The best age to buy life insurance is in your 20s or 30s when premiums are lowest and approval is easiest. But coverage makes sense at any age when your dependents or debts would burden your family if you died.
When Should You Get Life Insurance?
The best time to get life insurance is in your 20s or early 30s, when premiums (the monthly cost you pay to keep coverage active) are lowest and you're most likely to get approved. A 25-year-old pays $28 per month for a $500,000, 20-year term policy. A 35-year-old pays $44 for the same policy. That's a $16 monthly difference.
It also makes sense to buy coverage as soon as someone depends on your income. If you carry debt others would inherit or want to lock in your rate before a health issue develops, those are also clear reasons to buy.
Find out if you need life insurance and when you should get it below.
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Updated: September 28, 2026
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Key Takeaways
You need life insurance if someone relies on your income or would be left with your debt if you died. Business owners and people supporting aging parents are also candidates.
Premiums are lowest in your 20s and 30s. A health issue at any point can make future coverage more expensive or put approval out of reach.
Waiting to buy coverage costs more. Premiums can increase 50% to 100% or more with each decade you age
When Is the Best Time to Get Life Insurance?
Get life insurance when a life change creates a new financial dependency or a debt someone else would have to pay if you died.
Getting marriedWhen your spouse or partner relies on your income, a life insurance death benefit (the amount paid to your family if you die) lets them cover ongoing expenses and financial commitments without your paycheck. One policy covering the primary earner is the starting point. If both of you earn income that the household depends on, both of you need coverage.
Starting a familyLife insurance covers daily living expenses and future education costs for your children and co-parent if you die. The coverage amount should replace your income for the years your children would still depend on you, at minimum until the youngest turns 18. A stay-at-home parent also needs coverage: childcare and household services cost money to replace if they died.
HomeownershipWith a mortgage in place, a life policy means your family can keep making payments if you die. Most mortgages run 15 to 30 years, so a term policy matching the loan's payoff timeline is the standard approach. Your lender won't require life insurance, but a policy prevents your family from having to sell the home to cover a debt they couldn't absorb alone.
Starting a businessBusiness owners need coverage as part of a succession plan. A life insurance death benefit lets the business keep operating or pays off outstanding loans. Partners and family don't inherit the debt. This type of coverage is called key person life insurance when it's tied to an individual whose loss would threaten the business financially.
Significant debtIf you have loans with a cosigner (someone who also signed the loan and is equally responsible for repaying it), life insurance pays those obligations if you die. The other person isn't left holding the full balance. This includes private student loans, car loans and credit card accounts with a joint holder. Federal student loans don't transfer at death: the government discharges them.
- Going through a divorce
Your divorce agreement may require you to keep life insurance to cover child support or alimony obligations. Even without a legal requirement, a single parent needs coverage. If you die without it, your children's financial support disappears at the same time their household income drops.
- Supporting aging parents
If you provide financial support to elderly parents, a life insurance policy keeps their care funded if you die unexpectedly. Without it, the caregiving costs would have to come out of your family's savings.
HOW LIFE INSURANCE WORKS
Life insurance is a contract between you and an insurer. You pay a monthly or annual premium, and the insurer pays a death benefit to your beneficiaries (the people you name in the policy) if you die while the policy is active. The death benefit is income-tax-free for beneficiaries in most cases.
What's the Best Age to Get Life Insurance?
20s to 30s | Lock in the lowest rates you'll see. Preserve your insurability before health issues develop. Many insurers don't require a medical exam at this stage. | $28 to $50 | Skip if you're single with no debt. Balance premium costs with student loan payments and emergency fund building. |
40s to 50s | Cover peak family expenses: college tuition, mortgage and aging parents. Estate planning options expand at this stage. | $75 to $150 | Premiums roughly double compared to your 20s. Medical underwriting (the insurer's review of your health history) becomes more thorough. Some insurers restrict term lengths past age 50. |
60s and beyond | Cover final expenses ($7,000 to $15,000). Leave a guaranteed inheritance. Supplement retirement income with cash value. | $200+ | Premiums are 3 to 5 times higher than at 40. If debts are paid and children are independent, coverage may not be necessary. Options at this stage are usually limited to final expense or guaranteed issue policies (policies that don't require a medical exam or health questions). |
The Cost of Waiting to Get Life Insurance
Buying later costs more per month and more in total, even for identical coverage. A healthy 25-year-old pays $28 per month for a $500,000, 20-year term policy. At 35, that same policy costs $44. At 45, it's $84.
