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How Do I Get the Best Term Life Insurance Rate?

July 24, 2023
Our goal is to educate and advise on life insurance options, so you can feel confident in making the right choice, whether that’s through Quotacy or somewhere else. To ensure we provide accurate and trustworthy information, our writers follow strict editorial standards.

If you’re looking for the best term life insurance rate, you’ve come to the right place.

Life insurance companies view risk differently from one to the next, so where you apply matters.

As an independent life insurance broker, Quotacy has decades of industry experience and access to over 25 of the nation’s top-rated carriers to ensure you get the right coverage at the best price.

Which Type of Life Insurance Is Most Affordable?

Life insurance policies fall into one of two categories: term or permanent. Permanent coverage lasts until you pass away, but it’s very expensive and typically serves those with complex estate planning needs.

Term is the most popular life insurance choice because it’s temporary, straightforward, and affordable, but still meets coverage needs for the majority of policyholders.

What would happen if you suddenly passed away? Would your loved ones be able to maintain their standard of living?

Term policies provide affordable financial security during your most financially vulnerable years, ensuring your loved ones maintain their standard of living and achieve their financial goals.

How Does Term Life Work?

  • You purchase coverage for a specific number of years
  • If you pass away during those years, your loved ones receive your death benefit payout
  • In an emotionally difficult time, your family has one less thing to worry about

Before you starting seriously shopping for a term life insurance policy, assess your unique needs and goals to determine:

  • Term length: The period your policy covers 10-40 years). We recommend aligning term length with your longest financial obligation (I.E. a mortgage)
  • Coverage amount: Also called the death benefit, this is the amount your policy beneficiaries will receive if you pass away.

Use our simple tool to calculate your term life insurance needs.

When Is Life Insurance Needed Most?

Anyone who has financial dependents should have life insurance, but there are certain scenarios when it’s absolutely critical.

  • Newlyweds rely on one another financially as they grow in their careers and save for retirement.
  • Having kids comes with decades of financial responsibilities.
  • Buying a home and paying the mortgage typically requires two incomes.
  • Stay-at-home parents provide incredible value. Their labor in the home saves the family a lot of money.
  • Single parents working hard to provide for their children.
  • Small business owners can support their staff, operations, and longevity.

Because the cost of term life insurance is relatively low, it allows families to save for other goals while protecting their family’s finances.

Example:

Nathan and Jenny are 30 years old and had their first child this year. They each make roughly $60,000 annually.

Nathan purchases a $500,000 30-year term life insurance policy for $29.75 per month. Jenny purchases a $500,000 30-year term life insurance policy for $25.40 per month. These term life insurance rates are fixed and will never increase during the 30-year term.

Their affordable policies leave room in their budget to allow each of them to direct $500 (pre-tax) per month into a 401(k) and $500 per month into an IRA. As their salaries increase, they plan on increasing their investments.

The term life insurance policies will financially protect them until they’re 60 years old. At this time, their children will be grown and they will have accumulated a sizeable retirement nest egg, so their term life insurance policies are safe to expire.

If either Nathan or Jenny dies during these next 30 years, the insurance company pays out the $500,000 death benefit. These proceeds will help the surviving spouse pay end-of-life expenses, like a funeral, maintain their standard of living and continue to care for their children and save for retirement.

How to Get Your Best Term Life Insurance Rate

Follow these three pieces of advice, and you’ll be on the way to getting your most affordable term rates:

  • Apply for life insurance as soon as you need it
  • Work with a life insurance broker
  • Make smart health and lifestyle choices
  • Consider reapplying

Apply for Life Insurance as Soon as You Need It

Life insurance rates are based on an applicant’s risk of death, so naturally, age is has a huge impact on rates.

The younger you are, the lower your rates. What’s more, term rates are fixed, so buying early means you lock in a low premium for the duration of your policy.

Monthly Quotes for a 20-Year $1,000,000 Term Life Insurance Policy by Age and Gender
Age Male Female
30 $29.52 $23.48
40 $48.73 $40.52
50 $129.08 $95.48
60 $378.77 $264.08

Assess your needs and plan for the future so you can get life insurance as soon as you need it.

