Paul’s dad started pestering his 29-year-old son about buying life insurance soon after Paul got married. Paul kept putting it off. He and his wife wanted to travel. They bought a house. When they had a baby boy who was diagnosed with autism, they decided she would stay home to care for his needs. Money from Paul’s $130,000 salary came in and went out. And Paul lived in the moment through the good times and the bad.

Then a car skipped over a median and split Paul’s car in two. The wide eyes of the driver in the other car were the last thing Paul ever saw.

No one saw it coming. So no one planned for it.

With no death benefit from a life insurance policy, her son’s daycare costs and medical bills, and her inability to earn what Paul had brought in, Paul’s wife filed for bankruptcy five years later.

Most of us are too busy living life to think about what happens when we’re no longer living. But the following statistics may encourage you to stop a minute and take stock.

If you take out your calculator, the math is sobering for the average family with kids. And if you think you can’t afford life insurance, you’re not alone.

According to a recent Bankrate article, 42% of millennial-aged adults think a $250,000 term life insurance policy costs $800 more per year than it really does.

Term insurance makes life insurance doable—especially if you start early.

It’s simple.

You pay a low monthly premium; your loved ones receive a guaranteed lump-sum death benefit.

You decide the benefit amount and the length of coverage you need. Every penny of your paid premiums goes directly toward your death benefit.

Unlike permanent insurance, term insurance does not yield dividends, which allows your family to keep the entire death benefit amount. It frees you to invest your money elsewhere to secure your family’s financial future.

Why tie up your earnings in a permanent policy when it may make more sense to invest them somewhere else?

The sooner you buy, the cheaper it is. A $1 million death benefit will cost a healthy 35-year-old man a monthly premium of around $35.

If your needs change as you get older, you can always adapt the policy to meet those needs by adding clauses when you renew or convert to a more permanent policy with extra features.

Paul’s wife eventually landed on her feet. After her bankruptcy went through, she found an excellent job with a salary that provided her and her son with a healthy standard of living. And when her son grew older, she remarried.

But had Paul listened to his dad, he could have saved his wife and son from darkly desperate times.

Protecting your family costs less than you think. Get online life insurance quotes today.

But do you really need life insurance as a single person? It depends. You need it if you have people who depend on you financially or think you will in the future. A life insurance policy gives them financial comfort should they lose you.

A couple of tips if you are providing financial support for your family and shopping for term life insurance quotes online:

Be mindful of how you answer the questions associated with the online life insurance calculator. Treat the children you provide for as if they were your own and treat elderly family members under your care as beneficiaries. You can name more than one beneficiary on your policy.

1.      Life insurance is a reasonable solution for single people carrying debt either alone or with another. Should you die before it’s paid off, your co-signer will have to pay all of it.

Student debt is the biggest culprit, especially if you took out a private loan. It’s a bit less dire if you opted for a federal student loan because they’re discharged upon the debtor’s death.

Other types of debts to consider with or without a co-signer:

 

2.      Your health. Are you healthy and plan to stay that way? Are there hereditary health conditions that run in your family that may crop up in your own life later?

If you anticipate health problems as you age, life insurance may make sense. Term life insurance policies can be converted to a permanent policy without having to submit to a medical exam that can prevent you from qualifying for whole life or other permanent policies down the line.

3.      Burial expenses. Do you want to avoid having your family foot the bill for your funeral?

Funerals currently hover around $7,000. The Insurance you receive from your job may cover these expenses. However, if there are medical costs involved, you may want extra insurance to cover those costs. Your family wants to remember you. Not your debt.

4.      Legacy. Perhaps you want to leave a bit of money to your favorite charity or set up a scholarship fund in your name. You can assign that nonprofit as a beneficiary. (Remember, you can assign more than one beneficiary to a single policy.)

A term life policy is the best option if you’re single. It’s inexpensive and you decide for how long you want coverage. If you want to convert it to a permanent policy later you can do so with no medical exam and have the opportunity to invest part of your premium to accrue cash value. This is particularly useful if you anticipate future health challenges.

Permanent Insurance provides life coverage and accrues cash value. You can use permanent life insurance as an investment and use the cash value for things like home purchases, college expenses or to fund your retirement.

If you’re healthy, financially independent, and debt-free, you may not need life insurance while you’re single. A life insurance quote for the best term insurance rates from an online calculator is free. It can’t hurt.