25 | $28 | $6,720 | — |
35 | $44 | $10,560 | $3,840 more |
45 | $84 | $20,160 | $13,440 more |
Wait 10 years and you pay $3,840 more for identical coverage. Wait 20 years and the price gap reaches $13,440.
Health changes raise costs beyond the standard age increases. If a condition like diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease develops between ages 25 and 35, an insurer may charge more or decline coverage entirely. Some conditions make approval impossible at any price.
When Should You Get Term vs. Permanent Life Insurance
Several types of life insurance policies are available, but term life insurance is the right starting point for most first-time buyers. It covers a fixed period, 10, 20 or 30 years, and pays out only if you die during that window. When the term ends, you can renew or convert to a permanent policy, though your rate will reflect your age at the time.
Get term life when you:
- Need to cover a mortgage that'll be paid off in 15 to 30 years
- Have young children who'll be financially independent within 20 to 30 years
- Want affordable coverage to replace your income during your working years
- Need temporary coverage while building savings and investments
See MoneyGeek's best term life options for rates and carrier comparisons.
Permanent life insurance, such as whole life, covers you for life and builds cash value, but costs three to 10 times more than term. A 30-year-old pays $300 to $500 per month for a $500,000 whole life policy, compared to about $40 for a term policy. The higher cost buys a guaranteed payout regardless of when you die and a policy that never expires.
Get permanent life insurance when you:
- Want to leave a guaranteed inheritance regardless of when you die
- Need coverage for estate taxes (taxes owed on large estates passed to heirs)
- Have a dependent with a disability or special needs who will require financial support indefinitely
See MoneyGeek's best whole life options for permanent coverage comparisons.
IS LIFE INSURANCE THROUGH WORK ENOUGH?
Employer-provided group life insurance covers 1 to 2 times your annual salary on most plans. That's well below the 10 to 12 times salary most financial planners recommend as a common starting guideline. At a $75,000 salary, a group policy provides $75,000 to $150,000 in coverage, against a recommended need of $750,000 to $900,000.
Most employer plans are also tied to your job, so coverage ends when you leave your employer (unless the plan offers a portability or conversion option). A term life policy through a private insurer can provide more coverage and stay with you regardless of where you work. A healthy 30-year-old can get $500,000 in term coverage for around $40 per month.
Should You Buy Life Insurance?
Not everyone needs life insurance at every stage. The right answer depends on who relies on your income and what debts would survive you.
Do You Need Life Insurance?
You need life insurance if anyone depends on your income or you carry debt others would inherit when you die. A policy covers what your dependents can't absorb on their own: lost income, outstanding debt and final expenses.
Coverage is worth buying in three situations:
Someone depends on your paycheck: a spouse, a child or an aging parent who couldn't absorb the loss of your income.
Would anyone have a financial shortfall if your income stopped tomorrow? Multiply your annual earnings by 10 to 12. That's the minimum coverage amount you should aim for.
You carry debt that wouldn't die with you, such as a mortgage, a business loan or a cosigned obligation (a debt a surviving co-borrower would inherit).
Do you carry debt that would land on someone else? The right coverage amount matches the full balance.
There's a specific financial goal you want the policy to fund: funeral costs that run $7,000 to $15,000, a child's education or money left for a named beneficiary.
Are you trying to fund something specific after you're gone, like a child's education, a trust (a legal arrangement for passing money to a named person or cause) or a business buyout? That usually points to permanent coverage with a cash value component.
If you answered yes to any of these, you need coverage. The amount and type depend on your specific situation.
