Think You’re Too Young for Life Insurance? 4 Reasons You May Need to Think Again

If you’re young and healthy with no plans to marry or start a family soon, you probably don’t need life insurance just yet. But there are some exceptions.

Key Takeaways

• Having children isn’t the only reason to buy life insurance.
• If anyone relies on your income, or you have a business partner or certain kinds of debt, you may need life insurance. 
• Life insurance can be relatively cheap, especially for younger people.
• Term life insurance is simple and affordable.

If you’re not sure about whether you need life insurance, answer the four questions below. A “yes” to any one of them may mean you should consider getting a policy.

1. Does Anyone Rely on Your Income?

Even if you’re young, you might still have people depending on you financially. Aging parents or younger siblings may rely on your help. 

Many people don’t need life insurance until they have children. But if you have people in your life who could be financially impacted by your death, it makes sense, said Uziel Gomez, a certified financial planner with Equalis Financial in Los Angeles.

“Many first-generation wealth builders play a vital role in supporting their parents, siblings, or extended family,” Gomez said. “In these cases, life insurance isn’t just a ‘nice-to-have.’ It’s a crucial safety net for those who rely on you, even if you don’t have kids of your own.”

2. Do You Have Student Debts or a Mortgage?

Life insurance can help ensure your family won’t be burdened with any costs you might leave behind if you die. If you’ve cosigned a loan with a parent, partner, or friend, they become fully responsible for the remaining balance if you die before paying it off. It’s a good idea to buy enough coverage so that debt is covered.

3. Do You Have a Business Partner?

For young entrepreneurs, a business partnership can end up being a closer financial tie than you have with your family. If one partner dies unexpectedly, the other could face major financial challenges, like paying off debts, covering daily expenses, or even buying out their partner’s share of the business.

A life insurance death benefit can provide funds to keep the business stable if this happens. It can fund a “buy and sell agreement,” which stipulates how a partner’s share of the business is transferred in the event of their death.

4. Do You Want to Pay the Lowest Premiums?

If you are young and healthy, life insurance can be relatively affordable. A healthy 25-year-old can expect to pay around $20 a month for a 20-year term life policy with a $500,000 death benefit. That’s less than the average 25- to 34-year-old spends in a month on alcohol.

Waiting until later can make life insurance more expensive because premiums rise as you age or if health issues develop. The table below shows prices for that same $500,000 20-year-term policy at different ages, illustrating how life insurance rates climb as you get older.

While an increase of a dollar or two over the course of your 20s may seem modest, that’s only if you stay healthy, which is not guaranteed.

“Life insurance becomes more expensive—and harder to qualify for—if health issues arise later,” said Jovan Johnson, a certified financial planner and co-owner of Piece of Wealth Planning in Atlanta. 

You Don’t Have to Rush Your Decision

Like every financial decision, you should carefully consider whether to buy life insurance. Buying the wrong product could be a costly mistake. Term life insurance is often the simplest and cheapest option. You buy it for a set number of years—say, 20 or 30—and after that, it’s gone. But you may hear more about other types of life insurance that earn higher commissions for their sellers.

“A lot of policies they’re trying to sell to young people are not term life,” said Sarah Behr, a registered investment advisor and founder of Simplify Financial Planning in San Francisco. “They’re trying to sell whole and universal and variable, so you’re paying like $700 a month for a life insurance policy because some guy who lived in your dorm happened to work for Northwestern Mutual, not because it’s a viable way to protect your net worth.”

Some young people may need life insurance, but it’s perfectly fine to wait until you have children or other dependents, Behr said. “Certainly don’t put it off,” she said; waiting until you’re 55 will have significant costs. “But don’t pay into it for years long before you need it.”

Bottom Line

Young, healthy people can often afford to wait to buy life insurance. But not always. If you have dependents, shared debt, or a business partner, life insurance can provide important financial protection for the people around you. And it’ll be relatively affordable if you buy now.

“Securing life insurance now can provide peace of mind and financial protection for those you care about, both today and in the future,” Johnson said.