Does It Ever Make Sense to Get Life Insurance if You Don't Have Kids?

by Maurie Backman 

Getty Images

Key points

• You may have people in your life other than children who depend on you financially.
• It would help if you didn't assume that being child-free means life insurance isn't a necessity.

Check out our picks for the best life insurance

Having kids is a big commitment. You're effectively signing up to care for and worry about another living being for the rest of your life. And you're also signing up to bear the cost of raising children, which, these days, is far from inexpensive.

Now, many people decide to put life insurance in place once they have kids. The logic is that they want to make sure their children are protected financially if they're no longer around.

But what if you don't have kids and know for certain that you won't be bringing any into the world? Does that mean you should give life insurance a hard pass?

It's not just kids who can benefit from life insurance payouts

It's easy to see why having kids might be a catalyst for buying life insurance. But let's be very clear -- there are still many other use cases for purchasing life insurance, even without kids in the mix.

If you're not sure if you should buy life insurance or not, the big question to ask yourself is if anyone in your life might get hurt financially in the event you're no longer around. If the answer is "yes," then life insurance could make a lot of sense even if children aren't in the picture.

Let's say you're in a child-free marriage, and you and your spouse both work. You might think you don't need to buy life insurance to cover your spouse because they have a means of earning money in your absence.

More: Check out our top picks for life insurance companies

But what if you and your spouse own a home together that your spouse couldn't pay for on a single salary? If you were to leave your spouse money in the form of a life insurance payout, that could make it so your spouse can swing that mortgage solo without having to sell your home and move.

Perhaps you're not married. But maybe you help your aging parents by shuttling them around town becathey cannote to drive themselves. If you were to pass away, the cost of hiring someone for transportation could be prohibitive for your parents. But if you were to buy life insurance and designate your folks as your beneficiaries, you could eliminate that burden.

Kids aren't the only factor to consider

Indeed, many people who buy life insurance do so to protect their children. But there are plenty of good reasons to obtain coverage even if you don't have kids now and have no plans to have kids in the future.

You never know when your untimely passing might negatively impact a beloved adult in your life. And those people are worth protecting just as kids are.

The good news about buying life insurance is that it doesn't have to cost a fortune. If you purchase a term life policy with a modest benefit attached to it, you may find that your premium costs fit pretty seamlessly into your budget. And that way, you'll be buying yourself and the adult loved ones in your life some peace of mind.

Our picks for best life insurance companies

Life insurance is essential if you have people depending on you. We’ve combed through the options and developed a best-in-class list for life insurance coverage. This guide