LIFE Insurance
Introduction
The purpose of life insurance is to financially support your dependents in the event of your death. Five questions can help residents navigate decisions about life insurance, each of which will be addressed in this section:
Question 1: Should I buy life insurance in residency?
Question 2: What kind of life insurance should I buy?
Question 3: How much life insurance should I buy?
Question 4: Where can I buy life insurance?
Question 5: How much will my life insurance policy cost?
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THE UPSHOT
Should I buy life insurance?
If you have people who depend on your income, yes. If you plan to have people who depend on your income and you want to lock in rates and coverage while young and healthy, yes. Otherwise, no—at least not yet.
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What kind of life insurance should I buy?
For most, level term insurance with a term of 20 or 30 years is reasonable.
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How much life insurance should I buy?
This should be calculated (learn more about how to do this here), but most residents will likely be buying policies in the $1-3 million range.
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Where can I buy life insurance?
A local agent recommended by a colleague, review service (e.g., Yelp), or online database.
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How much will my life insurance policy cost?
At the time of writing (Spring 2018), there are several reasonable options for a 30-year-old non-smoking female to buy a $1M 30-year policy for $520-550 per year. A similar policy for a male resident is around $675 per year.