Why you should get life insurance in your twenties

It’s not that you expect to die early when you look around for life insurance in your twenties. It’s that you’re smart and you’re thinking about having a better future. Especially when things like marriage and children are eventually on the table.

So what exactly are the reasons why you should be getting life insurance in your twenties?

You’ll pay lower premiums

Well, living the young life has all the benefits. Such as student discounts, self-discovery, flexibility and the freedom to make mistakes. More importantly, being in your twenties means you’re the ideal candidate for insurance companies. You are not a high-risk client. And so your premiums will be lower than they would be if you were to wait longer.

Now, what are premiums? A premium is the monthly amount you will be paying your insurance company, for your specific insurance policy. And your policy is generally decided upon based on your lifestyle, needs and calculated insurance.

You’re at your healthiest in your twenties

This is basically the reason why your premiums will be lower. You’re young and healthy. Therefore insurance companies can bank on that fact because there is a low risk of an insurance claim.

And what is a twenty-something year old if not a sucker for the cheapest deal? Make the most of being young and you’ll end up paying lower premiums and accumulate a decent death benefit sum by the end of it all.

The idea is to make sure that you are, in fact, able to get coverage now. Should you wait a few more years and have children or a chronic illness (or just be older, really), you’ll have a tougher time finding an insurance company that can offer you a reasonable life insurance premium.

If you’re in a supporting role

It’s not uncommon that people in your twenties often find themselves in the position where they have to support other members of their family. Be it elderly parents or siblings where there are no longer parents to support and take care of them.

Having life insurance in situations like this is the responsible and adult thing to do. Were something to happen to you and your dependants were left in the deep end, having life insurance behind your name could very well be their saving grace.

You have all that student debt

Life insurance can help you out with all that student debt that you’re dragging behind you. Credit life insurance will come in handy to pay off your student debt and start moving on with your life. It also provides a way for your family to deal with your debt should you pass away before it’s completely paid off.

There’s such a thing as living benefits

This is probably the more exciting part of life insurance. If you thought life insurance was only useful for when you passed away, you thought wrong. Some life insurance policies have “living benefits” that allow you to use the money from your policy to help you out financially if there is a terminal or critical health concern.

What you need to keep in mind is that it is deducted from your overall death benefit – everything you’ve accumulated and the reason you’ve taken out life insurance in the first place. But life happens and we cannot always control it. If you should find yourself under the circumstances of your health status dramatically altering and the medical expenses are overwhelming, then make the most of your living benefits.

There’s also another side of living benefits that doesn’t involve you falling ill at all. When you pay your premium amount, a percentage of it remains in the policy and builds cash value, specifically with whole life insurance. And this fund can be tapped into, at a later stage, to pay for certain life events. Such as your wedding, your first home, your child’s education or even your holidays away. Not too bad a deal, right?

Steps to take to get the life insurance you need

Figuring out the amount of life insurance you will need can easily be done with a life insurance calculator (if you Google it, you’ll find it) and your next step is choosing the type of life insurance you want. Term life insurance, whole life insurance, or universal coverage those are your options.

And once you’ve decided on that and done your research on the insurance company of your choice, you can meet with a broker and discuss the policy you’re looking for and become an insured twenty-something-year-old. Now, if you’re still finishing your studies, working through an internship or just starting an entry-level position, chances are you aren’t earning a lot of money. But there are some insurance companies, such as African Unity Life, whose clients are “predominantly lower to middle income families who demand value priced products in keeping with their income.”

They will be able to provide a policy and premium suited to you and your specific needs as a first-time, young, life-insured person. Welcome to adulthood, kid.

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All info was correct at time of publishing