious injury.

Jim Murphy, Labour’s defence spokesman, said the figures, which he obtained through parliamentary questions, were very worrying.

Read more ....

My Comment: A basic private’s salary of just over £17,000 a year is ridiculously small in today's world .... I can understand their reluctance to spend £74 a month.

Life-Insurance Companies Have Figured Out A Way To Hold Onto Death Benefits Owed To Bereaved Military Families

Fallen Soldiers' Families Denied Cash as Insurers Profit -- Bloomberg

The package arrived at Cindy Lohman’s home in Great Mills, Maryland, just two weeks after she learned that her son, Ryan, a 24-year-old Army sergeant, had been killed by a bomb in Afghanistan. It was a thick, 9-inch-by- 12-inch envelope from Prudential Financial Inc., which handles life insurance for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Inside was a letter from Prudential about Ryan’s $400,000 policy. And there was something else, which looked like a checkbook. The letter told Lohman that the full amount of her payout would be placed in a convenient interest-bearing account, allowing her time to decide how to use the benefit.

Read more ....

Update: Insurers said to hurt troops' families -- Politico

My Comment: As I tell everyone that I know .... when it comes to money, always read the small print .... even if there are pages and pages of the stuff.