You are probably already aware: if you are married, if you have a child, or if you have a mortgage, you definitely should be getting some form of life insurance.

It’s a big financial mistake not to have something in place for your loved ones to be able to carry on with their life after you pass. It’s also just irresponsible. If you are in any of these circumstances, stop reading this article, and call me. I’m serious. As long as you are alive, it’s not too late. It’s a mistake to not have anything in place if this is the case.

For those who are NOT married, have NO children, and NO mortgage, should you get life insurance?

The technical answer is “it depends.” But it’s only advantageous to get some form of coverage anyway. I will explain.

The “official” reasons that you’ve probably already heard of are:

1- Insurability: You are young, and probably the healthiest you will ever be in life. Most people don’t get healthier as they get older. And as time passes, you are more likely to contract some kind of illness, condition, or anything else that could hinder your ability to get coverage. Take advantage!

2- Cost: the price you pay for insurance is also something that only goes up as you get older. Costs can become exponential as you get older, and trust me: a large number of my clients are ages 50 and up, and I would give them seemingly ridiculous quotes, and they say “ok, let’s do it.” It’s because they know they HAVE to. Don’t be stuck paying more than you need to! And again, to point back to reason 1, some people don’t even qualify to get coverage.

Now, the more practical reasons that are less discussed, but likely the reasons that will appeal to younger people:

1- Shorter pay periods- when you are young, you can get short pay periods. 10-year, 15-year, 20-year… You don’t need to pay for the rest of your life. But you can still keep the coverage after you are done paying. Older people generally don’t have this option, so take advantage!

2-Make money from insurance- When you are younger, not only is coverage cheaper, but you can have cash values that compound as the years go by. By the time you finish paying for your insurance (let’s say in 15 years), you likely have cash values in the policy that roughly equal all the money you ever put into the policy. You can choose to cash it out, and have gotten your insurance for “free”, or you can keep it in there are use it as a tax free income source later on. This money can keep growing to 2-4 times it’s value by the time you reach your retirement years.

3- Better contracts- When you are young, you have way more choices on what service providers you can use. While most companies are reasonably similar, small intricacies in the contracts can work to your advantage. For example: some companies allow you to withdraw your money from the policy very easily, without hassle, while some other companies may structure their contracts in such a way where there are stipulations to withdrawing money.

So, to answer the question asked in the title of the article: While you may not necessarily NEED life insurance if you are single, have no children, or have no mortgage, you are only disadvantaging yourself if you don’t invest now. It’s a product you will certainly need in the future, and if you can make money by doing it, why not?

Call me, let’s have a discussion on how we can get you the right coverage that fits in your budget, get you protected, and make you some money!