The best answer to this question is that you should get life insurance as soon as you get a life. When do you get insurance on your car? Your house? Your phone? Generally, you get insurance as soon as you get them. Why? In part because some of these things require it, but also because these are important and you want to protect yourself from potential financial risk.
As a rule, life insurance can be obtained as early as 15 days of age (depending upon health) and it is always best to get life insurance as soon as possible. While we don't expect to need it at such a young age, life comes without guarantees. Nothing could be harder than losing a loved one, especially a child, except losing a loved one and not having the money to provide a decent burial. No one wants to beg for money, especially during a time of loss and grief. I have a few clients who have experienced this tragedy who would agree with me. Besides, life insurance is cheapest at birth and there are policies that can be paid up in 10-20 years so your child will always have coverage.
I've noticed that most people have little knowledge about life insurance and there are many misconceptions.
There's the belief that life insurance is an entitlement that anyone can get at any time, regardless of health or other factors. This is not true. Life insurance companies use guidelines to determine whether or not they'll assume the risk of insuring an individual. Guidelines vary between policies as well as companies. Some companies do offer policies with no health questions asked for certain ages of people, but these are generally more expensive and don't take full effect for 2-3 years.
People also often believe the cost of insurance will be the same for everyone of the same age. Again, this is not true. Cost of insurance is based upon many factors, including: age, gender, health, lifestyle, credit history, criminal history, driving history, employment, height/weight, and more. This is why the best day to apply for life insurance is today (with few exceptions). None of us get younger and most don't get healthier with age.
Another misconception people have is that they can drop their insurance and pick it back up easily for the same price. Obviously, if you took out your insurance when you were younger, dropped it, then tried to get it again, you would have to pay a higher rate based upon your attained age and any other changes in your history. One seemingly healthy, young client let her insurance lapse when her budget got tight last year. Unfortunately, after dropping her insurance she had a stroke from which she hasn't fully recovered. It was shocking to everyone that this could happen. Her cousin inquired recently about reinstating her policy and I had to give her the bad news. She simply can't get back what she had. She has only one very expensive option for coverage until she is able to put together at least 2-3 consecutive years of good health. It's truly heartbreaking. Hopefully her story shared here will help prevent someone reading this from making the same mistake.
One last point to make before you rush out to get coverage. There are different types of life insurance and each serves a different purpose. It is inadvisable to buy life insurance without consulting an expert. Yes, any insurance is better than none at all; but getting the wrong type of insurance can have negative consequences down the road. Just because there are companies that will sell it online or over the phone doesn't mean it's a good idea to purchase it that way. Having an agent could save you a lot of money both now and in the long haul by guiding you to the best option and rate for your particular goals and unique situation (at no extra charge to you). Just like you would see a doctor for health problems rather than going online to diagnose and treat yourself, you should let a qualified expert help you with this too. Insurance professionals have a wealth of knowledge that can benefit you more than you could imagine.
To wrap things up, if you don't have life insurance you should get some as soon as possible for yourself and everyone in your family. Find a good agent (one you can trust to be completely honest with you and put your personal best interest ahead of his/her own), and schedule an appointment for a consultation. Life on this earth is a temporary gift and we don't want our loved ones in financial crisis when we leave.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found some value here. If you have any questions, comments, or would like a consultation, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment or send me a message.