What Is Life Insurance For Runners?
Unsplash photo by Jane Palash.
Guest Post in Partnership with Lemonade
A runner’s lifestyle is one focused on health and wellness. You spend time every day working on your fitness while eating a nutritious diet. As such, you may become complacent. Life insurance is something many runners do not feel they need.
The reality is that runners are healthier than the average person. Running can extend your life by years. There is a lower risk of sudden death. However, the risk of death is always present and sometimes has nothing to do with how healthy you are.
Do you need life insurance as a runner? Here are some common questions.
How do I get life insurance?
The question of whether to get life insurance or not becomes moot if you have nothing to lose. Most people who do not get life insurance assume that it will be a tiresome and expensive process. That is not necessarily the case.
To get life insurance today, you can fill in simple forms online. Products like Lemonade’s no exam life insurance offering make it possible to apply for a policy without having to leave your home. Instead of an in-person exam, you’ll answer a series of questions about your medical background and lifestyle.
Life insurance for runners should not be too expensive either. The younger you are, the lower your premium is likely to be.
Why do I need life insurance?
This is one of the most common questions for runners. Life insurance is a savvy idea if you want to help protect your loved ones if you die unexpectedly, but runners are generally in pretty good health.
Unfortunately, no one is so healthy that they become invincible. Accidents happen, and your fitness may not make a difference if you are in a bad car collision. Also, there are health issues that have nothing to do with fitness and can affect even the healthiest people.
You do also face risk when running on the road or on a trail. You could get knocked down by a car or trip on a rock. Life is unpredictable, even for the people who are most careful.
The good news is that you will probably be fine. But you cannot take the risk. If something does happen to you and you don’t have life insurance, your loved ones could be left in serious financial trouble.
Do I get discounts for running?
Life insurance is priced based on the risk level of the individual. This is why young people with no pre-existing conditions get lower premiums. It is also why people who work as firefighters and in other dangerous jobs struggle to get affordable insurance. Does running work in your favor?
In most cases, running does not make a major difference. You will get lower premiums than someone who is not physically active, but that will likely be to the same degree as anyone who lives an active lifestyle. Your health may be excellent, but additional risks have much more of an impact than that extra bit of health.
In other words, someone with diabetes will have to pay a much higher price than the average person, but a runner who eats well and doesn’t have such a condition will likely have a lower premium.
What if I am not a breadwinner?
This is a question that many people – runners and otherwise – considering life insurance ask. Life insurance is meant to take care of your family if you die and can no longer provide. But what if you're not the main provider?
If you are in a relationship or have a family, you contribute to the household in a way that has economic value. This is especially true for parents who take care of children during the day. Your contribution may seem like it doesn't cost anything, but without you, it would require a lot of money to organize.
For people who do not have a partner or family of their own, the question comes down to things like whether they have any debt. For example, if you have student loans, your parents or closest relatives will have to pay them if you die. Life insurance can see to it that they are covered.
It is also important to remember that the younger you are when you get life insurance the cheaper it will be. As such, even if you do not provide for anyone right now, you may in the future, at which point it will be a lot more expensive to open a policy.
This is what you need to know about life insurance for runners. It is an important topic to broach, even though you may be in excellent health.
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