Average Term Life Insurance Rates

Average Term Life Insurance Rates: What Affects Your Cost?

Term life insurance is a popular choice for those looking to save money upfront while still protecting their family’s financial future. Term life insurance policies offer ample coverage at more competitive rates that fit most budgets compared to other types of life insurance, such as whole life or universal life. That said, premiums across insurers and plans can vary, based on a few key factors. Let’s dive deeper into what term insurance costs on average.

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Key Takeaways

Term life insurance rates vary across states, insurers and policies based on several factors such as your age, medical history, gender, coverage amount, term length, lifestyle and occupation.
Comparing coverage amounts, policy terms and quotes from multiple insurers, in addition to assessing your own needs for coverage amount and length, can help you find a policy that fits your budget.
Aflac offers term life insurance with level premiums during the selected term, helping make monthly and yearly costs more predictable.

Before going ahead, it’s a good idea to understand what term insurance is and how it works, to help better understand how premium rates are determined.

What is term life insurance?

Term life insurance offers a cash benefit to beneficiaries if the policyholder passes away during a set period known as the term. This can be anywhere from 10 to 30 years, depending on the insurer and policy. When this term expires, policyholders can choose either to renew the policy for another term or allow the term life insurance policy to lapse.

Term life insurance differs from permanent life insurance because it doesn’t offer lifelong coverage and doesn’t build cash value. However, this does make it more affordable. Moreover, cash benefits are typically not taxable and can be used by the beneficiaries at their discretion. They can be used for medical debts, rent, mortgage payments, utilities or your children’s education, among other expenses.¹

How are term life insurance rates determined?

Insurance companies fix premiums based on a policy’s coverage amount and length. However, factors such as a policyholder’s age, gender and health are equally important. Other considerations include the company’s business expenses, how much it earns from investments and mortality rates for each age.

While these premiums typically remain the same throughout the policy term, they may be recalculated based on your age and health during renewal.

Factors that affect term life insurance costs

Several factors can affect term life insurance costs.2 Some of them include:

Age

Your age has a major impact on the term life insurance rates you are offered. Younger applicants typically pay lower premiums owing to a higher life expectancy. As you get older, rates may increase, especially if you’re applying for coverage that lasts for a long period.

Health

Several insurers require you to take a medical exam to secure a term life insurance policy. Generally, if these exams reveal you have issues such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, high blood pressure or any other such underlying conditions, you may have to pay higher premiums.

Family medical history

It’s not just your own medical history that can impact costs. When applying for term life insurance, your insurer may also assess your family’s medical history and quote higher premiums in case they find a genetic predisposition towards serious illnesses such as cancer or neurodegenerative conditions such as Huntington’s disease or Alzheimer’s.

Gender

Gender plays a part when it comes to the costs of term life insurance policies, too. Given that women typically have higher life expectancies than men, they often end up paying less in premiums compared to men of the same age.

Coverage amount

In general, a policy with a larger coverage amount and a higher death benefit costs more than one with a smaller benefit, since the insurer will need to pay more to your beneficiaries. For example, a $1 million policy will typically cost more than a $500,000 policy for the same applicant, regardless of their age and gender.

Lifestyle

Smoking and regular drinking usually lead to higher term life insurance rates, since the use of stimulants is linked to a greater risk of health conditions such as cancer, respiratory conditions and heart and liver disease. Insurers may also ask about other types of tobacco or nicotine use when reviewing your application.

Occupation

Your job may also influence the premium amounts you must pay for a term life insurance policy. If your work involves greater physical risk, such as construction, or you regularly take part in activities like skydiving or rock climbing, an insurer may charge higher premiums based on that added risk.

Term life insurance rates by age

When you choose to purchase life insurance, timing can play a significant role in determining how much it may cost you.

The table below shows the average monthly life insurance premium rates by age, for a coverage of $1 million, for a period of 10, 20 and 30 years. Remember that these averages are applicable to non-smokers, and can vary by state, insurer and policy.³

Average term life insurance rates for males
Policyholder age
Policyholder age	Coverage term
	10 years	20 years	30 years
25	$17.66	$28.72	$45.72
30	$17.66	$28.72	$50.55
35	$19.37	$32.10	$62.01
40	$26.14	$46.38	$90.88
45	$43.29	$83.65	$144.26
50	$68.64	$127.59	$236.94
55	$120.50	$214.51	$446.48
60	$205.58	$378.71	N/A

Average term life insurance rates for females
Policyholder age
Policyholder age	Coverage term
	10 years	20 years	30 years
25	$14.88	$21.60	$34.29
30	$14.88	$22.76	$39.10
35	$16.03	$27.13	$49.88
40	$23.59	$39.91	$70.88
45	$36.91	$64.76	$111.13
50	$56.25	$95.39	$178.01
55	$89.53	$157	$301.70
60	$135.21	$262.62	N/A

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How to find the best term life insurance rates for you

Here are a few tips to find the right term insurance plan rates for you:

Determine how much coverage you need

Think about your family’s financial needs. These may include paying off a mortgage or rent, outstanding debt such as credit cards or personal loans, funding your children’s education, covering final expenses, or just everyday groceries, utility bills and other such expenses. After this, assess existing assets that could help meet such needs, such as savings or existing life insurance coverage (if any). Keep in mind that choosing a larger coverage amount increases your premiums, too. Average rates for $1 million of term coverage are higher than rates for $250,000 or $500,000 of coverage.

Compare quotes from multiple insurers

Term life insurance prices are usually never the same across insurers. Taking the time to compare quotes gives you a better picture of your potential monthly obligations. Also, remember to factor in your gender, age and health conditions while doing so.

Check for group term life insurance through work

Your employer may offer group term life insurance as part of your benefits. Basic workplace coverage is typically free or relatively inexpensive. Enrollment is also simpler than applying for third-party policies since basic group coverage typically doesn’t require the same health underwriting. However, workplace coverage may provide only limited death benefits. Moreover, since group coverage is tied to your employment with a given company, if you change jobs, you may not be able to keep the same policy.

It helps to count coverage from your workplace, along with any life insurance you already have, to determine whether an individual term policy can fill any remaining gaps and by how much.⁴

Consider applying at a younger age

Age is one of the most important factors in life insurance pricing. Term life insurance becomes more expensive as you get older. But that of course doesn’t mean there comes an age when everyone should buy, or stop buying, term life insurance.

Your decision should hinge on who relies on you financially: how much, how long and whether the cost of coverage fits your monthly budget.

Review your coverage regularly

Term insurance coverage that works for you today may not fit your needs at a later stage in life. Major life events and financial obligations — such as marriage, paying off the mortgage on a house, having children, funding childcare and education, changing jobs and approaching retirement — can all significantly impact your coverage needs. To help determine the coverage amount and duration that are ideal for you, consider using Aflac’s Life Insurance Calculator.

If you believe you require coverage even after a term policy ends, consider applying for another one or opting to convert it to permanent life insurance. Additionally, make sure that you assess whether premiums fit your monthly budget comfortably.

Get a quote for term life insurance rates from Aflac today

Although term life insurance costs can vary depending on many factors, premiums are typically lower than those of whole life insurance policies.

At Aflac, our term life insurance prices vary depending on your coverage goals and the life you lead. Moreover, they remain the same throughout the term you choose, so you know the exact payment obligations to expect every month and year. Chat with an Aflac agent today to discover the options available to you.

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