Should I get life insurance in my 20s? [Guide 2025]

Q: Can you change your life insurance policy?

Yes, some insurers offer a ' special events clause ' where your policy can be changed to reflect any additional changes in your life. This is also known by some insurers as a ‘ guaranteed insurability option ’. Because you can experience a rapid amount of change throughout your 20s and beyond, some insurers will let you amend your policy if: You’ve recently got married or divorced You’ve had a child You’ve moved house and increased your mortgage You’ve secured a new job Providing these options are offered, you would be able to amend the policy by either: Reducing/increasing the sum assured Reducing/increasing the length of your policy

Q: Can you buy life insurance online?

Yes, you can purchase life insurance online through Reassured. The process is similar to purchasing life insurance over the phone and will require completing a questionnaire with your key information and the required sum assured. You’ll be able to check quotes from some of the UK’s leading life insurance companies to secure the policy best for you. However, if you would prefer or need to ask any questions, you can also call Reassured and one of our friendly experts can help. We can remove all the unnecessary jargon and take the stress out of the application.

Q: Should I get income protection in my 20s?

Income protection is a type of policy which pays a percentage of your income if you’re too ill or injured to work. Where life insurance pays out a lump sum if you pass away, income protection pays out in monthly instalments when you’re too ill or injured to work, imitating a portion of your usual earnings. Income protection can: Pay out up to 70% of your income (depending on the provider) Be taken out with a short-term (up to 2 years) or long-term (until you retire) payment period Be taken out with Reassured's advised service from as little as 20p-a-day This can be a beneficial option if you don’t have adequate savings or are in a position where you don’t receive traditional sick pay benefits - like the self-employed . For those in their 20s who may not have people dependent on them and are more concerned about affording their life expenses if incapacitated, it may be worth considering income protection instead, or alongside a life insurance policy.

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Should I get life insurance in my 20s?

Why get life insurance at a young age?
Pros and cons of life insurance in your 20s?
Why get life insurance in your 20s?
Who should get life insurance?
What type of life insurance do you need in your 20s?
What age is best to get life insurance?
How much does life insurance cost in your 20s?
Can you change your life insurance policy?
Can you buy life insurance online?

Why get life insurance at a young age?

It could be possible to obtain some of the cheapest premiums available when securing life insurance in your 20s.

Life insurance can be significantly more expensive as you get older, due to an increased risk of health issues and/or lifestyle changes.

Therefore, locking in a fixed premium rate at a younger age could save you money over time, while financially covering your loved ones if the worst was to happen to you.

As there isn’t a set age you should secure life insurance, it’s worth considering it in your 20s. The minimum age to secure life insurance is 18, while the maximum age limit differs between insurers.

The key benefit of purchasing life insurance in your 20s is you could lock in a very low premium for a sustained period.

For example, non-smokers in good health securing £128,000 of level-term life insurance on a 20 year term could pay fixed premiums of:

£3.50 per month if taken at 20 years old
£5.31 per month if taken at 30 years old
£10.27 per month if taken at 40 years old

However, whether life insurance for young adults is worth it is dependent on your individual situation.

Reassured can help you make an informed decision about what type of life insurance is best for you. Our friendly team are available to answer all your questions.

Simply contact us today.

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Why secure life insurance through Reassured in your 20s?

We’re the largest life insurance broker in the UK^*
We’re rated “Excellent” with over 80,000 customer reviews on Trustpilot
Our award-winning team is UK based and can help you through the whole application process
You can buy life insurance online through us quickly & easily
We can answer all your questions and decipher unnecessary jargon
All quotes for those in their 20s are no-obligation, personalised & completely fee-free
Free trust writing service available on most policies - removing/minimising 40% inheritance tax
Quotes can be secured for those in their 20s from as little as £3.50 a month^∅

What are the pros and cons of life insurance in your 20s?