Who Doesn't Need Life Insurance?
You don't need life insurance if no one depends on your income and you carry no cosigned debt.
The clearest cases: you're single with no dependents and have enough savings to cover your own funeral costs. Retired adults with paid-off mortgages and financially independent children often fall into this category too. Once the obligations a policy was covering are gone, the coverage can go with them.
Credit card debt is the exception worth knowing. Outstanding balances don't disappear when you die: your estate, or the sum of your assets and debts at death, must settle them. A large unpaid balance is still a reason to carry a small term policy, even without dependents. Private student loan cosigners also inherit the full remaining balance at your death. Federal student loans are discharged at death and don't pass to anyone.
Next Steps After Deciding You Need Coverage
If you're in your 20s or 30s without dependents yet, get a quote now while your rate is at its lowest. A healthy 30-year-old gets $500,000 in term coverage for an average of $40 per month, and that rate locks in for the full policy period.
Already have dependents? Use MoneyGeek's life insurance calculator to set a coverage target before shopping. The goal is to replace 10 to 12 times your annual income. From there, compare quotes across top insurers and check reviews of the best life insurance companies for claims handling and customer service records.
Most healthy applicants finish the life insurance application online in 15 to 30 minutes. Some insurers approve coverage without a medical exam for certain coverage amounts.
MONEYGEEK RESOURCES THAT MATCH YOUR SITUATION
- You're buying in your 20s or 30s: Best Life Insurance for Young Adults ranks policies by price and no-exam availability, the two factors that matter most at this stage.
- You're a parent: Best Life Insurance for Parents filters for income-replacement coverage with long enough terms to cover your children through college.
- You're buying for a child: Best Life Insurance for Children focuses on carriers that offer juvenile policies with guaranteed insurability riders (a feature that lets your child keep coverage as an adult regardless of future health).
- You're in your 40s: Best Life Insurance for 40-Year-Olds identifies the carriers with the most competitive rates at an age where underwriting varies widely across insurers.
- You're in your 60s or older: Best Life Insurance for Seniors covers final expense and guaranteed issue options where traditional term approval becomes harder to get.
When to Get Life Insurance: FAQ
Yes. Getting life insurance in your 20s or 30s locks in lower premiums. A 25-year-old pays $28 per month for identical coverage, compared with $44 per month for a 35-year-old, which is 36% less.
Yes. Premiums increase with age because the risk of death increases. A 45-year-old pays two to three times what a 25-year-old pays for the same coverage.
Whole life insurance is available starting at 14 days old. Term life insurance requires you to be at least 18. Most insurers have life insurance age limits for new term policies at age 75 to 80.
You need life insurance for a mortgage if your death would leave your family unable to make monthly payments or force them to sell the home. Lenders don't require life insurance, but mortgage life insurance or a term policy matching your loan's payoff timeline gives your family financial security.
You need life insurance for student loans only if someone cosigned your private loans. Federal student loans disappear when you die, so your family won't inherit that debt. Private student loan cosigners become responsible for the full balance after your death.
You don't need life insurance if you're retired with sufficient savings, no dependents and paid-off debts. Cancel term policies once you've built enough assets to replace what insurance provided.
You don't need life insurance if you're single with no dependents, unless you have cosigned debts or want to cover funeral expenses. Life insurance replaces income for people who depend on you financially. Without a spouse, children, or aging parents relying on your income, coverage isn't necessary. Your money is better spent building an emergency fund or investing for retirement.
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About Mark Fitzpatrick
Mark Fitzpatrick is a licensed Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance Producer and MoneyGeek's resident expert in insurance and economics. In nearly a decade covering the insurance market at LendingTree and MoneyGeek, he's analyzed hundreds of carriers and millions of rates across auto, home, renters, health and life insurance.
His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times and NPR. He draws on independent cost and consumer experience data, and no insurance company partnerships affect his recommendations.
Mark studied at Boston College and later earned a master's in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University. He worked in financial risk management at State Street before joining MoneyGeek. He's also a five-time “Jeopardy!” champion.