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Life insurance can protect your family’s quality of life if you pass away, so it’s wise to consider adding it to your financial portfolio. If you’re worried that you can’t afford it, first check out the actual quotes.
We analyzed average life insurance rates based on age, term length and payout amount. Your exact cost will depend on your health and age, among other things, but our overview of average life insurance rates will give you an idea of what you can expect to pay.
Average Term Life Insurance Rates by Age
It’s wise to buy life insurance when you’re younger, before rates increase and your policy options decline. With every year that passes your life insurance quotes will go up, even if you’re in excellent health. By waiting to buy life insurance you also run the risk that you’ll develop a health condition that will cause an even higher rate when you buy a policy.
Term life insurance allows you to lock in level rates for a set period, such as 10, 20 or 30 years.
We see here how term life insurance rates for seniors age 70 cost over 1,000% more than a policy purchased by a 30-year-old. Also of note, a term of 30 years is not generally available to those aged 60 and above.
Term life insurance rates per year for a 30-year-old male
Term life insurance rates per year for a 30-year-old female
Term life insurance rates per year for a 40-year-old male
Term life insurance rates per year for a 40-year-old female
Term life insurance rates per year for a 50-year-old male
Term life insurance rates per year for a 50-year-old female
Term life insurance rates per year for a 60-year-old male
Term life insurance rates per year for a 60-year-old female
Term life insurance rates per year for a 70-year-old male
Term life insurance rates per year for a 70-year-old female
Term Life Insurance Costs by Term Length
We looked at average annual rates for 30-year-old males and females buying a policy with level term lengths of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years.
Average annual term life insurance rates for a 10-year policy
Average annual term life insurance rates for a 15-year policy
Average annual term life insurance rates for a 20-year policy
Average annual term life insurance rates for a 30-year policy
Average Term Life Insurance Rates by Payout Amount
Knowing how much life insurance you need is essential. As the amount of the death benefit rises, so will your costs. We analyzed average annual rates for a 30-year-old at varying term lengths for policy payouts from $100,000 up to $3 million.
10-year term life insurance annual rates
20-year term life insurance annual rates
30-year term life insurance annual rates
Average Cost of Whole Life Insurance by Age
Whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance. A whole life insurance policy is intended to last your lifetime. It also builds cash value at a steady rate.
Average annual whole life insurance rates for a $250,000 policy
Cost of Life Insurance Without a Medical Exam
If you don’t want the hassle of a life insurance medical exam, a no-exam term life insurance policy may be an option. There are strict guidelines on who qualifies for no-exam life insurance, so it’s best suited for those younger (in their 50s or below) and in excellent health.
Average annual no-exam life insurance rates for a 20-year $500,000 policy
When Is Life Insurance Worth the Cost?
If you have loved ones who rely on you financially or as a caregiver, life insurance is likely worth the cost.
Finding affordable life insurance is probably easier than you think. Over 50% of people overestimate the cost of life insurance by three times or more its actual amount, according to a study by LIMRA and Life Happens, both industry-funded groups.
To decide if life insurance is worth the cost for your specific situation, evaluate what financial obligations a policy could help with in the event of an unexpected death. Life insurance death benefits can:
- Cover funeral costs
- Provide income replacement when your family no longer has your paycheck
- Pay off a mortgage, car loan or other outstanding debts
- Pay for a child’s college education
Having life insurance to cover a considerable income loss if a working spouse dies is important, but also think about life insurance for a stay-at-home parent. Life insurance can cover the cost of pricey replacement services, such as housekeeping and child care.
How Life Insurance Rates Are Determined
Life insurance companies really want to determine one thing: How long are you likely to live?
The information they gather helps to estimate an answer to that complicated question and to calculate the cost of your policy.
What you pay for life insurance depends on the type of life insurance you buy, how much coverage you get, your age and health and the company’s underwriting procedures, among other things. Every life insurance company has its own system for pricing a policy, so comparing rates among multiple companies will help you find the best fit for your needs and budget.
Here are 10 factors that can influence life insurance rates.
- age: One of the most important factors in calculating rates. As you age, the probability that the insurer will have to pay out goes up, leading to higher quotes.
- Gender: Females have a longer life expectancy, so typically will pay less than males of the same age and health.
- Height and weight: If your height and weight are within the certain limits, you’ll receive better rates than if you’re deemed overweight or underweight, both of which could cause health problems.
- Past and current health: How healthy you are significantly affects your rates. Pre-existing conditions are taken into account to determine if they will decrease your life expectancy.
- Family health history (siblings and parents): If your family medical history shows serious illnesses, especially hereditary diseases, you could be saddled with higher quotes.
