How much is life insurance?

Term life insurance estimates are an important part of the purchasing journey. Like, no one goes out to buy something without having some idea of what it is they’re buying, right? Let’s take one banana—what could it cost, $10? You wouldn’t buy something without getting an idea of the price range. Term life insurance isn’t any different. 

The trick here is that the best life insurance rates are incumbent upon a number of different factors, such as your age, family and personal medical history, lifestyle, and hobbies, among others. Age is a big one here because, we’ll, life insurance tends to get more expensive the older you get. That’s why companies stress that you should apply for coverage while you’re still young.

Before we get to all the term life insurance rates charts, let’s compare two people: a 30-year old man and a 50-year old man. The 20-year term life insurance rates for a 30-year old are going to average out to $159 per year on a policy with $250,000 in coverage. Compare that to the 50-year old who would pay, on average, $477. Again, these are averages and not wholly reflective of every 30-year or 50-year old who would apply for coverage. But when looking at online term life insurance quotes, having a ballpark can be a big help.

Term life insurance rates chart

Below, we’ve collected a couple of term life insurance rate comparison charts. This isn’t to say that, when you apply, you’re sure to receive the premium amount if you’re approved. These are generalities and averages taken from multiple sources. For our purposes, we’re going to be comparing our hypothetical 30-year old man from before and a hypothetical 30-year old woman through various policy lengths. 

Term life insurance companies typically provide policy lengths in increments of 10, 20 and 30 years, which is why we’ve listed them as such. More unique requests, such as 15-year term life insurance rates, can still be gleaned from interacting with the information below.

Term life insurance rates by age chart

These are the average annual term life insurance rates on a $500,000, 20-year term policy for super-preferred applicants.

What determines term life insurance quotes?

Life insurance companies use a process called underwriting to provide you with a quote once you’ve applied. In fact, your whole application is part of how companies determine the quote you receive. How does that work exactly? Well…

‍Coverage amount

The amount of coverage you request affects your term life insurance quote. From the term life insurance rate comparison charts above, the difference in average premiums of a $250,000 and $1 million 10-year policy for a 30 year old woman is $100 ($117 & $217). Just from this we can tell that term life insurance policies, even at coverage of around $1 million can be pretty budget-friendly. In fact, you can probably expect to pay as much as 10x more for whole life premiums than term life. 

‍Policy length

Policy length also affects the quote you may receive from a company. That’s because, similar to your age, the longer you hold a policy, the more time there is for unfortunate tragedies to occur. If you’re in your 20s and you have a policy for 10 years, there’s less time for something to go wrong than if the policy were to last 20 or thirty years. 

‍Age

Life insurance companies tell applicants the sooner you apply, the better. Looking at our hypothetical scenario with the 30- and 50-year old men from before, you can see why. It’s not an exact science, but companies operate on the notion that the longer you live, the more chances there are for complications. Which is why it’s far more beneficial to apply when you’re young to lock-in rates from, say, your 20s, rather than paying more in premiums when you’re in your 40s. 

‍Personal & family medical history

During your application, you may have to answer some questions about your own health history and any pertinent information regarding your family’s health history. This information also goes to determining any term life insurance quotes you might receive because they give companies a better idea of who they might enter into a contract with. 

‍Hobbies & lifestyle

Yes, your hobbies are included in the term life insurance quotes you could get. How? Companies want policyholders to live (hence the “life” in “life insurance”). Some hobbies can affect your potential rates; things like any extreme sports (skydiving, base jumping, extreme biking, etc) can mean higher premiums. 

How to get the best life insurance rates?

If you want the best life insurance rates, meaning lower premiums, there’s a couple of options that you can consider. 

‍Choosing the right coverage amount

Making sure your desired coverage amount is accurate to you and your needs is important. If you’re only looking to cover rent for a roommate in the event of a tragedy, a $1 million 30-year term life policy may not be the best option for you. On the other hand, you don’t want too little coverage, either. Have conversations with those who are financially dependent on you, like a spouse, partner, roommate or even parent, about what your needs are currently and what they may be in the future. 

‍Apply when you’re young

As we’ve mentioned, term life insurance rates may be even be less expensive if you apply while you’re young. Plus, once you’ve gotten approved for the policy, those rates are locked in, meaning you’d be paying the 20-something rates for the entire length of the term.

‍Shop around

Just like if you’re buying anything else, you’ll want to compare prices of different companies. When it comes to term life insurance, compare rates against each other so you can see which company would do better for you in the long run. Even if you’re not in the best health category, one company may take a risk on you while another may not. You won’t know until you apply and compare. 

Term life insurance quotes by Wysh

As you’re shopping around, a great tool that can come in handy is our very own Wysh Builder, a wholly unique and visual way to build the policy that can be perfect for you and your needs. Other, more traditional companies may have you rely on their calculator or some other method to calculate the right kind of coverage. But if you’re comparing term life insurance rates and coverage, the Wysh Builder is an essential part of the purchasing journey. There’s no need to apply and no email required. Just head on over and start crafting your own policy that’s uniquely you.

TL; DR

• Term life insurance rates are determined by factors like the desired coverage amount, age, personal & family medical history, hobbies and more.
• The average annual premium rate on a 20-year term life policy with $500,000 in coverage for a 30-year old woman is $183.
• It’s typically better to apply for term life insurance when you’re young, since premium rates are usually less expensive. In addition, those rates are locked-in, meaning you’re paying the 20-something rates through the extent of the term.
• Getting the best life insurance rates means shopping around, choosing the right coverage amount for your needs and applying while you’re young.

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