Can you have two insurance policies?
When you shop online to buy life insurance, "Can you have two insurances?" is probably going to be your first question if you want to be fully covered. You can buy multiple life insurance policies, but you can't buy more than 15 times your annual income. That will depend upon a few factors.
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Laura D. Adams
Insurance & Finance Analyst
Laura Adams is one of the nation’s leading finance, insurance, and small business authorities. As an award-winning author, spokesperson, and host of the top-rated Money Girl podcast since 2008, millions of readers and listeners benefit from her practical advice. Her mission is to empower consumers to live healthy and rich lives by planning for the future and making smart money decisions. She rec...
Insurance & Finance Analyst
UPDATED: Jun 26, 2023
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Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different insurance providers please enter your ZIP code above to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.
UPDATED: Jun 26, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different insurance providers please enter your ZIP code above to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
- You can purchase more than one life insurance policy
- There are limits on the amount of life insurance you can get typically based on your age and annual income
- You can shop online to compare multiple life insurance quotes at once
In this turbulent day and age, one of the best things you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones is to be sure that you have purchased adequate life insurance coverage. Upon review, you may notice that your current policy is barely enough to provide a substantial financial cushion for your family if you were to pass away.
But if you don’t want to risk canceling it but need more insurance can you have two life insurance policies? Yes, you can. Now, is there a limit to how many life insurance policies you can have? Again, the answer is yes. There are some mitigating circumstances that could keep you from buying too much insurance.
Now, if your primary goal is to obtain affordable life insurance, can you have two insurances at the same time?
That will come down to you as an individual — your budget and even your job could play a role in determining how feasible it is for your to purchase more than one life insurance policy. It’s easier than ever to shop online for life insurance quotes if “Can you have two insurances?” has crossed your mind.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Can you have two insurances?” enter your ZIP code to compare multiple free life insurance quotes at once.
Is it legal to own more than one life insurance policy?
If you’ve been shopping for life insurance and are intrigued by multiple life insurance quotes, “Can you have two insurances?” is an excellent question to be asking. You’ll be happy to learn that you can purchase more than one life insurance policy. However, you will be limited in buying a coverage amount that is comparable to your financial means.
Insurance companies may sell you seemingly large policies, but underwriting will limit you to a certain limit compared to your annual income based on age. Adults under 40 could qualify for a combined total of 25 to 35 times their annual income according to experts. Adults buying at age 60 to 70 would be limited to just 5 to 10 times their annual income in combined life policies. Limits can vary based on the purpose of your life policies as well (i.e. estate planning vs. income replacement).
Bearing that in mind, it is always a good idea to take a good, hard look at your situation in life and determine if purchasing more coverage makes the most sense for you.
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Who should buy more than one life insurance policy?
There are many reasons for someone to purchase more life insurance. If you’re shouldering a new financial responsibility like a newborn baby or have even taken out a sizable loan, you should consider investing in more coverage.
Even if you have life insurance through work you may want to get more insurance as such policies don’t usually offer a lot of coverage.
Let’s take a more in-depth look at situations that would require you to get more insurance.
You Experience a Major Life Change
Life is full of changes and sometimes those changes require you to re-evaluate your insurance coverage needs. It’s actually quite common to see two life insurance policies for one person, and if you are in any of the following situations, you should consider purchasing more coverage:
- Purchasing a new home
- Having a baby
- Starting a new business
If you and a partner are engaging in these enterprises together, it’s vital that you are properly covered — even if that means buying a second life insurance policy. You see, when you pass away, the death benefits of your policy are given to your beneficiary.
When you name your spouse or partner as your beneficiary, you are taking steps to prevent them from being left financially destitute if you were to die unexpectedly.
You Need to Reduce Your Risk
It’s nigh unheard of for a life insurance company to fail; however, if you don’t want to risk losing your life insurance coverage due to a company’s poor financial decisions, buying a second policy can ensure that you will still have coverage even if something catastrophic were to happen to your fist policy.
You Want to Ladder Your Life Insurance
If you’re searching for the best life insurance for married couples, you may be interested in laddering your policies. Laddering your insurance policies means that you have purchased several term life insurance policies that all expire at different times. This is a particularly usual strategy if you are working on paying down debts like your mortgage.
