Life Insurance

Should I Get Life Insurance in My 20s?

Life insurance in your 20s can be a smart move, but not for everyone. If nobody depends on you financially, it may not need to be top of your list yet. But if you have a partner, children, a mortgage, or shared financial commitments, it can be worth putting cover in place earlier while it is often cheaper and easier to arrange.

Will Sharman

Mar 24, 2026

Should you get life insurance in your 20s?

Maybe, but not just because you are in your 20s.

That is the bit most articles get wrong.

Life insurance is not something you buy because you hit a certain age. You buy it because someone would be financially affected if you died. If nobody depends on your income, and you do not have major financial commitments, then life insurance may not be urgent right now. If you do have people relying on you, or a home loan that would leave someone exposed, then it becomes far more relevant.

So the real question is not your age. It is your situation.

When life insurance in your 20s actually makes sense

There are a few common situations where taking out life insurance in your 20s can be a sensible move.

You have a partner who relies on your income

If you live together and share bills, rent or a mortgage, your death would not just be emotional, it could create a financial mess as well. Life insurance can give your partner a lump sum to deal with the practical side of things, whether that means covering housing costs, clearing debts or just buying time to adjust.

You have children

This is where life insurance becomes much easier to justify. If you have children, the question is not really whether life insurance is cheap enough. It is whether the people you leave behind could cope financially without you. In a lot of cases, the answer is no.

You have bought a home

If you have a mortgage, especially a joint mortgage, life insurance is worth a serious look. The right policy can help make sure the person left behind is not stuck trying to cover the mortgage alone or forced into selling the home.

You want to lock in cover while you are healthy

Your 20s are often when you are at your healthiest. That does not guarantee cheap cover forever, but it can make it easier to arrange protection before future medical issues affect the price or the options available. That matters more than most people realise.

When life insurance might not be a priority yet

Not everyone in their 20s needs life insurance, and pretending otherwise is rubbish advice.

If you:

have no partner or children
do not own a home
have no one depending on your income
have limited spare money each month

then life insurance may not be the first thing to sort out.

That does not mean it is a bad idea. It just means it may not be the most useful use of your money right now. In some cases, building savings or looking at income protection makes more sense first.

Why people buy life insurance young

A lot of the ranking pages lean hard on “it’s cheaper when you’re young”, and that is true, but it needs context.

Premiums are often lower

In general, younger applicants in good health can often get lower premiums than someone applying later in life. That is because insurers usually see less immediate risk in covering someone younger.

Your premium can stay fixed

With many policies, the monthly premium stays the same for the full term, as long as the policy itself does not change. That means getting cover earlier can sometimes help you hold on to a lower monthly cost for years.

Future health changes can make things harder

This is one of the stronger arguments for taking cover earlier. You may feel perfectly healthy now, but if that changes later, you could face higher premiums or fewer options. Buying early can remove some of that uncertainty.

Still, low cost on its own is not a good enough reason. Cheap cover is only useful if the cover is solving a real problem.

What type of life insurance might suit someone in their 20s?

This depends on what you are trying to protect.

Level term life insurance

This is often used when you want the payout amount to stay the same for the length of the policy. It can work well if your goal is to leave behind money for a partner, children or general family support.

Decreasing term life insurance

This is usually linked to a repayment mortgage. The cover reduces over time, roughly in line with the mortgage balance. For younger homeowners, this can be a more suitable and lower-cost option than taking out a larger level term policy when the main concern is the mortgage.

Whole of life insurance

This covers you for life rather than a fixed term, but it is usually much more expensive. For most people in their 20s, this is not the first option they need to look at unless there is a very specific reason behind it.

Life insurance vs income protection in your 20s

This matters, and too many blogs brush over it.

Life insurance pays out if you die during the policy term.

Income protection is different. It is there to help if you are unable to work because of illness or injury.

For a lot of people in their 20s, especially if they do not have children yet, the bigger short-term financial risk is not death. It is losing income and still having rent, bills and other costs to pay each month.

That does not mean life insurance is pointless. It means you should be honest about what risk you are actually trying to protect against. In some cases, life insurance is the right move. In others, income protection might be just as important, or more important.

Questions to ask yourself before taking out cover

Before jumping into any policy, ask yourself a few basic questions:

Would anyone struggle financially if I died?

Do I have a mortgage, joint debts or other commitments that would not disappear if I was gone?

Do I want cover in place now while I am younger and likely healthier?

Can I comfortably afford the monthly cost without it becoming another bill I resent?

That last one matters. A policy only helps if you can keep it in place.

Is life insurance in your 20s worth it?

Yes, in many cases it is.

Getting life insurance in your 20s can be a smart move because it is often cheaper when you are younger and in good health. It can also put cover in place before bigger responsibilities arrive, whether that is buying a home, starting a family, or taking on more shared financial commitments.

Even if your situation is still fairly simple, taking out cover earlier can give you more options and help you avoid higher premiums later on. If you already have a partner, children, a mortgage, or anyone who would struggle financially without you, the case becomes even stronger.

The key is making sure the policy matches what you actually need. But as a general rule, yes, life insurance in your 20s can absolutely be worth it.

Final thoughts

Getting life insurance in your 20s is a smart move for most people.

It gives you the chance to put cover in place while it is often cheaper, easier to arrange, and before life gets more complicated. Whether that is a future mortgage, a partner, or starting a family, having something in place early means you are not scrambling to sort it later.

Even if your responsibilities are still building, setting up the right cover now can save you money long term and give you more flexibility as things change.

The key is not whether you should get life insurance in your 20s. It is making sure you get the right type of cover for your situation.

Speak to us today and we will look at where you are now, what you need to protect, and help you put something in place that actually makes sense.