- The older you get, the more you need it.
- The more you need it, the more likely you may not be able to get it.
- The older you get it, the more expensive it is.
You guessed it, LIFE INSURANCE!
Life insurance does not have to a tough or morbid conversation. In fact, it should be one that you’re proud and eager to have. Now is the time to talk about life insurance. Every day that goes by is another that you’re missing out on value. Unlike auto insurance, the younger you buy it the cheaper it is.
Life insurance does not have to be expensive or confusing either. Level term insurance is a simple, straight-forward product, and very affordable for most individuals. For example, a 30 year old non-smoking male can qualify for $250,000 of coverage for around $25/month. For women, it’s even less.
“But I have life insurance with my employer, I’m good, right?” Not necessarily. How much coverage do you have? Individuals that only have insurance through their employer are more likely to be underinsured than those that have a stand alone policy through and agency. You can read more about that here.
The other major problem with relying on your employer for your only source of life insurance is what happens at the end of your employment. The older you are when you start a policy the more expensive it gets. So, if you are with your employer when you turn 25 and leave when you’re 30, the stand alone policy is going to be more now than what it would have been 5 years ago. “But what about all the money I saved by not paying those premiums over those years?”
Say you’re your sick and have to leave your employer due to illness. Let’s say it’s something major like cancer. Or something even not so daunting. Say it’s just too stressful and you physically can’t handle the job, so you leave. Later to find out you need blood pressure medicine. Depending on the severity of the disease you may not even qualify for life insurance at all. So when you were young, healthy and cheap to insure, just 5 years ago, now it doesn’t matter at all.
Don’t take my word for it. See what top consumer advocates and financial advisors say about life insurance.
Clark Howard
Suze Orman