Depending on the type of life insurance you wish to secure, there are reasons for and against taking out cover in your 20s, with the main factors being:

Pros	Cons
Cheaper premiums - On average, new life insurance policies are more expensive the older you are. Being in your 20s with no pre-existing health conditions can help you secure the cheapest available cover over the lifetime of your policy	Possible to outlive the policy - If you secure term-based life insurance, you’re more likely to outlive the term if it’s secured at a younger age
Dependents - You may be married, have children, or relatives that need your financial support. Life insurance can ease fears of their future if you were to pass away	Premiums may have to be paid long-term - While monthly premiums may be cheaper, you’re likely to pay more over the lifetime of life assurance (whole of life) policies
Peace of mind - Life can be unexpected. Knowing those who you would leave behind are financially covered can help provide peace of mind	Disposable income - You may only be starting out in your career, or a student. As a result, you may not currently have spare income for life insurance
You can amend the policy with some providers - If your circumstances change in the future, then you can take out more cover. Alternatively, some insurers offer a guaranteed insurability option to increase your existing cover (available with some policies) and suit your new circumstances	Other protection - You may find other protection more appropriate in your 20s. For example, income protection is an alternative that can help to cover your financial commitments should you become too ill or injured to work

However, everyone’s personal reasons for securing or not securing life insurance will vary.

Our expert team at Reassured can talk you through your options and help you find which cover may be best suited for your circumstances.

Why get life insurance in your 20s?

While you may not have many financial commitments in your 20s, life insurance can help you plan for the future.

The pay out could help to cover:

Mortgage costs - The average UK mortgage debt is £132,378^[1]. Although the average age of a first time buyer in the UK is around 33 years old^[2], if you’re on the property ladder in your 20s, life insurance could help to protect your home should the worst happen.

Your daily living costs - Life insurance could be used to cover some of the daily household costs for your loved ones, including utilities, council tax, food, travel and quality of life money.

Your partner - Whether you’re married, in a civil partnership or co-habiting, you may wish to obtain life insurance or joint life insurance to financially support your loved one if you were to pass away.

Your dependents - If you have children or elderly relatives who rely on you, it can be worth securing life insurance to protect them financially.

Your income - If you passed away, would your family be able to financially continue without your income? Life insurance can provide a lump sum payment which could substitute your income for a period.

You have pre-existing health issues - If you’re concerned about any current health issues you have and how it may impact your family if you were to pass away, it’s worth considering life insurance to help financially support your family in this situation. If you have a pre-existing condition, ensure that it’s covered on any secured policy. You may experience additional loading (higher price) on your policy.

It’s cheaper - As per the table below, life insurance is, on average, at its cheapest for those in their 20s.

Other reasons that people may wish to secure life insurance, which you may currently not be concerned about include:

Funeral costs - The average UK funeral costs £4,141 with the total cost of dying averaging £9,658^[3]. Life insurance can provide a lump sum to cover your funeral costs. This may not be something you’re concerned about in your 20s, but it’s also worth factoring in when considering life insurance.

Inheritance/charity donations - Many people wish to leave a financial legacy to loved ones or important causes when they pass away. You may not be considering this yet, but it can save you from being unable to if the worst was to happen.

Who should get life insurance?

Anyone over the age of 18 can benefit from having life insurance. However, different age groups may find life insurance beneficial for different reasons.

The below gives examples of what you may be facing each decade. However, these are only examples, and everyone experiences their own journey at their own pace:

Those in their 20s - You may have left home and started the first steps into your career. You may have met someone and be looking at your long-term future or be in a partnership and have children.

Because of the exciting and rapid number of changes you may face in your 20s, life insurance can cover a growing family, your home and more.

Those in their 30s - Many people will have left home and be renting, looking at attaining a mortgage or be currently paying a mortgage. You may be married or in a civil partnership and raising children.

As you may be building the foundations of your long-term life in this decade, life insurance can cover these aspects.

Those in their 40s - You may be beginning to experience health issues or have children that are at school age. You may also be progressing further in your career and be well into paying your mortgage.

Life insurance could cover pre-existing health conditions if purchased before developing certain medical conditions. It may also cover your day-to-day life expenses and additional childcare costs.

Those in their 50s - Your children may be starting to leave home and your elderly relatives may be requiring additional support. You may also be looking towards the next stages of your life.

Life insurance could help cover costs to help your children on the property ladder, ensure a partner can retire, or help with elderly relative’s medical costs if the worst were to happen to you.

If you’re experiencing or beginning to experience ill-health, you would be eligible at this age to apply for over 50s life insurance.

Those in their 60s and beyond - You may be beginning to look at retirement options and start to be contemplating your funeral and its costs.

You may have paid off a mortgage by this point and be starting to slow down. Further along, you’ll be progressing to your twilight years and start to think about a financial legacy you can leave.

