Let’s face it, being a millionaire is something most people only dream about, but just because you’re not rolling in the dough doesn’t mean you should rule out a million-dollar life insurance policy.
In fact, million-dollar policies are quite common and may be more affordable than you think. See for yourself. Get a quote for $1,000,000 of term life insurance coverage instantly. No need to give away any contact information in order to see real-time pricing estimates.
Questions answered in this article:
- How much is a million-dollar life insurance policy?
- Can anyone get a million-dollar life insurance policy?
- When does a million dollars of life insurance make sense?
- Is a million dollars enough life insurance?
- Can I get a million-dollar life insurance policy without a medical exam?
- Is a million dollars of life insurance right for me?
How much is a million-dollar life insurance policy?
The cost of a million-dollar life insurance policy is determined by a number of factors, including your age, gender, and health. How long you want your term policy to last will also affect how much the $1,000,000 policy costs.
See what you’d pay for $1,000,000 of life insurance
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Cost of a $1,000,000 Life Insurance Policy
Monthly Cost of a $1,000,000 Life Insurance Policy by Term Length (applicants are healthy, non-smokers)
| Term Length | Male, Age 35 | Female, Age 35 |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Year Term | $20.38 | $16.14 |
| 15-Year Term | $24.65 | $20.31 |
| 20-Year Term | $33.15 | $28.90 |
| 25-Year Term | $50.97 | $42.48 |
| 30-Year Term | $63.24 | $51.15 |
| 35-Year Term | $78.50 | $62.58 |
| 40-Year Term | $134.10 | $91.83 |
Monthly Cost of a 20-Year $1,000,000 Life Insurance Policy by Age (applicants are healthy, non-smokers)
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | $29.74 | $22.92 |
| 30 | $30.57 | $24.56 |
| 35 | $33.15 | $28.90 |
| 40 | $49.06 | $40.82 |
| 45 | $80.00 | $66.52 |
| 50 | $130.70 | $96.04 |
| 55 | $218.45 | $158.08 |
| 60 | $383.30 | $265.71 |
| 65 | $743.11 | $485.19 |
| 70 | $1,518.87 | $1,097.53 |
Monthly Cost of a 20-Year $1,000,000 Life Insurance Policy Based on Health and Tobacco Use
| Risk Class | Male, Age 35 | Female, Age 35 |
|---|---|---|
| Preferred Plus (Healthiest) | $33.15 | $28.90 |
| Preferred | $45.01 | $37.37 |
| Standard Plus | $63.32 | $48.02 |
| Standard (Average Health) | $72.01 | $55.58 |
| Preferred Tobacco | $157.23 | $112.15 |
| Standard Tobacco | $209.36 | $164.88 |
Life insurance quotes for a million-dollar policy vary across several factors. We recommend that you purchase life insurance as soon as you realize you have a need because life insurance quotes will increase with age. As health issues creep in, these can also raise life insurance quotes.
Once you buy a term life insurance policy, your life insurance rate is fixed. This means your premiums will never increase during that term. So, if you buy a 30-year $1,000,000 life insurance policy for $52 per month, your rate will never change during that 30-year term as you age, even if you develop a health issue.
Can anyone get a million-dollar life insurance policy?
In order to qualify, insurance companies require financial justification for large policies because life insurance is designed to replace wealth, not increase it.
There are also many factors that go into determining if you’re eligible for a million dollars of coverage. These include age, income, health, and lifestyle.
Not everyone can justify owning a million dollars of life insurance. However, purchasing a million-dollar policy doesn’t seem far-fetched when you add up all the financial obligations you would leave behind.
This can include the cost to replace your income, pay off the mortgage, send children to college, and take care of any other outstanding debt.
When does a million dollars of coverage make sense?
Not everyone needs a million-dollar life insurance policy, but it can make sense in many family situations.
Consider the things you’ll pay for during your lifetime. Your student loans, car loans, mortgage or rent payments, and essentials like clothing, food, gas, and utilities. If you have children, add their essentials plus daycare, school activities, and their college education.
Bills add up quickly. If you died unexpectedly, a $1,000,000 life insurance policy makes sense. Your surviving spouse or partner will still need to pay those expenses.
Let’s look at a common family scenario when one million dollars’ worth of life insurance is needed.
