Do I Need Life Insurance If I Have a Mortgage?

If someone depends on your income to make the house payment, yes, it's worth a look. A mortgage is the biggest debt most families carry, and it doesn't go away if one of the people paying it dies.

That's why many people ask whether they need life insurance if they have a mortgage right when they buy a home. It's a good time to ask, and there's no lecture coming.

Darlene Baxter is a licensed California insurance agent and owner of Darlene Baxter Insurance Agency in Pleasant Hill, CA. She handles every life insurance client herself.

You pay a premium. If you die while the policy is in force, the insurance company pays a set amount of money to the people you named.

They can use it for whatever they need: the mortgage, daily bills, college, or time to grieve without worrying about the house payment. The money goes to them, and they decide.

Many families start with term life. Term covers you for a set number of years, such as the years left on your mortgage or the years your kids are at home. It's usually the least expensive way to get a large amount of coverage.

Permanent coverage, like whole life, is built to last your whole life and builds cash value over time. It costs more. We show you what term and permanent options look like, with the monthly cost of each, before you decide anything.

It depends on who relies on you and what they would need: income for a number of years, the mortgage, other debts, college, final expenses.

The first question isn't "how much do you want?" It's "who are you protecting, and what would they need?" We work through that with you and arrive at a number together.

It's a good start, but it's often a smaller amount, and it usually ends if you leave the job. We can look at what you have and whether there's a gap between that and your mortgage.

Then we'll tell you that. If nobody depends on you and you have no debts that would pass to someone else, you may not need it at all.

Darlene doesn't use fear to sell a policy. You get the facts, and you decide on your own time.

Darlene Baxter is a licensed California insurance agent and owner of Darlene Baxter Insurance Agency in Pleasant Hill, CA.

The application is simple and takes about 10 minutes. Most of the process can be done by phone, text and email, so you don't need to live nearby. The insurance company reviews the application and makes the decision. We can't promise approval or a price.

Call the office at (925) 940-6970 or send us a message. You don't have to be ready to buy. If you're asking whether you need life insurance with a mortgage, our life insurance page has more, and so does our homeowners insurance page.