Why the Right Time to Get Life Insurance is in Your 20s and 30s

What age should you get life insurance? 

In your 20s or 30s, you may have priorities other than life insurance. You may feel like you don’t earn enough yet to afford the premiums. You’re most likely focused on meeting your daily expenses and occasionally rewarding yourself with retail therapy. 

Although they say it’s never too late to get life insurance, getting one earlier is still more advantageous than getting it later in life. Find out why in this article. 

What Age Should You Get Life Insurance? 

If you plan to get life insurance and want to educate yourself about how it works, you may be wondering, what age should you buy life insurance? Is it better to get life insurance when you're young?

Yes, the best age to get life insurance is in your 20s and 30s. During this period, you can take advantage of the lowest premiums, even for higher coverage. This is because you are younger and healthier—and therefore pose less risk to insurance companies. 

Depending on your needs and goals, you also have more options. You can opt for term insurance in your 20s since it provides temporary but renewable coverage at an affordable price. It also offers sufficient coverage to protect your dependents financially or pay off your debts. 

Or if you have financial dependents and a mortgage, get permanent life insurance. Since it builds cash value, it’s an ideal form of protection. 

Read more: 

• Beginner's Introduction to Life Insurance: What it is and How it Works
• Do You Really Need Life Insurance? Yes—Here's Why
• 5 Common Types of Life Insurance: Which One is for You?

❓ Should You Get Life Insurance for Your Young Children? 

Insuring your young kids can be a good decision. However, it depends on your circumstances, family medical history, and financial situation. 

If you get life insurance for your children, you can enjoy lower premiums and ensure future insurability. In the event of their passing, their policy's death benefit can also provide financial support to the family. 

❓ Should Seniors Get a Life Insurance Policy?

Again, it depends on the individual’s needs, goals, and financial situation. 

Seniors get life insurance for many reasons, such as covering final expenses, leaving an inheritance to financially support their loved ones, and paying off their remaining debt. It can also help support the surviving spouse financially if they don’t have a pension. 

However, because of age and potential health issues, premiums will be higher and the policy length and coverage amount will be more limited. Most providers also impose an age limit for life insurance issuance, typically 75 years old. 

Benefits of Getting Life Insurance at a Young Age

Why get life insurance at a young age? It’s because the cost of life insurance varies significantly by age. Learn more:

👍 More Affordable Premiums

The earlier you get insured, the lower your premiums and the more advantages you will enjoy. Getting insurance coverage while you're young and healthy is the best way to ensure affordable premiums and adequate protection for yourself and your loved ones.

If you wait until you’re in your 40s or 50s to purchase life insurance, you will have to pay significantly higher premiums. Still, it will be a worthwhile purchase, especially if you have many dependents and only a few assets. 

👍 Easier to Qualify

Applicants usually undergo and pass medical examinations. Younger applicants are generally healthier, making it easier to get approved. 

But even if you’re not required to take a medical exam, the insurance premiums will be higher if you’re older. After all, health conditions develop as you grow older. 

👍 Financial Protection for Your Family

Your life situation can change in a few years. Even if you’re not a spouse or a parent, you might be one day. 

Getting life insurance early will ensure financial protection for your future family. In case of premature death, you have life insurance coverage. Your family can receive financial support even if you’re no longer around. 

👍 Locked-In Insurability 

When you're young and healthy, getting life insurance locks in your insurability and protects you from being uninsurable when health conditions arise. 

👍 Potential Cash Value Growth

Whole life or universal life insurance policies build cash value, but it takes decades. If you get life insurance in your 20s, your policy will have more time to become valuable later in life because of compounding. 

Read more: Life Insurance Benefits: Living and Death Benefits Explained 

Cons of Getting Life Insurance Late

While it’s never too late to get life insurance, the drawbacks of availing of a policy later in life are significant: 

👎 More Expensive Premiums 

The older you are, the higher your premiums get. As your health risks increase, so do your insurance premiums. Every year brings you closer to your life expectancy, making you more expensive to insure. 

It is estimated that premium rates increase yearly by 5% to 8% in your 40s and by 9% to 12% if you’re over 50 years old.^[1] 

👎 Limited Coverage 

As mentioned, many life insurance companies impose age limits on term life policies, often capping coverage at 75 or 80. Even if you can find a term policy, it may be available for a short duration only, like 10 or 15 years. 

👎 More Difficult to Qualify

Insurance companies assess different risks, including your current health status. As you age, developing health conditions can make it harder to qualify for life insurance. Existing medical issues can lead to higher premiums or even jeopardized chances of getting insurance coverage.

👎 Harder to Manage 

When you’re older, you often have more financial obligations and more people relying on your income. This makes it more challenging to pay for higher insurance premiums, increasing the risk of late payments and lapsed policies.  

How to Choose the Right Life Insurance Policy for Your Life Stage

When choosing a life insurance policy, consider how much coverage you need and factor in your lifestyle, financial obligations, and long-term plans. 

Opt for an affordable term life insurance plan with premiums that fit into your monthly budget in your 20s. If you’re married with dependent children, you need more comprehensive coverage and a more substantial face amount. So opt for a permanent life insurance plan with the add-ons you need.  

Go for a life insurance provider that makes it easy, simple, and less intimidating to purchase a policy. FWD Insurance offers affordable life insurance plans for Filipinos in varying life stages. 

The One for Life offers critical illness and death benefits (including accidental death). If diagnosed with any of the 42 covered major critical illnesses, you will receive 100% of the benefit amount. The accidental death and critical illness benefits are renewable up to age 79, while the death benefit is renewable up to age 99. There’s also no premium increase after every five years if you continuously renew your plan. 

Meanwhile, Set for Life Investment-Linked Insurance provides death and accidental death benefits, plus different package options for enhanced protection. You can opt for a protection and investment package, an insurance package for your baby, or additional critical illness and hospital cash benefits.  

If it’s health protection you’re after, Set for Health Critical Illness Insurance focuses on minor and major critical illness benefits. It provides a major critical illness benefit of 100% if you get diagnosed with any of the 42 specified illnesses. If you’re diagnosed with any of the 15 covered minor critical illnesses, you will receive 20% of the benefit (up to ₱500,000). 

Related: Moneymax and FWD Life Insurance Empower Filipinos to Make Better Financial Decisions

Final Thoughts

Now you know at what age you should get life insurance! With youth and good health on your side in your 20s and 30s, it may seem unnecessary. But remember that it’s never too early to invest in your financial protection. 

Also, the longer you wait, the more expensive life insurance will get. It can even make you ineligible to apply for one at some point. 

We understand how overwhelming it can be to choose the right life insurance plan. But that’s the beauty of buying one when you’re younger. It’s less complicated and less expensive than when you purchase it later in life.  

Ready to get a policy? Compare FWD life insurance policies and get a free quote via Moneymax by clicking the banner below:

DISCLAIMER: This article was created in partnership with FWD Philippines. While we are financially compensated for this collaboration, we ensure to maintain our editorial integrity to provide you with the best recommendations that can help you make smarter financial decisions.

Source: ^[1] How Age Affects Life Insurance Rates (Investopedia, 2022)