Why (and How) I got a Million Dollar Life Insurance Policy at 27 (2024)

As someone in their late 20s, I have a lot of the financial struggles and priorities that other 20somethings and millennials have.

I’m paying down student loan debt. I bought a house and I’m working through paying that down and making needed updates and changes (none of which are cheap). I’m investing and saving for retirement. All of this and trying to balance travel with my other financial goals.

Regardless of your age, you’re likely in the same boat as me: there are multiple financial priorities fighting for your paycheck.

Why then did I decide to take on another financial burden and get a million dollar life insurance policy at 27?

Despite the endless list of things I could use my money for, I have meant to get life insurance for a few years now. Here’s a few reasons why I did it.

Because I’m Married

The main reason most people get life insurance is because they are married and/or have children. When you are married or are in a serious relationship there is someone else who is making financial decisions based on your current and future income. And when you have children they are obviously relying on your income to support them.

While my wife and I both work and plan on being a dual-income household even when we eventually have kids, it’s clear that the decisions we make are based on both of us bringing in money. From the house we bought to the decision to live where we are, it’s all joint decision making. There are clearly financial implications of these decisions.

I was also greatly influenced during college by Suze Orman’s book The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke. She argued that you have no idea how your significant other will react to a premature death, nor will you know how you will react. I know we all like to think we’d make it out just fine, but in reality it can have a deep impact on your life. It could derail your career and force you to take an extended time off from work, which just makes it more difficult to get back to where you were income-wise.

Her suggestion is to take out more than you think you would need. For our situation, a million dollars is clearly more than we need. But it allows us to know that if the unthinkable happened, finances would be the last thing we have to worry about.

Because I have Debt

Both my wife and I have undergrad student loans that we are paying off, and my wife is in grad school. Beyond that we have a mortgage. This all adds up to a sizable amount of debt that we are paying off jointly, with the assumption that we both will be working to pay it off.

I get it. When you have debt, you want to pay it off as quickly as possible. Having an extra payment for an insurance policy does not help that cause. But what if your significant other passes away unexpectedly? You have to face the reality that all the debt would fall on your plate.

This goes back to my other point that the last thing you want to deal with when you have a loved one pass away unexpectedly is money. Having a life insurance policy – especially one that is worth a million dollars or more, can take that completely out of the equation. Debts can be paid off, and then some, to allow you to cope with the loss without having the burden of debt weigh over you.

Because I Can Lock in a Rate Now

One reason I refuse to pay more than the minimum on my mortgage is because of the incredible interest rate we have: 3.25%. Stocks are *almost* guaranteed to beat 3.25% over the course of thirty years, perhaps by a wide margin. It’s pretty awesome that we have the ability to lock in that interest rate for such a long time period.

Life insurance to a great extent is based on your health history. The younger and healthier you are, the less risk you are to those underwriting the policy. Locking in your rate in your 20s or early 30s can be a good way to ensure you are paying the lowest possible premiums over the next couple of decades.

These are my reasons for signing up for a million dollar life insurance policy at a relatively young age. If this has piqued your interest and you want to see what life insurance would cost you, read on as I describe how I got my policy.

How I Got My Life Insurance Policy – and How You Can Too

It’s probably worth an entire separate post explaining the life insurance process and exactly how easy or difficult it was, but it’s worth mentioning at a high level how I went about getting my life insurance policy.

One thing many people know about me is that I hate having to actually talk to someone on the phone if it can be avoided. Life insurance is something where I don’t want to sit on the phone with someone providing information that could be more easily entered online.

I got my online price quotes through PolicyGenius. PolicyGenius collects a small amount of information about you and instantly shows you quotes from various insurance companies. What I liked about this is I didn’t have to meet with someone in-person who sells policies, nor did I have to talk to someone on the phone. It was done entirely online.

Getting quotes through Policy Genius is an easy way to see what life insurance may cost you with no commitment.