What is the average life insurance cost?

The average life insurance cost is a tricky thing to pin down because it depends on several different factors. The most important ones that go into the price of life insurance include:  

• Your age: The price of life insurance increases the older you are.
• Your health: People in good physical health generally pay less than those who have high blood pressure, diabetes or other health conditions.
• If you smoke: Smokers usually pay more than nonsmokers.
• Your hobbies: You’ll likely pay more for a policy if you engage in dangerous hobbies like skydiving.
• Your gender: Because women on average tend to live longer than men, they generally pay less for life insurance.
• The type of policy you buy: Term life insurance costs less than permanent life insurance for two reasons: it doesn’t have a savings plan component and it only covers you for a set amount of time rather than your whole life.
• Your coverage level and term: The price goes up the more you increase the coverage level and the length of the term.

A Policy for Every Person

It Costs Less Than You Think

Our most recent Insurance Barometer Study revealed that people think life insurance costs three times more than it really does. Many people were surprised to learn that a healthy 30-year-old can get a $250,000 20-year level-term policy for under $200 per year. With this policy, your loved ones would receive $250,000 if you were to pass away between the ages of 30 and 50. (And they’d receive the full $250,000, since life insurance proceeds almost always pass on tax free.)

A quick and easy way to get an idea of how much life insurance you’d need is to use our Life Insurance Needs Calculator. Simply answer a few questions to get an estimate of the amount you’d need to protect your nearest and dearest.

No Time Like the Present

If you’re on a tight budget, it’s important to remember that any amount of life insurance coverage is better than none at all. And that there’s no time like the present to get it.

That’s because we never truly know what tomorrow will bring. What’s more, life insurance tends to be less expensive the earlier you buy it. And by locking in coverage at a good rate now, you’ll ensure it will continue should you develop a health condition later on.

Get started today by looking at the various ways to get coverage.