Life insurance can be an important tool to consider in any financial plan. It can provide valuable financial protection following a tragic event such as death or a serious illness or accident. There are many insurers that offer life insurance products with a wide range of coverage options.
Many people use an Insurance Broker or Insurance Adviser like Experien Insurance Services to get advice on life insurance and to act as an intermediary to arrange and manage the insurance cover with one or more of the insurers.
This article discussed some high level considerations that are typical of various stages of life based on age. The article uses broad generalisations that will not necessarily match your own specific circumstances. Each person has unique goals, circumstances and objects that should be considered before considering this further. We can consider these circumstances to provide personal advice tailored for you.
Life insurance policies are generally designed to help protect you and your family financially if something unexpectantly happens to your health. The level of financial commitments you have may change as you get older, so it’s important to consider regularly reviewing and adjusting your level of cover if you need to. Here are some of the broad and illustrative considerations at each life stage when it comes to taking out life insurance:
Early 20s
At this age, depending on the nature of the work you do, you may want to consider taking out some types of life insurance (such as income protection) for the first time. You likely won’t have any dependents to look after at this age, but you will start to have financial responsibilities of your own such as rent and bills. If your super balance is more than $6,000, you may have a default level of insurance in your public offer superannuation fund that you may want to consider as part of any review of your finances.1
Late 20s and early 30s
At this age, you may start to think about buying a home for the first time or starting a family. This is where you may want to review your financial commitments and think about taking out life insurance, or adjusting your level of cover if you already have insurance. Your financial commitments, such as mortgages, become more serious, and you may need to consider including dependents in your financial planning. You could consider a number of different cover types such as income protection, total permanent disablement (TPD), death cover, trauma insurance and child cover. You can find more information on the different cover types by contacting us.
Late 30s to late 40s
It’s likely that you will already have some level of insurance cover in place by this age, but you might want to consider regularly reviewing your cover levels over time as your financial circumstances change. For instance, if you take on a bigger mortgage, start to pay school fees for your children, start a business, go through a separation, or take on caring responsibilities for an older relative, these are all stages where it is worth potentially taking another look at your insurance arrangements.
50s and older
At this age, you may want to review your cover and potentially downsize any life insurance arrangements. Your financial commitments may be less substantial than in your 30s and 40s, unless you are still paying off your home or other debts. Your focus may shift to looking after your spouse or partner financially if you were to pass away suddenly. Trauma insurance might also be beneficial to consider, as your risk of serious illness increases when you get older and are not able to be as physically active.2
If you are not an existing client, and want to find out how we can add value to any existing cover you may have or new cover you may need, then contact us to arrange a complimentary review that comes with no obligations by clicking the link below.
This is general information and limited in its scope. If you are considering buying or replacing a Life Insurance policy then contact us to arrange a review for you. We can consider your individual circumstances, goals and needs and recommend a suitable insurer, product and structure to use. Experien Insurance Services work with several insurers and have extensive experience in helping to arrange claims.
At the time of writing, Life insurance and Financial Advice services are provided by Experien Insurance Services Pty Ltd (EIS) ABN 99 128 678 937 and Experien Financial Services Pty Ltd (EFS) ABN 32 631 346 757. EIS and EFS are a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 320626 and No. 1274354) Count Financial Limited ABN 19 001 974 625, AFSL 227232. See our website for our Financial Services Guide and latest AFSL arrangements. Always read the Product Disclosure Statement issued by an Insurer before considering insurance.
