Do College Students Need Life Insurance?

If you are sending your child off to college this fall, you probably will not be making life insurance decisions with them.  Life insurance is not typically included in the slew of benefits universities offer their students.  So, do parents need to consider buying a life insurance policy for their college student?  That can only be answered by you and your family alongside your financial advisor, but recognize that many college students do have coverage.

According to the article "Life Insurance Not Common for College Students" by Jeff Sturgeon on Roanoke.com, less than half of people ages 18 to 24 have life insurance coverage, but this number continues to rise.  LIMRA reported that about 41% of people in this age group had coverage in 2004 and this is up 37% since 1998.  Life insurance has increased for most age groups, but it's interesting that this particular age group keeps seeing an increase.

Many of the reasons to carry life insurance do not apply to college students since they are not generally supporting a family or carry large financial obligations such as a mortgage or car.  With that said, college students are not free from debt.  Not only do they have student loans, but credit card debt can mount and many do have car loans or get behind on rent payments.  Life insurance could end up taking care of these costs but if monthly premiums are challenging to pay it might not be worth it.  This is why it's important to talk to a financial expert to see if it's something to consider.