Winnipeg Insurance Brokers Ltd. Unit 106-2565 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3J 0P4
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In your 20s and 30s and already thinking about health and life insurance? You’re right to be! So many young adults miss the opportunity to buy insurance while they’re young and healthy—and when the monthly premiums and rates available to them are as low as they’ll ever be.
Our goal with this post is to make health and life insurance easy for Manitobans like you: young adults in their 20s and 30 who want to be proactive, take advantage of the opportunities available to them, and make the most of their chance to get out ahead.
Buying insurance as a young adult just makes sense. There are so many reasons why it’s advantageous for you, from both an insurance and a financial perspective.
For certain types of policies, a big factor when it comes to determining your rates is your age. Typically, the younger you are when you lock-in your policy, the more affordable your insurance premiums will be. (Even if you bought the same policy later in life, and you were still healthy at that time, you could expect to pay higher premiums!)
Types of policies that consider your age as a factor are life insurance policies and those that offer living benefits, like Critical Illness and Disability Insurance. (Living benefits are a type of payout you can rely on if you suffer from a covered illness or injury while you’re living, whereas the proceeds from a life insurance policy can only be claimed after the policy holder has passed away.)
Another factor insurance companies sometimes use to determine your rates is your health. Sometimes, new applicants are subject to a medical exam. The results of that exam can affect what you pay—the healthier you are, the smaller your premiums are likely to be. So if you’re young and healthy, now is the time to lock-in lower rates. They’ll likely be the lowest rates you’ll ever be offered!
Your health can change in an instant, and your insurability will change alongside it. So it’s important to insure yourself when you’re in good health—not after a big health change (when you may not even qualify anymore).
The great thing about many life insurance options is that you can buy what’s called a “whole-life policy” when you’re young. This type of policy locks in the low rates you get for being young and healthy for the life of the policy—even as you age, and even if you get sick! (This is why we recommend that parents consider insurance for children, even as infants—to guarantee their insurability into adulthood and as their health changes.)
Buying insurance as a young adult builds good financial habits. By investing in policies that benefit you financially, what you’re really doing is investing in yourself and your future.
Investing in yourself through different insurance policies is smart because it gets you into the routine of paying insurance premiums and gives you an early understanding of the value of each of your policies. And, as your income grows, the locked-in monthly premiums you pay won’t, so the amount you pay each month will seem less and less significant.
Buying insurance young also helps you establish credit ratings and other factors that can contribute positively to your future financial decisions. For example, having an insurance policy on your belongings when you rent an apartment (a policy known as Tenant’s Insurance), helps build your profile and your potential for discounted rates when you move into a house later on!
If you drive, you probably know you need auto insurance. And if you travel, odds are you’re familiar with travel insurance. But have you considered all of the other types of insurance that, as a young Manitoban, you can benefit from? We recommend taking the time to learn about these 6 key types of insurance for young adults:
You can do this learning on your own by continuing to read this post AND checking out our Insurance for Young Adults resource page. Here you’ll find more information on all the insurances we listed above, plus a few others we think you just may need (hello stress, free winter ski vacation!).
It’s so beneficial to purchase insurance while you’re young and healthy, because your health insurance premiums will be very low at this point. When a young person buys life insurance, they almost always lock-in the lowest possible premiums and they’re way less likely to have exclusions or declines put on their plans—something that becomes more common as we get older and if we apply for insurance pre-existing conditions.
The cost of health insurance for 20- to 30-year-olds depends on a few factors, including the health and age of the person buying the insurance and the type of plan they’re looking for. That said, it’s possible to find plans for as low as $20 per month!
Every policy is different, so be sure to read up on the specifics of your family’s plan. But typically, a child can be considered a dependent while they’re full-time in school up to age 25.
A group policy at work is great to have, and if your employer is offering you one, you should definitely go on it! But it’s important to remember that group policies are only good for as long as you’re with that specific company. Also, you won’t have any ownership over the group policy, meaning you won’t control the types of benefits that are offered. Think of it as renting coverage from your company for the time you’re with them. Renting is better than nothing, but if you can swing it, “owning” your health insurance is ideal.
Other considerations for group policies are that they typically place limits on most of their benefits, and they’re often subject to the size of the company, so bigger companies tend to have more lucrative plans (although that’s not always the case).