Even if you’re a little late to the life insurance game, term life insurance can be customized to fit most budgets. You can reduce the coverage amount or term length to make it more affordable.

This table below shows how you can lower your monthly rate by lowering the face amount (a.k.a. the coverage amount).

Monthly Quotes for a 20-Year Term Life Insurance Policy for 50-Year-Old Individuals
Coverage Amount Male Female
$100,000 $21.77 $17.82
$250,000 $38.89 $30.96
$500,000 $71.21 $57.08
$750,000 $106.32 $80.43
$1,000,000 $133.79 $96.34

This table below shows how you can lower your monthly rate by shortening the term length.

Monthly Quotes for a $500,000 Term Life Insurance Policy for 50-Year-Old Individuals
Term Length Male Female
10-Year $39.90 $32.69
15-Year $53.27 $40.56
20-Year $69.46 $54.51
25-Year $102.50 $78.21
30-Year $124.78 $94.30
35-Year $217.32 $165.85
40-Year Not Available Not Available

Apply Through a Life Insurance Broker

A life insurance broker is not required to sell products from a specific life insurance company. A broker has partnerships with many different life insurance companies. Here at Quotacy, we work with over 25 A-rated (or better) life insurance companies.

Why work with an independent broker?

  • Life insurance companies don’t all use the same criteria to assign rate class
  • If you have a preexisting condition, they know which carrier will give your the best rate
  • If you have a dangerous job or hobby, they know which carrier will give you the best rate
  • As a broker, our legal responsibility is to act in our client’s best interest, not the carriers we work with
  • No matter how far into the process you get, you’re under no obligation to buy coverage.

Rate classes determine what you pay. There can be a big difference in cost depending on the rate class you’re given from a carrier.

Monthly Quotes for a 20-Year $500,000 Term Life Insurance Policy
Term Length Male – Age 40 Female – Age 40
Preferred Plus $28.41 $23.99
Preferred $35.22 $29.33
Standard Plus $46.00 $37.55
Standard $54.83 $42.69

Make Smart Health and Lifestyle Choices

Your health and lifestyle choices affect your life insurance rates. Tobacco use, for example, is one of the biggest factors that impact cost.

There are two broad categories of life insurance rate classes: non-tobacco and tobacco.

If you smoke cigarettes, you are placed in a tobacco rate class. Cigars, e-cigarettes, marijuana, chewing tobacco, and pipe smoking may also receive a tobacco rating depending on the life insurance company you apply to.

Monthly Quotes for 20-Year $500,000
Term Life Insurance Policy
for a 35-Year-Old Male
Preferred Plus $20.20
Preferred $25.49
Standard Plus $33.76
Standard $38.91
Preferred Tobacco $82.28
Standard Tobacco $106.87

As you can see, pricing in the tobacco categories are much higher compared to the non-tobacco.

If you don’t smoke cigarettes, but do use a different form of tobacco, you can save money by applying to Quotacy. If there is an insurance company that is willing to offer a non-tobacco rate class to you, we’ll find it.

Consider Reapplying Later

If you currently smoke cigarettes and plan on quitting in the future, we recommend that you still buy life insurance now. After you quit and some time has passed, re-apply and see if you qualify for a lower rate.

This same advice goes for any health or lifestyle issue that you wish to improve on. Have high cholesterol and are working on lowering it? Get life insurance now and re-apply in the future. Have a DUI on your record that’s causing your life insurance rates to be quite high? Buy the coverage now and re-apply in the future when there’s more time between you and your incident.

Learn more about different life insurance policies and their average monthly costs in 2023

Compare Term Life Insurance Quotes & Apply for Coverage Today

You never know what tomorrow will bring. You may be diagnosed with a health condition that causes you to be uninsurable. You may get into an accident and die much sooner than planned. Protect your family today.

You can get free term life insurance quotes instantly, without even giving away any contact information. When you’re comfortable and ready to apply, the online application only takes a few minutes.

After applying, a Quotacy agent will reach out and help you through the process from start to finish. To get the best term life insurance rates, don’t hesitate.

Note: Life insurance quotes used in this article are accurate as of July 21, 2023. These are only estimates and your life insurance costs may be higher or lower.

Watch the Best Life Insurance Rates Video

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