By Troy Korsgaden  |

Adults in Gen Z—those aged 18 to 28—are just starting to get married and buy life insurance. By 28, half of women who will ever get married have already walked down the aisle. That age is 30 for men. So, it is not a surprise that they are starting to take life insurance seriously.

According to LIMRA, only 17% of Baby Boomers report that they need life insurance. However, 39% of Gen Z adults say they do, and they are starting to buy it.  In 2025,42% of Gen Zers said they owned life insurance. While that is the lowest percentage of any generation, it is up from 36% in 2024.

There are two reasons members of Gen Z give for not buying coverage and these provide an opportunity for agents. First, they greatly over-estimate the cost. In 2025, LIMRA and Life Happens asked healthy adults to estimate the cost of a $250,000, 20-year term life policy. The average adult under the age of 30 overestimated the cost by 10-12 times (not per-cent). While many U.S. adults overestimate the cost of life insurance, the problem is particularly acute for Gen Z. For example, adults aged 36-40 years old overestimated the cost by “only” about two times.

The other reason for not buying life insurance is because fully a quarter of Gen Z said that they have never been asked. It is not fun for anyone to think about death, especially healthy, young adults.

In 2025, 42% of Gen Zers said they owned life insurance. While that is the lowest percentage of any generation, it is up from 36% in 2024.

The opportunity: Gen Z is open to buying life insurance but needs to be asked. Agents should encourage them to consider it, even those who do not yet have children or own a home. Why? Because it will never be cheaper for them to buy than right now. Be sure to let them know what a “typical” policy might cost since Gen Z so greatly over estimates the true cost.