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INSURANCE

Do You Need Life Insurance if You’re Single?

Mike Winters
Yesterday 3:30PM • Filed to: LIFE INSURANCE 9 Save

Illustration: Shirstok (Shutterstock)

It’s generally accepted that life insurance is needed when people depend on
your income, but what if you’re single? Depending on your situation it might
not be needed, but there are still some reasons why life insurance might be
worth buying.

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The main purpose of life insurance is to provide a lump sum payment to

replace your income when you die. If you have no dependents relying on that
income, you might be less inclined to purchase life insurance, whereas if you’re
a single parent it’s generally strongly recommended. Some reasons for
considering life insurance include:

Your debts have co-signers

Some of your debts are discharged when you die, but otherwise your assets
might be used to pay down remaining debts through probate, the legal process
of administering your estate after you die. Unfortunately a cosigned loan
means that the cosigner (typically parents) will be on the hook for the
remaining debt. Life insurance, however, can be exempt from creditors, paying
out directly to your beneficiary. A life insurance payout can therefore ease the
burden of cleaning up your debts after you die.

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You have other beneficiaries 

Aside from a spouse or children as dependents, you might have other people in
your life that could be beneficiaries. Your aging, cash-strapped parents, close
friend, or sibling with a disability could benefit your policy, giving you peace of
mind knowing they’ll be taken care of when you die.

You won’t be single (or healthy) for long 

The two main factors in low life insurance premiums are your age and health,
and some medical conditions can increase your premiums or disqualify you
from certain policies.

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If you’re in your twenties and think a partner or kids could be a part of your
long-term future, a life insurance policy purchased while you’re young and
healthy will have much lower premiums. This can be especially wise if your
parents have or had heritable health conditions like heart disease or diabetes.

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Paying for your funeral 

When you die, who will pay for your funeral? Dying can be expensive, and if you
don’t have life insurance someone else might have to pay for the cost of your
funeral, which can cost upwards of $10,000, according to Policy Genius. Your
benefits can be used to cover these expenses.

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The bottom line: Financial advisors will typically advise you to get life
insurance if someone is depending on your income. You might not do so if
you’re single, but a decent policy might be within your means if you’re looking
for some added protection for those close to you.

Mike Winters Posts

Mike is a former newspaper reporter who writes about personal finance in New
York. Have a personal finance question or topic you'd like to read about? Email
mwinters@lifehacker.com

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DISCUSSION

digitalsandwich78
Yesterday 4:08PM
Another factor to consider is that some life insurance will allow you to collect before
you die for certain terminal illnesses. Gruesome thought, but it may be a good way of
supplementing your health insurance for those just in case situations.

See all replies