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Kiplinger
Kiplinger
Business
Karl Susman, CPCU, LUTCF, CIC, CSFP, CFS, CPIA, AAI-M, PLCS

When Is the Perfect Time to Buy Life Insurance?

A young husband and wife smile and laugh as they look at a laptop at the kitchen table while their toddler is in the woman's lap.

You love your insurance company as much as the next person, and paying premiums to it is right up there with paying your taxes. I’m frequently asked by clients when is the right time to buy life insurance; they don’t want to pay premiums longer than is absolutely necessary. I hear this from twentysomethings, thirtysomethings, 40, 50, even folks in their 70s and 80s. My answer is always the same: The best time to purchase life insurance is before you die.

I may be oversimplifying to some extent since some life insurance policies are meant to be acquired early in life, as they provide living benefits, savings, tax benefits and all sorts of other perks. At its core, life insurance is structured to pay a lump sum of moola when you shuffle off your mortal coil. So if we’re just looking for that result — a death benefit when you die — when do you buy?

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