You just graduated from law school and landed your first job with a national law firm, you specialize in intellectual property law and you already know that you will make a huge income, or the at least increasing compensation in your second year of practice. You are not worried about life insurance or should you be, even though your long suffering wife who waited tables for 3 years to help your parents put you through law school has just informed you over lunch that she is pregnant. You fit the common your professional profile of exactly who needs life insurance.

Of course, most young graduates who are fortunate enough to find immediate employment and virtually immediate group life and health benefits [which usually begins after 30 or 60 or an unbelievable 90 days of employment at most companies] do not consider the gap in coverage that the group life and heath insurance plans do not cover.
If you are like my example within this article, you may be living in an apartment still, but may purchase a home in a couple years to accommodate your growing family. You and your wife may have stressful student loans to pay off, especially your ivy league law education. While you are still young and without ailments, it is best to purchase a substantially large termlife insurance policy with return of premium. This is relatively a new feature I term life insurance that rewards you for outliving your policy’s term limit. In your case, a 20 year termlife policy with return of premium rider attached to it would be a wise choice. After you wife gives birth to your first child she should apply for a smaller termlife policy in case something were to happen to her while the children were still “nest-bound” –that is under the age of 18, or still in high school.

The death benefit from her policy could, if she should die suddenly, would be enough to help raise the children while you adjusted your work schedule to accommodate the life changing event. life insurance for young professionals is severely undervalued by young hires who are beginning their productive careers. While you are in your late twenties and married, it is an absolute must to have some form of life insurance –independent of any coverage you may be receiving at work. When you are 28 , with a healthy weight, non-smoking and without any major illness history—insurance premiums are pennies on the dollar for potentially large policies that can provide coverage for 20 or 30 years at a locked in, guaranteed monthly premium that does not change. By the time your children reach college and your mortgage have been paid off , or paid down considerably, you will no longer shoulder the risk of income loss if you should die suddenly. You can at that point in the future, buy another insurance policy or in fact renew your termlife policy [some insurance carriers have this provision in their termlife policies] for a smaller death benefit face amount.

Many young married couples make the mistake of valuing the life insurance coverage provided at their worksite. Worksite coverage usually a no-frill group plan, has its limitations and the amount of the death benefit is usually less than $100,000 of coverage. This amount is not a bad start but inadequate for young married couples with growing families or where one spouse is the sole income generator, or couples that have significant financial obligations such as a hefty mortgage or, as in this new depressed economy one of their retired parents has moved into their home and the household has become an extended family with new medical bills. The financial responsibility of the sole income earner can balloon suddenly in the early years of the marriage, health profiles can drastically change just as quickly. Waiting until you are sick or faced with life threatening illness is too late to apply for major life insurance. Most young professionals are confident that they will not encounter major health illnesses or sudden accidental death. Considerably, young families with more than one child are at the most vulnerable financial risk matrix then married couples with grown children and little or no mortgage.

A term life insurance policy with a return of premium rider is ideal for young families, the policy holder will pay a slightly higher monthly premium than standard term life insurance with no return of premium rider but at the end of the term period—whether it be 15 years or 20 years, this money [the accumulated premiums over the course of the term period] will be paid back to the policy holder. A young family can use this money for their childrens’ college tuition or purchase an entirely new life insurance policy to cover the remainder of the policy holder’s natural life. This is the way life insurance should be strategized: large policy death benefits that match or surpass the risk exposure a young couple faces and decreased amounts of life insurance when the couple’s risk exposure decreases with the maturity of their children and the decrease or non-existent mortgage obligation.

Many young professionals are considerably worried about their new employer’s 401k contribution level, but what they should be worried about and inquire about is the level of life insurance protections and the provisions and declarations of the actual group policy. If you were fired from your job or if you decide to leave favorably and pursue new employment with a different employer. You must inquire if your group life insurance policy is convertible to an individual life policy without a medical exam. If it is convertible then you have a viable option of retaining very cheap life insurance after your employment has ended. Usually, young corporate careerists will jump companies at least 2 times before settling down at their final corporate destination for the remainder of their professional life until retirement. Along the way it is a good idea not only to take your 401k from your previous employer but also your life insurance if you can convert it to an individual policy. Young couples that finish graduate school together and then marry before beginning their dream jobs should take the time and care to meet with a trusted life insurance professional to talk about their life event horizons; when they plan on having children and buying a house namely. The two major events can have very direct impacts on who continues to work, or who is forced to work a different job in order to accommodate the new financial risk exposure.

And what if the working spouse where to have a permanently disabling accident , some life insurance policies have “riders” special that for additional monthly premium—will pay out a smaller benefit and or a series of payments over a specified period to accommodate the transition and loss of work from a major debilitating illness or impairment. In conclusion , there are many other financial consideration to think about before purchasing life insurance as a young married couple. These considerations must be explored with a licensed life insurance agent in your state, and definitely avoid buying life insurance over the phone.