Life Insurance at Different Life Stages

Young and Single

Most young people don’t give life insurance a single thought. Why prepare for the end when you feel so alive with years and years ahead of you. However, this can possibly be the most ideal time of life to invest in insurance, as it will be much cheaper while you are young. It may seem pointless while you don’t have a family. However, even if you don’t have a family yet, within the next 10 years or so that might change. By that time, the cost will already have gone up.

Another possibility is that you just finished college and you have some student loan debt. Getting life insurance may be a smart decision to guarantee that your loans will be taken care of if something were to happen to you. This way you aren’t leaving any debt behind to burden your parents or any dependents you may have.

Adult Life and Getting Married

If you haven’t already invested in a life insurance policy, now would be the time to do so. Most newlyweds have at least some debt that has built up. Whether it be wedding expenses, the new house you just bought, car payments, or even those student loans you never paid off. Maybe you aren’t so recently married, but you likely still have similar debts you are still paying off or at least the standard monthly pile up of bills. If you were to unexpectedly pass away, your spouse would be left to deal with this mess alone. Likely they will not be able to handle taking on all of that debt without also taking on a huge amount of stress. Life insurance is an ideal way to ensure that they will be taken care of financially while they grieve the loss of their beloved partner. What if you aren’t married at all though? Well, funeral, burial, and medical expenses can quickly add up and you will be leaving this debt for your parents or other family members to deal with. Life insurance will easily take care of any of these expenses you may leave behind.

Making a Family

Whether you are a stay at home parent or bringing in a steady income, life insurance is an essential blanket of security for your children and spouse. If you are bringing in the income for the household, it would clearly be financially devastating if you were no longer around to provide for them. Many people think this is the only reason you would need life insurance, but even if you are not bringing in an income you are likely an essential part of the household. If you are the stay at home parent that takes care of the house and the children, your spouse would need financial support to either hire help or take off work to take on all the work you are no longer there for.

 The Elderly

The older you get, the more difficult it is to obtain life insurance because of age and health decline and the price goes up substantially. Life insurance is commonly most important for unexpected death while you still have dependents and debt to pay off. If you purchased permanent life insurance while you were young, good for you, but if you are already a senior it is likely not worth buying now. Hopefully, you no longer have children depending on you and you have probably taken care of car/house payments etc. over the years. Additionally, the high cost you would have to pay at this time in your life may not be worth it. However, maybe you have little retirement savings and you would be leaving behind a spouse with your funeral expenses etc. Depending on your circumstances it could be worth it, but consult with a professional before making this commitment.