Harry Gross: Remember, N.Y. sets the standard for insurance

Dear Harry:

I'm 29, and my wife is 28. We have just had our first child, and I'm thinking very seriously about life insurance. At my income level, I think I need about $1 million to make sure my wife and child will be OK if I die too early. My wife would not be able to earn half my income. I've paid pretty good attention to what you have said over the years, so I'm restricting my search to term insurance. This is against the very strong advice of a friend who is an insurance agent. He has even gotten a honcho from the company's national office to try to persuade me. Meanwhile, I have gotten some quotes on the Internet from major companies for 10-year term. They just seem too low. For example, I got a quote of $282 a year for a million of 10-year renewable and convertible term. This was their best deal for a nonsmoker, normal-weight male. Is this really too good to be true? It's about a 10th of my friend's quote for a variation of whole life.

What Harry says: What you're seeing is not extraordinary. We have been sold very heavily on the whole-life concept for more than a century. There are very few cases where I would recommend it. Yours is not one of them. Get a couple of more quotes before you buy. Make sure that the company you select also writes the same policy on New York residents. That's my standard for determining the safety of the company. You should also consider getting adequate disability-income insurance since you're far more likely to be disabled for more than 90 days than you are to die. And how about insurance on your wife?

Write Harry Gross c/o the Daily News, 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19130. Harry urges all his readers to give blood - contact the American Red Cross at 800-GIVE LIFE.