If you know you want to start a family in the future, it's better to get life insurance sooner rather than later.

Experts generally recommend life insurance for anyone with dependents, like children or aging parents they support. Term policies (as opposed to whole-life policies) are fixed-rate policies that tend to be more affordable, and cover the policyholder for a set period of time — say, 30 years — before they expire.

There's no reason to wait to get coverage. Here's why you might want to consider doing it now rather than later, no matter how far down the road starting a family may seem.

The time you spend with your family is priceless, and you wouldn’t trade anything in the world for those special moments together. But what would happen if you suddenly died? Would the precious memories of your times together be enough to see your family through this difficult period?

It’s not pleasant to think about, but your death could potentially leave your family unable to meet existing financial obligations. Would they have the funds to pay bills, your home mortgage, burial and funeral expenses? Would they be able to live on one income and maintain their current lifestyle? What about medical expenses associated with a terminal illness? Would your family be financially prepared?

Life insurance can be a simple,easy way to help financially protect your loved ones. It offers you the opportunity to apply for the amount of life insurance coverage that meets your specific needs and the convenience of insurance premiums deducted directly from your paycheck.

1. Life insurance is cheaper when you're younger

You're not getting any younger, and that means life insurance isn't getting any cheaper.

The difference between what you could pay each month for coverage as you age is staggering. Eric Rosenberg writes for Business Insider that life insurance is three times cheaper at age 30 than at age 50, according to data from Quotacy. "A $100,000 term life insurance policy for a healthy 30-year-old male is just $12 per month, on average. At age 40, it goes up to $20 per month. At age 50, it's $36 per month," he writes. When you get your policy when you're younger, you lock in that rate, making it cheaper to get life insurance now than to wait.

2. Life insurance can come in handy before you have a family

new family isn't the only reason to get life insurance. It's can also be important to have if you have debt, or if you own your own business.

Debt doesn't go away if something happens to you — often, it will fall to your family. If you have a cosigner on your loan, it becomes their responsibility. Life insurance could help them cover that debt. And, for business owners, life insurance could help pay your employees and keep your business afloat if something happens to you.

3. It could help your spouse, even if you don't have children

4. If you're planning to be a stay-at-home parent,

Many policies offered through employers aren't portable, and you'll lose them if you decide to leave your job to stay at home or switch jobs.

If you or your partner are considering becoming a stay-at-home parent, or think that you'll switch jobs in the near future, you might as well sign up now so you don't have to worry about losing coverage.

5. It's one less thing to juggle when you have your hands full with a newborn

The last thing you'll want to do after bringing home your new baby is shop for life insurance. It's easy to get it out of the way now, and can help start your coverage (and peace of mind) sooner rather than later.

Spend an hour today gathering quotes, and take care of any necessary medical exams while you have the time. Then, you'll have coverage when the time comes, and you can focus on spending time where it matters.

What is life insurance, and how does it work?

• Life insurance is a very common asset that figures into many people's long-term financial planning. Purchasing a life insurance policy is a way to protect your loved ones, providing them with the financial support they may need after you die. For example, you may purchase life insurance to help your spouse cover mortgage payments or everyday bills or fund your children's college education.

• When purchasing life insurance, it's important to understand how it works and how your beneficiaries can receive the proceeds of your policy. This can help with choosing a payout option that works best for your estate planning goals.

• Life insurance is a contract between a policyholder and an insurance company that's designed to pay out a death benefit when the insured person passes away.

• A life insurance company should be contacted as soon as possible following the death of the insured to begin the claims and payout process.

• It's important to choose life insurance beneficiaries carefully to ensure that the right people are eligible to received proceeds from your policy. There are different ways a beneficiary may receive a life insurance payout, including lump-sum payments, installment payments, annuities, and retained asset accounts.

  Why Do I Need Life Insurance?

• No one wants to leave their family unprepared. That’s where life insurance comes in. Getting life insurance today can protect your family’s financial future.

Replace Lost Income

• Most people buy life insurance as a means to replace income lost if something happens to them. Providing money for your loved ones is important, and life insurance helps to do just that. The benefit of life insurance can help cover monthly bills, like rent or mortgage, and even help fund your child’s education.

Pay Off Debt

• Debt can be very burdensome to your family, especially without your income available to help repay it. Life insurance benefits can be used to pay off debt and help create more financial security for your family.

"The benefit of life insurance can help cover monthly bills, like rent or mortgage, and even help fund your child’s education."

Pay Final Expenses and Offer an Emergency Fund

• Final expenses can be very significant, especially if there are large medical bills, funeral or legal expenses to pay. An emergency fund can cover unexpected bills such as emergency repairs to your home or car. Life insurance benefits provide cash that can be used to help your family cope in a time of distress.

Help Pay for Your Children's Education

• Educating children can be expensive and often requires a long-term strategy. Many people plan to contribute funds each year until they have enough money saved to pay all or some of their children's education costs. Unfortunately, if something unexpectedly happens to you, there may not be enough time to set aside adequate funds for education. Life insurance benefits can help by creating a lump-sum of cash that you can count on to help pay part of your children's education costs.

Life insurance is a type of insurance contract. When you purchase a life insurance policy, you agree to pay premiums to keep your coverage intact. If you pass away, the life insurance company can pay out a death benefit to the person or persons you named as beneficiaries to the policy.

• Some life insurance policies can offer both death benefits and living benefits. A living benefit rider allows you to tap into your policy's death benefit while you're still alive. This type of rider can be beneficial in situations where you're terminally ill and need funds to pay for medical care.

• "Some life insurance companies have designed policies that allow their policyholders to draw against the face value of the policy in the event of a terminal, chronic or critical illness. These policies enable the policyholder to be the beneficiary of their own life insurance policy,"

What is a life insurance policy, and what are its key features?