An article was published on CNN/Money that indicated, based on survey results, that the Millennials are the most under-insured generation in the country. About a quarter of the group does not have health insurance, and only 13% have disability coverage. And just 36% have life insurance. That means that 64% of Millennials will leave their parents in a financial hole if they make an early departure from this life.
Millennials are generally seen as the group of people who were born between roughly 1982 and 2000, which makes them overwhelmingly young adults right now.
Millennials seem to be counting on their youth to protect them from disaster, and then to rely on their parents should one strike. But there are several reasons why this is a poor strategy, and why you should at least purchase an inexpensive term life insurance policy.
Despite Your Youth You’re Not Bulletproof
It’s likely that cost, in combination with the state of your personal financial affairs, is the primary reason for going without insurance. But very likely in second place is a sense of invincibility.
This is a common perception in young adults. If you’re in your 20s or early 30s, and have never experienced a significant health threat or a major accident, you may believe that it will never happen to you. But rest assured, that’s exactly what everyone before you thought too, but that didn’t stop disaster from striking.
Yes, when you are young you’re less likely to contract a terminal illness. But at the same time, you are at a higher risk of accidental death than at any other time in your life.
Even if you don’t consider a serious illness as a possibility, you should never ignore the potential for experiencing a fatal accident. For that reason alone, life insurance should be seen as a necessity.
After All Your Parents Have Done For You, You Shouldn’t Leave them With a Financial Disaster on Their Hands
Many Millennial’s, fully accustomed to financial support from their parents, assume that any future catastrophes will continue to be covered in the same way. But as an adult, it’s important to recognize that your parents have financial issues of their own, such as getting out of debt, preparing for retirement, or dealing with career problems.
Though from a financial standpoint you may choose to travel light in life, it’s important that you are careful that you will not burden your family with additional financial strains in the event of your death.
Whether from illness or accident, a terminal life situation can cause a chain reaction of expenses. This will start with uncovered medical expenses, but could include specialized nursing care, and ultimately paying for final expenses. This can result in tens of thousands of dollars in financial liabilities for your parents. And that’s in addition to the emotional stress they will experience as a result of the loss.
Life Insurance Will be Your Last Chance to Repay the “Bank of Mom and Dad”
Some Millennial’s reason that they don’t need life insurance because they have no dependents. Sure, you may not have a spouse or children, but what about your parents?
If you are or have relied on your parents to any significant degree for financial support in your life, realize that life insurance will represent your last, best chance to repay your parents for the money they have put out on your behalf. They’ve taken care of you up to this point, so you should be feeling some obligation to leave them in a reasonably good position in the event of your death.
That should include not only covering the medical and final expenses related to your death, but also any on the obligations that may have developed over the years. This represents assistance or loans that your parents gave you to buy your first car, get your first apartment, or even to take an expensive vacation.
Though it may have been your intention to repay them for this assistance at some point in the future, life insurance will make sure that happens even if you are not around to fulfill that promise.
You should also include extra death benefit in the event your parents co-signed any loans for you. Upon your death, those loans may very well become their obligations completely.
At Your Age, Life Insurance is Inexpensive
One major advantage that you have over all other adult groups is that life insurance will be particularly inexpensive. For example, you can purchase a $100,000 term life insurance policy for just a few dollars per month. That will be a huge benefit to your parents, and at a relatively low cost to you.
Life insurance companies are also aware of the very low probability of you developing a terminal illness at your age. For that reason, premiums will be lower now than they will be at any time in the future.
For this reason, it’s important to get a life insurance policy so that you can lock in those low premiums now. You can take a long-term term life insurance policy that will provide you with a low level premium for the next 10 or 20 years.
It will never be this inexpensive again.
Get It Now While You Are Young and In Perfect Health
There’s another X factor that none of us like to consider, and that’s the possibility that you could experience an illness or even an injury that will impair your health on a long-term basis. Should this happen, life insurance coverage could become prohibitively expensive. And under certain circumstances, it may no longer be available at all.
In combination with your youth, you always want to purchase a life insurance policy when you are in perfect health. Not only is that the time to get the least expensive policy, but it also eliminates the possibility that you might experience an event that might make it impossible to get a policy.
We’d like to help you get a term life insurance policy that will fit your budget. Give us a call, and will work to get you a policy that will take care of your loved ones in the event of your death, and one that won’t set you back for much at all. There’s no better time than right now!
