By Michelle Matlock, Life Quotes, Inc.

Celebrities that died in their 20s and 30s Amy Winehouse, 27, alcohol poisoning Brittany Murphy, 32, pneumonia with complications Corey Haim, 38, drug overdose/complications Kurt Cobain, 27, suicide Aaliyah, 22, plane crash River Phoenix, 23, drug overdose Selena, 23, single gun shot wound Tupac Shakur, 25, drive-by Hank Williams, 29, drug/alcohol-related heart attack James Dean, 24, car accident Brandon Lee, 28, accidental gunshot wound to the abdomen Brad Renfro, 25, heroin overdose Buddy Holly, 22, plane crash Notorious B.I.G., 24, drive-by shooting Jim Morrison, 27, heart failure Jimi Hendrix, 27, barbiturate overdose Derrick Thomas, 33, car accident Nick Adenhart, 22, hit-and-run auto accident Sam Kinison, 38, drunk driver Eddie Cochran, 21, car accident Tim Bishop, 20, car accident Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez, 30, car accident Karen Carpenter, 33, heart failure caused by chronic anorexia Marilyn Monroe, 36, drug overdose Princess Diana of Wales, 36, car accident Cliff Burton, 24, car and bus accident John Belushi, 33, heroin and cocaine overdose Steve Clark, 30, drug overdose Chris Farley, 33, cocaine and morphine overdose Source: Dead-Celeb.com

If you were to ask a single person if they have purchased life insurance, don’t be surprised if they look at you blankly. It’s true that singles who are young and healthy rarely think about their own mortality yet alone life insurance, but here are some sobering facts:

The top leading causes of death for people between the ages 20 to 34 in the United States in December 2009, were accidents, suicide, homicide, cancer, diseases of the heart and HIV, according to the most recent mortality data issued by the National Vital Statistics System.

Tom Currey, President of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) understands this trend.

“The fact is, young people don’t feel they need life insurance,” says Currey. “It’s better to take a longer view because if you decide to get married in your thirties, you could have a health condition by then that may affect your life insurance rates. Also, you would not want the financial burden of your burial to fall on your family in the event of your death.”

Term is best
A 2006 survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) found that 35 percent of young singles have a life insurance policy. In addition, only 28 percent know the difference between term and whole life, while 27 percent are aware that buying life insurance now will guarantee coverage when they get older.

“Young singles should consider at the very least purchasing a term policy with guaranteed renewal,” suggests Al Lurty, Senior Vice President of Business Development at ING. “Term life insurance is still very affordable even though there has been a slight upward movement in rates recently. You can get rates that are .20 to .25 per $1,000 of coverage for a young, healthy single female on a 10-year plan.”

Brant Spesshardt, CFP and financial advisor for Dave Ramsey ELP, says that singles without children shouldn’t consider life insurance — unless there is a legitimate need.

“If their debt would fall on someone else who shares financial responsibility with them, then that would be a good reason to purchase life insurance. Also, if someone is relying on them financially [this doesn’t necessarily have to be a child] then they should have a term policy,” says Spesshardt. “If none of this applies to their situation, they should focus their efforts on becoming debt-free rather than paying into an insurance policy they really don’t need.”

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