- Nicotine and/or marijuana use: Smokers, other nicotine users (including vaping and the patch) and marijuana users have a higher risk of developing cancer and respiratory diseases, so they’ll be quoted higher rates.
- History of substance abuse: Abusing drugs or alcohol can lower your life expectancy, resulting in higher life insurance rates.
- Driving record (particularly DUIs and speeding tickets): Driving under the influence, driving at high rates of speed and/or causing accidents makes you a higher risk and results in increased rates.
- credits: Credit is a factor in some risk scores that life insurers use.
- Criminal history: Having a felony on your record can impact your ability to get a policy. Even if you can buy a policy, a felony will generally increase your costs or result in a denial.
Beyond the above high-risk life insurance factors, a primary factor influencing what you’ll pay is the type of life insurance policy you choose.
Life insurance comes in two primary types: term life insurance and permanent life insurance. Permanent life has the advantage of lasting until you die, but is generally more expensive than other types of life insurance. Term life is a more popular choice due to its affordability.
Key Takeaways for Life Insurance Rates
Life insurance is not one-size-fits-all. Rates vary based on a variety of factors, including the policy type, length and death benefit you choose—plus your specific personal information.
With the level of term life insurance, your premium will stay the same every year during your term period, so you can count on it to be a fixed item in your budget now and in the future. Quotes will rise based on your age when you purchase a policy.
Age and gender
- At age 30, term life insurance rates for males are around 19% more expensive than for females, for a $500,000, 20-year term policy.
- Waiting from age 30 to age 40 to buy can raise your quotes up to 36% more ($408 compared to $300, for a male buyer of a term life policy).
- If you hold off buying term life insurance until age 50, quotes can be up to 212% higher than buying at age 30 ($936 compared to $300, for a male buyer).
term length
- Choosing a 20-year term policy over a 10-year one costs around 40% more ($252 compared to $180 for a 30-year-old female buyer) but doubles your time covered by life insurance.
- Picking a 30-year term over a 10-year term costs nearly 90% more ($336 compared to $180), but triples your years of coverage.
Coverage amount
- Selecting a $500,000 policy over a $250,000 policy for a 20-year term life insurance policy will cost you about 50% more ($252 compared to $168 for a 30-year-old female), but it doubles your policy payout.
Whole life insurance rates compared to term life insurance rates
- Choosing a $250,000 whole life policy as a 30-year male or female will cost you 1221% more per year than a 20-year term life policy (a whole life policy is over $2,000 annually, while a term life policy is under $200 annually) .
- Term life insurance is usually more reasonable for many people’s budgets.
Get A Term Life Insurance Quote
Term lengths available
10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years
Methodology
Term life insurance rates are for healthy non-smokers of average height and weight. We averaged the four cheapest quotes we found online, except where noted. Your own rates will be different depending on your age, health, driving record and other factors.
Compare Life Insurance Companies
Compare Policies With 8 Leading Insurers
Average Life Insurance Rates FAQ
Which factors won’t affect your life insurance rates?
Race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or marital status don’t impact life insurance rates.
Your rate won’t be affected by the number of life insurance beneficiaries you choose. It doesn’t matter to the insurance company if you split up your death benefits between one or five individuals. Also, your life insurance quote isn’t impacted if you already have another life insurance policy in place, such as a group life policy from work.
Life insurance companies focus on factors that help them determine your life expectancy, such as your age, gender, medical history, if you smoke or if you have a risky occupation or hobby.
Who pays more for life insurance, males or females?
If all other factors are equal, males generally pay more for life insurance due to a shorter life expectancy than females. We found that on average, 30-year-old men pay about 20% more than women for a 20-year $500,000 term life insurance policy. For the same policy at age 50, males pay 30% more than females.
There’s an exception in Montana, which requires gender-neutral life insurance rates.
Does your credit affect life insurance rates?
Expect insurance companies to possibly perform a soft credit check to review details of your credit report for anything that may give them pause. For example, if you have a bankruptcy, this can make you a higher risk and affect your life insurance quotes. The score itself may or may not be used, it depends on the life insurance company’s rating system.
Also, some companies use credit scores, or elements of credit reports and other reports, to predict “mortality” life expectancy and they sell this information to life insurance companies. For example, LexisNexis, an analytics company, offers its Risk Classifier score, and TransUnion, an information and insights company, has TrueRisk.
At what age should you shop for term life insurance?
There is no perfect age to shop for life insurance, but a good rule of thumb is to buy life insurance as soon as possible when you have a need for it.
Buying term life insurance while younger (and healthier) can lock you in at a reasonable cost for the length of your policy. If you discover you need more life insurance as you age, you can always buy additional coverage or try laddering life insurance.