One of the most common questions we hear is what is the right age to get life insurance?
Like many important decisions in life, people often put life insurance off because “it’s not the right time” or “I’ll get to it later.” It’s easy to put off big decisions like this until it’s too late.
If you’re considering buying life insurance, keep reading. Below we will guide you through several questions you should ask yourself to find out it now is the right time for you.
Purchasing Life Insurance Before You Need It
If you’re young, let’s say between 30 and 50, and relatively in good health, you probably think that you don’t need life insurance. There are already enough financial obligations for people in their 30’s and 40’s as they buy houses, start families, and want nicer cars.
The problem with this mentality towards life insurance is that the best time to buy life insurance is when you don’t need it!
Wait, that doesn’t make sense? Let me explain…
The reason you should buy life insurance when you’re younger and healthier is that the policy will be much cheaper and better.
Think about it from the life insurance company’s perspective. If you come to them and apply for life insurance while you’re 40 years old and in good health, they will look at you as a very low risk of dying soon. So you’ll get a really good policy at a great rate, because they know that it probably won’t be paid out.
Some people around this age even use life insurance policies as an investment strategy. Do your homework or talk to a financial advisor before deciding what is best for you.
The Problem with Waiting For Life Insurance
If, however, you wait till your 60s and your health begins to decline, you’ll end up with a worse policy with a higher premium. Essentially you’ll be getting less benefit for more money!
The other problem with waiting till you’re older to purchase life insurance is that you may not qualify. Most life insurance policies will require that you answer medical questions or take a medical exam. They’re going to look at your medical history and current condition to decide how risky you are to insure.
You can get a life insurance policy with no medical questions but these policies are more expensive and have a much lower coverage amount.
The Perfect Age To Get Life Insurance
The truth is, there’s no perfect time to get life insurance. You need to research the different life insurance companies and policies, consider your current financial and family situation, and weigh all that against other investment opportunities you have.
In some cases, it will make sense to buy life insurance as early as 30 years old. In other cases, you may need to wait until you 50. Because there are so many factors at play, figuring it out for yourself will take a lot of homework and time. That’s why life insurance experts and financial advisors exist.
If you’re considering life insurance, you should get multiple quotes, look at different types of policies, and talk to experts to decide what’s best for you.
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