Life insurance could help cover the majority of funeral costs, help a long-term partner with their retirement or ensure your children are more financially secure by providing an inheritance.

What type of life insurance do you need in your 20s?

While there isn’t a specific life insurance policy for people in their 20s, there are three different types of life insurance which could be beneficial:

Type of life insurance	Term length with Reassured	Maximum sum assured available	How much does it cost through Reassured?	Good for twenty-somethings who
Level term life insurance	Predefined - up to 40 years	Up to £1 million	From 20p-a-day^†	Have interest-based mortgages
Decreasing term life insurance	Predefined - up to 40 years	Up to £1 million	From 20p-a-day^¥	Have repayment based mortgages or are looking for the cheapest possible option
Whole of life insurance	Until you pass away	Up to £1 million	From 27p-a-day^± ^{(available through Reassured's advised service)}	Want to provide a pay out to loved ones when they pass away

Reassured can help you compare quotes for all these policy types to help you find the right policy to meet your needs.

What age is best to get life insurance?

There’s no universal age for securing life insurance. However, the younger you are, the cheaper your premiums are likely to be.

The below table shows example costs of life insurance policies for a non-smoker, in good health, with a 20-year term and £128,000 of cover:

Age	Level term premiums	Decreasing term premiums	Whole of life premiums^x
20	£3.50	£3.50	£73.03
25	£4.25	£3.90	£77.78
30	£5.31	£4.57	£85.51
35	£7.30	£5.19	£99.81
40	£10.27	£6.99	£116.71
45	£15.22	£9.89	£135.68
50	£24.39	£14.77	£145.18

^xWhole of life insurance lasts until you pass away and has no set term

Whole of life insurance is significantly higher in cost, on average, due to lasting until the policy holder passes away.

However, the most important thing to note is buying life insurance in your 20s can allow you to lock in the cheapest premium.

Reassured can help you determine which life insurance policy is best for your individual circumstances. Simply contact us today.

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How much does life insurance cost in your 20s?

Life insurance through Reassured can be secured from as little as £3.50 a month in your 20s.

The below prices are also based on a non-smoker, in good health, with a 20-year term and £128,000 of cover:

Age	Level term premiums	Decreasing term premiums	Whole of life premiums^x
20	£3.50	£3.50	£73.03
21	£3.68	£3.63	£73.91
22	£3.89	£3.69	£74.80
23	£4.02	£3.75	£75.71
24	£4.11	£3.82	£76.63
25	£4.25	£3.90	£77.78
26	£4.45	£4.01	£79.16
27	£4.65	£4.13	£80.56
28	£4.84	£4.31	£82.00
29	£5.05	£4.47	£83.45

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What other factors impact life insurance pricing?

As well as your age, life insurance providers take other factors into consideration when calculating your premiums:

Health - Health complications, or pre-existing medical conditions (those that existed before, or currently exist when, applying) can result in higher premiums
Smoking status - Vapers, smokers, or those who have recently used any form of nicotine product pay more on average. Insurers have differing periods that you need to be nicotine free to be classified as a non-smoker
Occupation - Employment perceived as dangerous, hazardous, or having a risk to your personal safety will result in higher premiums (on average)
Your weight and/or BMI - If you‘re considered overweight or under a healthy weight range, insurers may add an additional loading (amount) to your premiums, due to the associated health risks
Lifestyle choices - This can range from weekly alcohol consumption, your diet and activity levels, drug use and if you partake in any dangerous hobbies or activities. The riskier your lifestyle is perceived by insurers, the higher your premiums will be
Level of cover - The higher the sum assured (the pay out amount), the higher your premiums will be to accommodate this
Length of cover - Shorter term-based policies will be cheaper than longer term-based policies, as they cover a smaller period. This is also why life assurance (whole of life insurance) is more expensive, as it covers you for the rest of your life

It’s essential to accurately disclose this information to ensure your cover is valid when it comes to making a claim.

Failure to do so is known as 'non-disclosure'. This is a type of insurance fraud and can be done intentionally or unintentionally.

If non-disclosure is discovered, either during the policy’s term or upon a policy holder passing away, claims will be unsuccessful, and your loved ones would receive nothing.

Our expert team can ensure all the information on your application is correct and walk you through the whole application process.

Can you change your life insurance policy?

Yes, some insurers offer a 'special events clause' where your policy can be changed to reflect any additional changes in your life.

This is also known by some insurers as a ‘guaranteed insurability option’.

