1. Lock in low life insurance rates early
The #1 reason to buy life insurance when you’re young is to lock in low rates early.
As you’re reading this, you’re eligible for life insurance rates that are lower than they’ll ever be again in your lifetime. That’s because age is a key factor that life insurance companies use in underwriting to predict your mortality and the risk of claims on your policy. The older you are, the closer you are (statistically) to death — and the closer your insurer is to having to pay your claim.
It’s not a scare tactic or a sales angle: it’s just how life insurance premiums are calculated.
Buying life insurance as young as possible makes sense, even if you’re not quite sure where your life (and your finances) are headed, because term life insurance premiums are fixed for your whole policy term. If you purchase a policy in your 20s, your loved ones will be covered when you’re in your 40s, and you’ll be paying a much lower rate than if you’d waited to buy the policy.
According to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, the median age of life insurance policyholders in Canada ranges from 34 to 48.
How much could you save by buying life insurance at 20 vs. 40?
To give you a sense of how much you could actually save by buying early, we compared the changing cost of a term life insurance policy from PolicyMe. We calculated the difference in cost of a $500,000 policy with five different term lengths for a healthy, non-smoking 20-year old applicant, then ran the same calculations for a 40-year-old applicant: still non-smoking, still in good health, but 20 years older.
The result?
Customers who buy term life insurance from PolicyMe at age 20 can save from $649 to $40K+ over their whole policy term compared to those who buy at age 40.
* Savings shown are based on rates calculated for a $500,000 term life insurance policy from PolicyMe for a healthy non-smoker in Ontario at ages 20 and 40. These are sample rates pulled November 20, 2025.
In other words, by waiting to buy life insurance until you’re in your 40s, you could pay anywhere from $60/year to $1,000+/year extra based on your age alone — even if you’re in perfect health.
- Life insurance premiums increase by about 8% per year as you age.
- Men stand to save around 25% more than women by purchasing life insurance at a young age.
- Term 10 life insurance sees the smallest variations in pricing based on age.
2. Access larger coverage amounts
Young life insurance applicants don’t just pay lower rates; they can actually buy more insurance coverage.
Let’s compare the cost of a 20-year $500,000 life insurance policy at different ages.
These are PolicyMe sample rates for a healthy non-smoker in Ontario pulled November 20, 2025.
As you age, larger life insurance amounts will grow steadily out of reach. Buying young can help you maximize your coverage without overpaying.
3. Get approved more easily while you’re healthy
Life insurance premiums don’t just change with age. Unless you purchase no medical life insurance (which we don’t recommend), they’re also based on an insurance company’s evaluation of your overall health, and that’s subject to change at any life stage.
- 46% of Canadians live with at least one major chronic disease (e.g. high blood pressure, arthritis) as of 2023.
- The risk of chronic illness increases with age.
Fully underwritten life insurance is the most affordable option for Canadians in good health. But if you’re diagnosed with a serious health condition, you might not be eligible for the same attractive rates on a fully underwritten plan. You could even be denied coverage or see your death benefit capped.
If you’re currently in good health and don’t smoke, purchasing life insurance before your health has the opportunity to change could mean the difference between affordable premiums and generous coverage and a last-resort guaranteed acceptance policy that caps out at $500,000 or less.
Over 60% of applicants aged 50 and under are approved instantly for life insurance from PolicyMe, with coverage amounts up to $2M — all without a medical exam.
4. Protect your future family and financial promises
If you’re still in your 20s, you may feel as though you’re not ready for life insurance, especially if you haven’t yet set major financial goals like homeownership or starting a family.
If you’re struggling to make ends meet, life insurance might not be the best financial priority for you right now. But life insurance could be a wise investment — even if you’re just starting your financial plans — if:
The bottom line: Buying young means future-proof life insurance
At PolicyMe, we believe that the best life insurance is the life insurance that offers maximum coverage at the lowest price.
The younger you are when you first buy life insurance, the larger and more affordable your family’s financial safety net will be. If you have room in your budget for a life insurance policy, you can use PolicyMe’s free online life insurance calculator to estimate how much life insurance you need for peace of mind.
FAQs: Benefits of life insurance at a young age
