Life Insurance as a young single person

debtfreeforlife · 8 December 2017 at 7:55PM

Hi, I am trying to be a bit organized about my life and future and wondering about life insurance. I am 32 (nearly), single with no dependents, and in good health. I have a full time permanent job in the civil service, and my sick pay is six months full pay followed by 3 months half pay.

I don't have a huge amount of assets but I am a homeowner - there is probably around £35k worth of equity in my flat and another £5k in savings. At the moment I don't have a will or life insurance. Everything would go to my parents if anything happened to me, and they know generally what I'd want them them to do with any assets which might remain. My parents are both late 50s but both in good health and would probably be able to take any decisions on what to do with assets etc if needed. Same with my sister.

Would it be worth me buying life insurance? I have considered it regarding sick pay, but my job sick pay is really good and I have no dependents. It's never seemed worth it, but not sure if I am making a stupid decision!

[Deleted User] · 9 December 2017 at 1:48PM

If you have no dependants and you aren't too worried what happens to your assets when you die there is no point having life insurance.

dunstonh · 9 December 2017 at 5:14PM

I have a full time permanent job in the civil service, and my sick pay is six months full pay followed by 3 months half pay.

Dont forget your death in service.

Would it be worth me buying life insurance?

What is the financial loss it would be covering?

Is there any point taking out an insurance you dont need when you have plenty that you do need (but havent mentioned - such as PHI, CIC etc)

Aretnap · 9 December 2017 at 6:21PM

If you have no dependants, and no immediate likelihood of having dependants, then you don't need life insurance.

At a push, there's an argument for getting life insurance when you're young and healthy even if you have no dependants, just in case somewhere down the line you do get dependants at a time when you have health problems which make it difficult to get life insurance (maybe you marry a nurse you meet on the diabetes ward, as happened to a friend of mine...) - but I'd rank planning for a set of events like that as a fairly low priority personally.

I'd echo the suggestion that you should think about permanent health insurance and/or critical illness cover before you think about life insurance. It's good that you have a job which offers 9 months sick pay - but would you pay the bills for the other 34 and a quarter years of your working life if you get a condition which prevents you from working again? And getting in illness or injury which stops you from working for many years is actually quite a lot more likely to happen than dying young... You could keep the cost of PHI down by choosing a 9 month deferral period (ie it would only start paying when the sick pay dries up).

If you do get critical illness cover then you may well find that the cost of adding life insurance to it is pennies or even zero - in which case the argument in paragraph 2 becomes more convincing - but I wouldn't get life insurance for its own sake in your position.

csgohan4 · 10 December 2017 at 11:16PM

If no dependants, focus your money on income protection

However bare in mind that insurance is cheaper the younger you get it. You may want to have dependants in future and that maybe too late to get a cheap premium, something to think about.

Also look at the small print for the death in service, some are full of exclusions, NHS for example

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/your-practice/practice-topics/pensions/family-of-gp-locum-who-died-on-day-off-denied-death-in-service-benefits/20010259.article

Life Insurance as a young single person

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