Because you can experience a rapid amount of change throughout your 20s and beyond, some insurers will let you amend your policy if:

You’ve recently got married or divorced
You’ve had a child
You’ve moved house and increased your mortgage
You’ve secured a new job

Providing these options are offered, you would be able to amend the policy by either:

Reducing/increasing the sum assured
Reducing/increasing the length of your policy

Amending a policy will impact the cost of your premiums but may also be cheaper than cancelling and securing a new policy later in life.

Not all insurers offer a special events clause. However, Reassured can determine whether your existing policy has this, or locate you a policy which does.

Can you buy life insurance online?

Yes, you can purchase life insurance online through Reassured.

The process is similar to purchasing life insurance over the phone and will require completing a questionnaire with your key information and the required sum assured.

You’ll be able to check quotes from some of the UK’s leading life insurance companies to secure the policy best for you.

However, if you would prefer or need to ask any questions, you can also call Reassured and one of our friendly experts can help.

We can remove all the unnecessary jargon and take the stress out of the application.

Do you need terminal or critical illness cover in your 20s?

Terminal illness cover and critical illness cover are additional layers of protection. Whether you need them will be based on your personal circumstances and what you’d like to cover.

All term-based life insurance through Reassured comes with terminal illness cover as standard and can include critical illness cover for an additional cost. However, these can't be added to whole of life insurance products at Reassured.

Terminal illness cover allows for early claims to be made if you’ve been diagnosed with a condition which results in you having less than 12 months to live. The sum assured would be received before you pass away and could help you to cover end of life care costs and other wishes you may have.

The policy will expire after the claim is made. Terminal illness cover can't be secured by itself.

Critical illness cover provides a cash lump sum if you have a serious, life changing, illness which isn’t terminal and is listed in the policy by the provided insurer. A claim can be made to cover additional care costs, home adaptations and quality of life changes.

Like terminal illness cover, the policy expires upon a successful claim. However, critical illness cover can be purchased separately with some providers.

If you’re unsure which of these are more beneficial to you, you can check our terminal illness vs critical illness article for more information.

Should I get income protection in my 20s?

Income protection is a type of policy which pays a percentage of your income if you’re too ill or injured to work.

Where life insurance pays out a lump sum if you pass away, income protection pays out in monthly instalments when you’re too ill or injured to work, imitating a portion of your usual earnings.

Income protection can:

Pay out up to 70% of your income (depending on the provider)
Be taken out with a short-term (up to 2 years) or long-term (until you retire) payment period
Be taken out with Reassured from as little as 20p-a-day^‡

This can be a beneficial option if you don’t have adequate savings or are in a position where you don’t receive traditional sick pay benefits - like the self-employed.

For those in their 20s who may not have people dependent on them and are more concerned about affording their life expenses if incapacitated, it may be worth considering income protection instead, or alongside a life insurance policy.

The Reassured advised team offer a whole of market comparison service and can discuss your options for income protection insurance.

Life insurance FAQ

What is the minimum age for life insurance?

You need to be at least 18 years old to secure your own life insurance policy.

Children can be added to some family life insurance policies and be covered for critical illnesses. However, life insurance for young people (those under eighteen) isn’t offered through Reassured.

Is there a maximum age limit for life insurance?

This is dependent on the insurer and type of policy you wish to secure.

The life insurance age limit can range from 70 years old, up to around 85. The exception is life assurance policies (like whole of life insurance) which will cover you until you pass away.

Do my premiums increase as I get older?

No, if you keep your policy and don’t amend its terms, then the premiums you pay will be locked in throughout the policy’s lifetime.

How much cover should I secure?

While there’s no universal amount that someone in their 20s should obtain, it’s important to make sure the cover reflects your personal circumstances.

For example, if you’re taking out a policy to only cover your remaining mortgage, you’ll need to align your sum assured with your remaining mortgage balance.

Secure life insurance in your 20s with Reassured

If you’re in your 20s and are currently considering life insurance, or looking to discuss your options, it’s worth contacting Reassured.

Reassured can compare personalised, fee-free quotes from some of the UK’s top providers - helping you find the cheapest and most accurate life insurance in your 20s for your individual needs.

Our UK based team are award-winning and can support you throughout the complete application process.

Best of all we can help you secure life insurance from £3.50 a month.

Save time and money by comparing quotes through Reassured today.

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