Example: Married couple with two kids and a house
John and Jane Smith, both 40 years old, each make approximately $70,000 annually. They have two children (ages 8 and 6) and live in a four-bedroom home with a $300,000 mortgage.
If either of them die, their wish is to minimize the disruption by having enough coverage to take care of the mortgage, so the surviving spouse and children don’t have to move.
Another wish is to help their children with the cost of their college education. Depending on the state and whether it’s public or private, the average total cost can range from $10,000 to $40,000 per year, per student.
Using the life insurance needs calculator, here are some of the factors and costs that go into determining how much life insurance coverage John and Jane need.
They want their life insurance policy to:
- Cover a funeral: $10,000
- Pay off mortgage: $300,000
- Replace lost income: $700,000
- Pay for children’s college tuition: $100,000
Based on these numbers, the suggested coverage amount for each would be $1,200,000.
For this example, we didn’t include additional debt, current savings and investments, or if they have a life insurance policy they plan to keep. These factors could increase or decrease their suggested life insurance amount.
How much will their $1,000,000 life insurance policies cost?
Now that we know John and Jane could each use at least $1,000,000 in life insurance, let’s break down how much this would cost them.
The first step is to determine how long they want coverage for. Since they want to help their children financially through college, they each decide on a 30-year term.
In the tables below, we’ll illustrate the cost of a $1,000,000 policy with a 30-year term length for typical non-smoker risk classes (Preferred Plus being the best possible class offered.)
Cost of a $1,000,000 Life Insurance Policy by Gender and Risk Class
Monthly Cost of a 30-Year $1,000,000 Life Insurance Policy for Non-Smoking Male, Age 40
| Risk Class | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|
| Preferred Plus | $92.48 |
| Preferred | $111.51 |
| Standard Plus | $150.44 |
| Standard | $175.06 |
Monthly Cost of a 30-Year $1,000,000 Life Insurance Policy for Non-Smoking Female, Age 40
| Risk Class | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|
| Preferred Plus | $73.95 |
| Preferred | $87.42 |
| Standard Plus | $116.44 |
| Standard | $135.11 |
As you can see in the tables above, one million dollars’ worth of term life insurance is not that expensive considering how much your loved ones would receive if you died too soon. These policies would financially protect John and Jane’s family until they reach age 70.
John and Jane decided to wait and buy life insurance after their children were already born. Had they planned ahead and purchased a 30-year $1,000,000 term policy when they got married at age 30, they would have qualified for much lower premiums and still been covered through their children’s college years.
Take a look at the quotes in the table below.
Cost of a $1,000,000 Life Insurance Policy by Gender and Risk Class
Monthly Cost of a 30-Year $1,000,000 Life Insurance Policy for Non-Smoking Male and Female, Age 30
| Who | Risk Class | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|
| John Smith | Preferred Plus | $53.24 |
| Preferred | $67.32 | |
| Standard Plus | $86.32 | |
| Standard | $112.20 | |
| Jane Smith | Preferred Plus | $39.93 |
| Preferred | $51.48 | |
| Standard Plus | $77.88 | |
| Standard | $82.42 |
Is a million dollars enough life insurance?
One million dollars of term life insurance may not be enough for some people. If you’re a high earner, own a business, or have investment properties, you may want to consider higher amounts of coverage.
Once you sit down and total up all your financial responsibilities, a $5,000,000 or $10,000,000 term life insurance policy may not sound so extreme.
However, you may find that laddering life insurance policies may be a more affordable way to cover these many financial responsibilities.
Laddering Policies for Millions of Dollars of Life Insurance
Let’s say that you reviewed all your financial responsibilities and goals and decided you do need over one million dollars of life insurance.
A $5,000,000 life insurance policy that lasts 30 years may cost a healthy 30-year-old man about $240 each month. While this coverage is needed, perhaps this expense is a little unaffordable for him as he’s starting a family and opening a family business.
He could opt to ladder coverage to save money in the long run. Instead of buying one $5,000,000 policy, he could buy multiple life insurance policies to cover different obligations and goals.
First, let’s answer: Why does he need millions of dollars of life insurance?
- Protect his family
- Raising children
- Paying the mortgage
- Putting children through college
- Protect his business
- Small business loan debt
- Operation expenses
These are valid reasons to buy life insurance, but he can save money by buying more than one policy to cover these needs.