You see, if you were to buy a 10-year term, a 20-year term, and a 30-year term when you were facing a high amount of expenses at home like your mortgage, childcare, and student loans, you would have an incredible amount of coverage for 10 years.
This means that if you were to pass away, your beneficiary would have enough to help cover these costs. Now, as time went by and your children grew up, the first policy would expire and then the second and so on. Essentially, the amount of coverage you need would diminish as your expenses diminish.
How much does life insurance cost?
If you want low life insurance rates can you have two insurances? That’s a good question, but the answer will be different for everyone. For example, if you are in excellent health, you could possibly afford to buy a lot of coverage at a very low rate.
Here you can see the average rates of life insurance for someone who doesn’t smoke:
Average Monthly Whole Life Insurance Rates for Non-Smokers
| Non-Smoker Age & Gender | Foresters Financial – $250,000 Policy | State Farm – $250,000 Policy | Foresters Financial – $500,000 Policy | State Farm – $500,000 Policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-Year-Old Female | $156.80 | $203.14 | $304.24 | $400.19 |
| 25-Year-Old Male | $178.68 | $225.12 | $347.99 | $444.14 |
| 30-Year-Old Female | $188.96 | $234.24 | $368.11 | $462.39 |
| 30-Year-Old Male | $216.52 | $260.14 | $422.80 | $514.19 |
| 35-Year-Old Female | $230.52 | $273.19 | $450.36 | $540.29 |
| 35-Year-Old Male | $267.05 | $311.47 | $522.55 | $616.84 |
| 40-Year-Old Female | $277.99 | $321.24 | $543.99 | $636.39 |
| 40-Year-Old Male | $326.33 | $375.62 | $639.80 | $745.14 |
| 45-Year-Old Female | $349.30 | $381.29 | $685.30 | $756.49 |
| 45-Year-Old Male | $401.58 | $467.84 | $788.99 | $929.59 |
| 50-Year-Old Female | $429.14 | $470.02 | $843.68 | $933.94 |
| 50-Year-Old Male | $499.36 | $578.12 | $982.80 | $1,150.14 |
| 55-Year-Old Female | $549.89 | $598.79 | $1,082.55 | $1,191.49 |
| 55-Year-Old Male | $629.30 | $727.97 | $1,239.61 | $1,449.84 |
| 60-Year-Old Female | $700.83 | $769.94 | $1,381.36 | $1,533.79 |
| 60-Year-Old Male | $802.33 | $988.97 | $1,582.18 | $1,971.84 |
| 65-Year-Old Female | $912.58 | $1,045.09 | $1,800.93 | $2,084.09 |
| 65-Year-Old Male | $1,043.61 | $1,310.87 | $2,060.36 | $2,615.64 |
Of course, if you do smoke, you could face paying very different rates as insurance companies consider smoking to be an activity that can cause ill-health and therefore make you a higher risk to sell insurance to. If you smoke and are wondering how much you may pay for insurance, take a look at this chart here:
Average Monthly Whole Life Insurance Rates for Smokers
| Smoker Age & Gender | Foresters Financial – $250,000 Policy | State Farm – $250,000 Policy | Foresters Financial – $500,000 Policy | State Farm – $500,000 Policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-Year-Old Female | $228.77 | $257.97 | $446.86 | $509.84 |
| 25-Year-Old Male | $270.33 | $279.92 | $529.11 | $553.74 |
| 30-Year-Old Female | $280.18 | $300.14 | $548.36 | $594.19 |
| 30-Year-Old Male | $325.89 | $325.17 | $639.36 | $644.24 |
| 35-Year-Old Female | $340.11 | $355.39 | $667.36 | $704.69 |
| 35-Year-Old Male | $404.21 | $383.89 | $793.80 | $761.69 |
| 40-Year-Old Female | $411.99 | $421.09 | $821.36 | $836.09 |
| 40-Year-Old Male | $505.27 | $455.44 | $994.61 | $904.79 |
| 45-Year-Old Female | $529.99 | $505.27 | $1,043.18 | $1,004.44 |
| 45-Year-Old Male | $690.33 | $551.79 | $1,360.80 | $1,097.49 |
| 50-Year-Old Female | $650.08 | $621.39 | $1,280.74 | $1,236.69 |
| 50-Year-Old Male | $853.96 | $683.39 | $1,684.99 | $1,360.69 |
| 55-Year-Old Female | $807.58 | $792.14 | $1,592.68 | $1,578.19 |
| 55-Year-Old Male | $1,069.86 | $865.22 | $2,112.43 | $1,724.34 |
| 60-Year-Old Female | $1,018.89 | $964.39 | $2,011.36 | $1,922.69 |
| 60-Year-Old Male | $1,402.58 | $1,158.19 | $2,770.86 | $2,310.29 |
| 65-Year-Old Female | $1,294.52 | $1,204.29 | $2,556.93 | $2,402.49 |
| 65-Year-Old Male | $1,858.46 | $1,490.97 | $3,673.43 | $2,975.84 |
If you get a life insurance policy through work, you may not have to worry about paying anything towards your policy. You should remember though that the coverage provided by such a policy is contingent upon your employment at said company. If you are fired or change jobs, the policy may be rolled into another financial vehicle like an IRA. You would need to talk to a financial professional, but it typically does not continue on as originally built.
