Myth 1:  I Don't Need It

   May Want To Rethink This Thought...

If you are single, you don’t need it.

There are many reasons single people buy life insurance. For example, you may have children, be planning to marry or have aging parents who are financially dependent on you. Another unpleasant but important consideration: Your benefits can pay for your burial costs.

Life insurance would also help if you’re single and own a business or have major co-signed debt.

“No one wants to think about dying or how it will affect your loved ones, but a policy could mean that no one else ends up encumbered with your debt,” Feldman says.

If you are young and healthy, you don’t need it.

Your life insurance needs depend on many factors, but if possible, it’s better to buy a policy when you’re young and healthy and it costs the least. For example, NerdWallet’s life insurance comparison tool shows a policy that costs $12 a month at age 30 will cost about $32 a month at age 50. Because you’re more likely to develop health problems as you age, the price goes up.

Feldman recalls a client who bought a policy about eight years ago, when he was in his 40s. He now has a terminal illness and would unlikely be able to get that same insurance today. “He’s lucky that he bought it when he didn’t need it,” he says.

If you are a stay-at-home parent you don’t need it.

If you die, who’s going to take care of your children, elderly parents and even your pets? Your surviving spouse may need to hire help, and insurance benefits could help pay for these costs. Stay-at-home parents provide a tremendous benefit to the family, and that void is expensive to fill.