When Should I Buy A Life Insurance Policy? Should I Wait Until I Have Children Or Dependents?

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When Should I Buy A Life Insurance Policy? Should I Wait Until I Have Children Or Dependents?

Posted by moneymatters 961 days ago, popular 960 days ago (http://www.biblemoneymatters.com)
Category: Personal Finance | Tags: insurance term whole variable

When is the right time to buy insurance? Is it a good idea to buy even when you aren't married or don't have children?

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JoeTaxpayer 961 days ago

Excellent guest post by Jeff Rose, CFP. Can't wait to see Monday's guest post discussin different choices of insurance. I hear it will be excellent!!

ultrageek 960 days ago

I've been putting off getting life insurance, but I think it's perfect time now, since I'm getting married. Unfortunately, not having a job makes it tough to pay premiums, not to mention cover health insurance. There's always a reason....

amabaie 960 days ago

@ultrageek It was when we had kids that we saw the need for life insurance and related protection. Should one of us die, we have enough coverage that the survivor would not have to work full-time and could take good care of the kids.

furball4 960 days ago

I am of the opinion that everyone should buy several hundred thousand dollars of life insurance as early in life as they possible can. It doesn't matter if you don't have a spouse or dependents yet - you are very likely to eventually. The list of things that can drive your life insurance costs through the roof or even make you un-insurable is long and likely:

Most any major health problem

Some relatively minor health problems

Any mental health problems or counseling

Any recreational drug use

Major moving violations

Some relatively minor moving violations

Becoming even moderately overweight

Developing high blood pressure

Developing high colesterol

How many of those things happen between the age of 20 and the age of 30? I'm guessing about 5 out of 9, for the average individual. One catch: if you do buy at age 20, try to find a 40-year term policy. A few companies have offered them. The safe bet is to try to cover yourself to retirement, but the market isn't geared toward young buyers so you have to shop around. A $500k 30-year policy when you are 20 years old and perfectly healthy shouldn't cost much more than $20/mo.

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