Is an extra life insurance policy necessary to gain more coverage?
If you were to ask a life insurance company, “Can you have two insurances for extra coverage?” you would most likely be told yes. However, there are other ways to achieve that goal.
For example, if you needed more coverage but didn’t want to go through another application process or medical exam, you could simply increase the coverage amount on your current policy by directly increasing your death benefit or by adding riders to the policy.
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Case Studies: Can You Have Two Insurance Policies?
Case Study 1: John’s Major Life Change John recently purchased a new home and started a new business. In order to ensure adequate financial protection for his family, he decided to purchase a second life insurance policy.
By doing so, he could provide additional coverage to his beneficiaries in case of an untimely death.
Case Study 2: Sarah’s Risk Reduction Strategy Sarah wanted to mitigate the risk of losing her life insurance coverage due to unforeseen circumstances. She decided to purchase a second policy as a backup plan.
This way, even if one policy were to fail, she would still have the other policy in place to provide the necessary protection.
Case Study 3: Mark and Linda’s Laddering Strategy Mark and Linda, a married couple, wanted to ensure that their life insurance coverage aligns with their changing financial needs.
They opted for a laddering strategy by purchasing multiple term life insurance policies with different expiration dates. This approach allowed them to have sufficient coverage during different stages of their lives, such as paying off their mortgage or supporting their children’s education.
Buying Multiple Life Insurance Policies: The Bottom Line
When you shop online to buy life insurance, “Can you have two insurances?” is probably going to be your first question if you want to be fully covered. Happily enough, you can buy more than one policy, but how many life insurance policies can you have on one person? If you’re purchasing insurance for yourself, you can have as many policies as you need as long as you don’t buy more than 15 times your income in coverage.
Can you have two insurances? Yes, and when you enter your ZIP code you can start comparing free quotes from life insurance companies near you today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you have two insurance policies?
Yes, you can have multiple life insurance policies, but there are limitations. You generally can’t buy more than 15 times your annual income in coverage.
Is it legal to own more than one life insurance policy?
Yes, it is legal to own more than one life insurance policy. However, the coverage amount you can buy will be limited based on your financial means, such as your annual income and age.
Who should buy more than one life insurance policy?
There are several situations where purchasing more than one life insurance policy may be beneficial. These include shouldering new financial responsibilities like having a newborn baby or taking out a sizable loan, or if you have life insurance through work but need additional coverage.
How much does life insurance cost?
The cost of life insurance varies depending on factors such as your age, health, coverage amount, and the type of policy. Rates can be lower for individuals in excellent health and higher for smokers or those with health risks.
Is an extra life insurance policy necessary to gain more coverage?
No, buying an additional life insurance policy is not the only way to increase coverage. You can also increase the coverage amount on your current policy or add riders to enhance the policy’s benefits.
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Laura D. Adams
Insurance & Finance Analyst
Laura Adams is one of the nation’s leading finance, insurance, and small business authorities. As an award-winning author, spokesperson, and host of the top-rated Money Girl podcast since 2008, millions of readers and listeners benefit from her practical advice. Her mission is to empower consumers to live healthy and rich lives by planning for the future and making smart money decisions. She rec...
Insurance & Finance Analyst
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.