He knows he’ll need the most life insurance coverage during the years he’s raising children. Those first 20 years, he will have many financial responsibilities.
He also wants to have some life insurance protection for his spouse as he enters retirement.
He can save money and still maintain good life insurance protection by buying the following policies:
- A 10-year $2,000,000 life insurance policy for $32 per month.
- A 20-year $2,000,000 life insurance policy for $55 per month.
- A 30-year $1,000,000 life insurance policy for $52 per month.
- A 40-year $500,000 life insurance policy for $54 per month.
As his financial obligations decrease throughout his lifetime, his term life insurance coverage will also decrease.
- During the first 10 years, he will pay a total of $193 per month for life insurance coverage that provides $5,000,000 of financial protection during his children’s most formative years.
- After 10 years, his monthly premiums drop to $161 per month for life insurance coverage that provides $3,500,000 of financial protection for his family as his children continue their education.
- After 20 years, his monthly premiums drop to $106 per month for $1,500,000 in life insurance protection. At this time, his mortgage loan obligations have decreased substantially, and his children are beginning to become financially independent.
- After 30 years, his monthly premiums drop to $54 per month. He’s 60 years old and will have a remaining $500,000 life insurance policy to protect his spouse and business for another 10 years until he’s retired with less financial responsibilities.
Can I get a million-dollar life insurance policy without a medical exam?
Yes, it’s possible for you to get a million-dollar life insurance policy without being required to take a medical exam.
Many life insurance companies have no-exam and accelerated underwriting options for people looking to buy a $1,000,000 term life insurance policy. Not everyone will be eligible though.
Not all life insurance companies underwrite the same way, so some have more lenient qualification requirements than others. If you prefer to skip the medical exam, your independent life insurance broker will let you know if you qualify.
Is a million dollars of life insurance right for me?
A million-dollar life insurance policy may not be necessary for everyone. But, on the other hand, it might not be enough depending on your family situation.
If you’re not sure how much life insurance you need, check out our life insurance needs calculator. It will point you in the right direction. From there, you can run a term life insurance quote.
Using our quoting tool makes getting life insurance quotes simple. You can also adjust the term length and coverage amount as much as you need until you find a policy that fits well in your budget.
Plus, you don’t need to give up any contact information to run a free life insurance quote.
» Learn more: How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
Note: Life insurance quotes used in this article accurate as of June 29, 2022. These are only estimates and your life insurance costs may be higher or lower.
Watch the One Million Dollars in Life Insurance Video
About the writer
Natasha Cornelius, CLU
Senior Editor and Licensed Life Insurance Expert
Natasha Cornelius, CLU, is a writer, editor, and life insurance researcher for Quotacy.com where her goal is to make life insurance more transparent and easier to understand. She has been in the life insurance industry since 2010 and has been writing about life insurance since 2014. Natasha earned her Chartered Life Underwriter designation in 2022. She is also co-host of Quotacy’s YouTube series. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
I need an insurance policy that I can borrow against should the need arise and one that will not just disappear after I’ve put so much money into it. I want a policy that will never go away that I am reassured no matter how old I get a long a premiums are paid out well always be there
Hi Elia, you’re looking for a permanent life insurance policy. You can read more about the different types of our permanent life insurance guide and request quotes there as well.
Hi Natasha,
Thanks for this very informative article. A few questions …
– Can canadians buy life insurance in the US?
– Can I add my spouse (jointly) to my policy?
– We are seniors, how does that affect my rates?
Thanks
Hi Maria!
– To buy life insurance in the U.S., premiums need to be paid from a U.S. bank account, and the application, phone interview, and medical exam must be completed in the U.S.
– There are joint life insurance policies. They only pay out once, either “first to die” or “second to die”, depending on which type of policy you buy.
– As you age, the cost of life insurance increases. If you have any health issues, this will also increase the premium you pay.
I recommend that you reach out to an independent life insurance broker in Canada to help you and your spouse buy coverage.
Great article! Good luck on getting your CLU designation! When you add up all of your current debts, your family’s regular living expenses, and future financial obligations, you might just find that you actually need a $1,000,000 life insurance policy. Once you realize the actual need for a million dollar life insurance policy, you may be pleasantly surprised by the affordability of the payments. We will post his to our social media accounts! Good luck in 2019!