Reaching the age of 30 is an important occasion for many New Zealanders. You may be settled into your career by now, with great friends, family and perhaps a romantic partner to share in your success. Life may be looking pretty good, hopefully with many years ahead to enjoy and celebrate.
This is also a decade full of big changes for many Kiwis. Your 30s could be the time when you start taking on more financial responsibilities. It could also be when you start thinking about life insurance.
The “big three” milestones
Marriage
Kiwis are waiting longer to get married. The median age of first marriage in New Zealand reached 30 years for men and 28.5 years for women in 2012.1 That’s an increase of about three years for both since 1992, with these ages continuing to creep up.2
For many Kiwis, marriage may be the first time they think about getting life insurance. Protecting a new spouse if you were to pass away suddenly could be a tangible way to make good on some of your wedding vows. However, with more people cohabitating before marriage or forgoing a ceremony altogether, de facto partners might also think about getting a policy.
Babies
Having a baby is another milestone that Kiwis are putting off until they’re older. The median age of first-time mothers reached roughly 28 years in 2011, with their second birth happening at around 32 years of age.3 Kiwi dads are also getting older. The average father of a newborn in 2011 was 32 years old—or about four years older than their own fathers were when they were born.4
Starting a family is also a common prompt for purchasing life insurance. A life insurance benefit could help pay for school fees, childcare or the mortgage if something were to happen to you.
Buying a home
Buying a first home is the last traditional milestone that we’re now reaching in their 30s. In 1970 the average first home buyer was 25, but today this number sits somewhere between 31 to 34 years of age.5 Unlike marriage and children, New Zealanders may not be waiting to buy property by choice. The competitive housing market is making it tougher for many Kiwis to afford that first mortgage.6
Thirty-somethings purchasing property may also consider life insurance to pay off the mortgage, or make a sizable dent in their home loan if something were to happen to them.
Get covered
Organising life insurance may not be top of your to-do list, but it also may not be as hard as you think. You can generally organise cover over the phone after answering a few health and lifestyle questions.
1. Stats NZ, Marriages, Civil Unions, and Divorces: Year ended December 2012
2. Stuff.co.nz, Divorce rate declining as Kiwis marry later in life
3. Stats NZ, New Zealand women are having their first child at age 30
4. Stats NZ, Father’s Day 2012
5. NZ Herald, Tamsyn Parker: Are you too old to get a mortgage?
6. Stuff.co.nz, Can first home buyers afford a million dollar house?
About Author: Momentum Life is a leading provider of Life insurance and Funeral insurance in New Zealand.
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