Buying life insurance in your 30s is very common. Not everyone has the same lifestyle, but in your 30s you’re likely in a committed relationship, you may have children, a mortgage, and all sorts of financial responsibilities. Life insurance protects these things.
Term life insurance is the best life insurance option in most cases. Term life insurance is essentially used to replace your income if you die unexpectedly. If there are people that rely on you, consider term life insurance.
Reasons why you may need life insurance in your 30s:
- Financially protect spouse/partner
- Provide for children
- Support aging parents
- Cover mortgage/rent payments
Not only are your 30s a time when you likely need life insurance, it’s also a great time to buy because you can lock in low rates while you’re young and healthy.
Term life insurance rates are fixed. This means once you buy the policy, your premiums won’t increase as you age or even if you develop a health issue.
» Compare: Term life insurance quotes
How much will a term life insurance policy cost in my 30s?
These are the main factors that affect how much your life insurance policy will cost:
- Your age
- Your gender
- Your height/weight
- If you use tobacco products
- If you have any medical conditions
- If you have any driving violations
- If you have a criminal record
- The term length you choose
- The coverage amount you choose
- If you want instant coverage
How old are you? Are you male or female?
Your age plays a big role in determining your life insurance pricing. The older you are, the more you will pay for life insurance.
Your gender also plays a role. Women, statistically, live longer and take fewer risks than men so they are rewarded with slightly lower premiums. Below is an example of pricing for both males and females in their 30s.
| Quotes for Monthly Cost of a $250,000 30-Year Term Life Insurance Policy for Healthy Non-Smoking Individuals in Their 30s | ||
|---|---|---|
| Age | Male | Female |
| 30 | $18.20 | $15.56 |
| 31 | $18.37 | $16.03 |
| 32 | $18.96 | $16.42 |
| 33 | $19.59 | $16.92 |
| 34 | $20.32 | $17.45 |
| 35 | $20.82 | $17.91 |
| 36 | $22.07 | $18.91 |
| 37 | $23.21 | $19.86 |
| 38 | $25.20 | $20.81 |
| 39 | $26.66 | $21.81 |
Do you use any tobacco products?
If you smoke cigarettes, you will only qualify for Tobacco risk classes. There are two subtypes of tobacco risk classes: Preferred Tobacco and Standard Tobacco.
If you’re relatively healthy, but smoke, you can qualify for Preferred. If you have any health issues in addition to smoking cigarettes, you won’t qualify for Preferred.
Below is a table showing the same traits as the table above, except these individuals are smokers who receive a Preferred Tobacco risk class.
| Quotes for Monthly Cost of a $250,000 30-Year Term Life Insurance Policy for Individuals in Their 30s Who Smoke Cigarettes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Age | Male | Female |
| 30 | $57.89 | $44.62 |
| 31 | $61.28 | $46.54 |
| 32 | $64.68 | $48.45 |
| 33 | $68.07 | $50.15 |
| 34 | $71.46 | $52.06 |
| 35 | $73.74 | $53.97 |
| 36 | $80.75 | $59.50 |
| 37 | $87.76 | $64.39 |
| 38 | $94.99 | $69.70 |
| 39 | $102.00 | $75.65 |
See what you’d pay for life insurance
Do you have any health or lifestyle risk factors?
A health or lifestyle risk factor that affects your mortality will affect your life insurance premiums. For example, a common health condition that affects your life insurance rate is diabetes. A common lifestyle risk factor that affects your life insurance rate is a DUI. These factors can make you ineligible for the best life insurance risk class, Preferred Plus.
| Risk Classes for Non-Tobacco Users |
|---|
| Preferred Plus |
| Preferred |
| Standard Plus |
| Standard |
Getting life insurance in your 30s may allow you to lock in that low rate before serious health conditions creep in. We also recommend getting a term life insurance policy with a conversion option.
A conversion option allows you to convert your term policy into a permanent one even if you were to become uninsurable, like if you were diagnosed with cancer.
Below is a table showing an example of how life insurance pricing varies between the different risk classes.
| Quotes for Monthly Cost of a $250,000 30-Year Term Life Insurance Policy for 35-Year-Old Individual | ||
|---|---|---|
| Risk Class | Male | Female |
| Preferred Plus | $20.82 | $17.91 |
| Preferred | $24.31 | $21.00 |
| Standard Plus | $32.30 | $28.05 |
| Standard | $37.19 | $30.17 |
How long do you want coverage for?
Term life insurance provides coverage for a set period of time. This length of time is called a term. Term length options range from 10 to 40 years.
Not sure what term length you need? Consider your age, the age of your children, and how long it will take for you to pay off your current financial obligations, such as a mortgage.