Group policies are also likely to have:
Be sure to read over your policy booklet as soon as you get it, and ask any questions you might have. The worst time to find out how good or bad your policy is is when you need to claim on it!
Just like with health insurance, it’s incredibly beneficial to purchase life insurance while you’re young and healthy. Premiums will be lower, and you’re way less likely to face exclusions. If you’re able to secure this coverage for yourself and your family, do it as soon as possible!
People seem to think that life insurance companies regularly deny claims, but this isn’t true. The only time a life insurance claim wouldn’t be paid is generally if:
Your insurance company will do so much due diligence before they issue your policy that as long as you’re truthful and honest on your application, you’ll be eligible to receive your coverage when you need it. (They wouldn’t do this if they were just going to deny all claims!)
Some folks believe that buying life insurance is difficult, confusing, and expensive. But it’s really not—especially when you have an Insurance Advisor on your side. A good Advisor will simplify the process and make sure you get the coverage you need while keeping your budget in mind.
Many people believe they’ve got all the coverage they need through their employee group insurance program. But as we mentioned above, while a group plan is fantastic, it’s not everything—and it’s not enough. (You have no control over your coverage or the premiums you pay, and if you leave your company, you don’t take the coverage with you.) The best thing for young Manitobans to do is take out personal life and/or health insurance plans that supplement their employee coverage.
Some people think that only the “breadwinners” of the family need life insurance coverage. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Managing a home is a full-time job. (If stay-at-home parents and homemakers were paid, they’d be making the big bucks!) The cost of replacing all of the in-home labour for taking care of a family would be higher than most people think. (Childcare alone can be a major cost!)
For different reasons depending on all of our different lives and situations, everybody needs life insurance. Because sadly, we will all pass away one day. No matter how young and healthy you are, or how much money you make, nobody wants their families to have to figure out how to pay for their funeral, or the expenses they leave behind, like accumulated debt, on top of grieving such a major loss. (The cost of the average funeral is up to $10,000!)
For young, 20- and 30-year-old Manitobans, we recommend:
We recommend talking to an Insurance Advisor about all of these types of insurance and the options available to you, so you can make the best coverage decision together.
Individual insurance plans can be tailored to your budget and needs, so it really depends on your lifestyle and the plan you choose. That said, the cost of life insurance for a person in their 20s or 30s is around $20-60/Month.
Children can (and should) be insured. Because health and age are factors that influence insurability and the premiums they pay, locking in coverage while they’re young protects their insurability into their adulthood. Even if they get sick later in life, they’ll always have coverage, and their rates won’t go up. We recommend insuring your children with life insurance and critical illness insurance.
For other family members, we always recommend critical illness insurance. Disability insurance is another good option—it depends upon each family member’s occupation.
The best times to buy insurance really depend on the types of insurance you are looking to buy. But typically, the earlier you buy, the better.
For permanent life insurance and critical illness insurance policies, we recommend buying as early as you can. If you’re buying for your kids, you can do it as soon as they’re born! This locks in their premiums, guarantees their insurability, and can provide them with access to cash when they need it. You’re giving them financial protection they can have forever, and all the benefits of buying adult insurance at childhood rates.
For term life insurance insurance policies, you may be tempted to wait until you’re older—many people do!—but we still recommend buying as soon as you can. Typically, a life event triggers the need for insurance. People tend to wait to buy until they’re carrying debt, or until an event like marriage, having children, getting divorced, or retirement motivates a policy purchase. And while these are all great times to get a policy, you may not want to wait that long.
Remember, factors like age and health can affect your premiums, so the younger and healthier you are when you buy insurance, the better!
When you’re young, getting insurance can be unnecessarily stressful. The questions of what types of insurance you should get, what you can put off for a few years, and which options will save you the most money can make the whole thing feel very overwhelming.
We get it, we’ve been there, and we want to help! That’s why we’ve put together an Insurance for Young Adults resource page to make this process easier. Here we help you discover how to maximize your coverage and financial potential while minimizing your premium costs.
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We love it here, too.
We are committed to the communities where we live and work, and we demonstrate our commitment by taking part in sponsorship and volunteer programs.
Winnipeg Insurance Brokers Ltd. Unit 106-2565 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3J 0P4