For example, if you have a toddler and just bought your first house, a 30-year term may be ideal. This provides financial protection for your family as your mortgage is paid off and your child grows into an adult. If your youngest child is 10 years old and you have 15 years left on your mortgage, a 15 or 20-year term may be better.
If you aren’t sure the best term length for you, another option is just to choose the longest term you can comfortably afford.
Below is a table showing an example of how life insurance pricing varies depending on the term length you choose.
| Quotes for Monthly Cost of a $250,000 Term Life Insurance Policy for a Healthy Non-Smoking 35-Year-Old Individual | ||
|---|---|---|
| Term Length | Male | Female |
| 10-Year | $9.56 | $8.74 |
| 15-Year | $10.68 | $9.96 |
| 20-Year | $13.12 | $11.87 |
| 25-Year | $18.30 | $15.87 |
| 30-Year | $20.82 | $17.91 |
| 35-Year | $25.76 | $21.63 |
| 40-Year | $37.30 | $28.79 |
How much coverage do you need?
The amount of term life insurance coverage you need will depend on your finances, financial goals, and family situation. The rule of thumb is to buy 10-15x your annual salary, but this number isn’t right for everyone.
Below is a table showing an example of how life insurance pricing varies depending on the amount of term coverage you choose. There are many, many coverage amount options you could go with ranging from $50,000 to millions of dollars, but I chose to show the amounts our clients choose most often.
| Quotes for Monthly Cost of a 30-Year Term Life Insurance Policy for a Healthy Non-Smoking 35-Year-Old Individual |
||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage/Death Benefit | Male | Female |
| $100,000 | $13.57 | $11.71 |
| $150,000 | $17.60 | $14.80 |
| $250,000 | $20.82 | $17.91 |
| $300,000 | $23.74 | $20.24 |
| $500,000 | $34.76 | $29.16 |
| $750,000 | $49.35 | $40.60 |
| $1,000,000 | $63.24 | $51.19 |
| $1,200,000 | $74.64 | $60.32 |
| $1,500,000 | $91.73 | $74.02 |
| $2,000,000 | $120.22 | $96.85 |
| $5,000,000 | $292.73 | $233.84 |
If you’re not sure how much life insurance you need, head over to our Life Insurance Calculator. It’s free and easy to use. Answer a few questions and the tool will calculate a suggested coverage amount.
Do you need instant life insurance coverage?
There are situations in which instant coverage may be ideal. Perhaps you’re starting a small business and need collateral for an SBA loan. Maybe you’re in the middle of divorce proceedings and the judge requires you to get life insurance.
For traditional life insurance policies, the life insurance application process from start to finish can take as little as a week but as long as a few months depending on how much documentation is needed. For example, if you have medical issues and have gone to many different doctors, requesting and receiving all these different medical records can take quite some time depending on how quickly your doctors’ offices work.
On average, however, the life insurance process from start to finish takes 4-6 weeks. If you prefer a faster option, Quotacy works with carriers that provide instant coverage. There are downsides to these policies. They tend to be more expensive and usually don’t have beneficial add-on options such as a term conversion option.
The table below provides quotes and information to compare traditional term life insurance to some instant coverage options. There are many different life insurance products and the table below is not inclusive, but shows what is commonly sold in the market and through Quotacy.
| Quotes for Monthly Cost of a $250,000 20-Year Term Life Insurance Policy for 35-Year-Old Individual | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Policy Type | Male | Female | Medical Exam Needed? | Conversion Option? | Accelerated Death Benefit Rider? | Child Rider? |
| Traditional Term Life Insurance | $13.59 | $11.93 | Most likely | Included, no charge | Included, no charge | Optional add-on |
| Instant Coverage Term Life Insurance Option 1 | $13.12 | $11.87 | Maybe | Not available | Included, no charge | Not available |
| Instant Coverage Term Life Insurance Option 2 | $18.71 | $14.13 | No | Not available | Not available | Not available |
Not everyone qualifies for these instant coverage policies. When you shop for life insurance through Quotacy, these options will appear if the information you entered on our quoting tool determines you are eligible.
It’s important to note that eligibility doesn’t equal approval. You’ll need to complete the application for the instant coverage product to find out if you’re approved. The good news is you’ll know immediately after entering the application information if you’re approved.
If you aren’t approved for instant coverage, this does not mean you can’t buy term life insurance. You’re likely still insurable, but just not with instant coverage because of their strict eligibility requirements.
Ready to see how much (or how little) term life insurance will cost you? Head over to our term life insurance quoting tool. It’s free to use—you don’t even have to give up any contact information. Instantly see pricing and compare policies. When you’re ready, applying online in less than ten minutes. Your dedicated Quotacy team will keep you updated every step of the way as your application moves through the buying process.
Note: Life insurance quotes used in this article accurate as of November 12, 2021. These are only estimates and your life insurance costs may be higher or lower.
0 Comments