Life insurance companies mostly base their rates on your age and health status, but they also factor in your job, your weight, whether you smoke and even your family health history. Unlike other kinds of insurance, life insurance quotes aren’t affected by your location. At InsuranceDiaries.com, we’ve compiled rates for a variety of policy types and customer profiles to calculate the Average Cost Of Life Insurance Monthly.
There are several types of life insurance. The most common is term life insurance. With this, you pay a fixed premium (monthly or annually) for a specific amount of coverage, such as $500,000. But the coverage only lasts for a specific period of time and then expires. The coverage period can be as short as 10 years or as long as 30 years.
Another option is whole life insurance. Unlike term life insurance that has a policy expiration date for coverage, whole life insurance is permanent. This means that as long as you continue to make your premium payments on time you have coverage for your entire life. Whole life insurance is much more expensive than term life insurance in most cases. When you shop for life insurance or switch companies, costs will play a large role in determining which provider and plan you use.
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How much is life insurance?
As part of incorporating it into your financial strategy, you may want to know “how much does life insurance cost?” The following numbers are supplied by Business Insider and demonstrate an example of term life insurance prices from four major life insurers for healthy, non smoking policy holders.
What Is The Average Cost Of Life Insurance Monthly?
Average cost of life insurance by age
Business Insider also provides rates by age for healthy, male and female policy shoppers seeking $250,000 of term life coverage at various ages:
| Age | Average female quote | Average male quote |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | $18.59/month | $22.67/month |
| 30 | $19.79/month | $23.49/month |
| 35 | $22.95/month | $25.72/month |
| 40 | $29.63/month | $34.74/month |
| 45 | $41.75/month | $51.42/month |
| 50 | $60.68/month | $81.23/month |
It is important to note that the life insurance cost increases most significantly after age 45. Those who wait until they reach middle or retirement age to purchase coverage will typically pay much more for it than if they had taken out a policy when they were younger.
Average cost of life insurance by gender
To see the differences highlighted by gender, both of the following policyholders are 35 years old and are seeking a 30-year term policy with a death benefit of $250,000.
| Life insurance company | Average cost of life insurance for 35-year-old female | Average cost of life insurance for 35-year-old male |
|---|---|---|
| RiverSource | $22.09/month | $24.72/month |
| State Farm | $28.07/month | $30.02/month |
| Nationwide | $20.34/month | $23.63/month |
| Mutual of Omaha | $21.29/month | $24.51/month |
| Average cost | $22.95/month | $25.72/month |
As you can see, the average life insurance cost for a man is about $2.80 more per month than a woman will pay. This adds up to a little over $1,000 over the life of a 30-year term policy. Rates are similar, regardless of the size of the insurance company.
Life insurance rates by state
As with other types of insurance, variables unique to you can affect the cost of your life insurance. However, the life insurance cost is not affected by geographic factors, such as the neighborhood you live in. Life insurance can slightly differ on average within the U.S. While regulations may vary by state, average rates in each state may just reflect slight variances in provider rates or policy coverage amounts.
Average cost of term life insurance by state
S&P Global Market Intelligence published a table showing the average cost of term life insurance per household for every state in the U.S., broken down as follows:
| State | Annual life insurance premium | Average monthly premium |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $602 | $50 |
| Alaska | $655 | $55 |
| Arizona | $615 | $51 |
| Arkansas | $584 | $49 |
| California | $668 | $56 |
| Colorado | $645 | $54 |
| Connecticut | $724 | $60 |
| Delaware | $657 | $55 |
| District of Columbia | $636 | $53 |
| Florida | $627 | $52 |
| Georgia | $630 | $53 |
| Hawaii | $687 | $57 |
| Idaho | $597 | $50 |
| Illinois | $631 | $53 |
| Indiana | $593 | $49 |
| Iowa | $601 | $50 |
| Kansas | $601 | $50 |
| Kentucky | $599 | $50 |
| Louisiana | $597 | $50 |
| Maine | $641 | $53 |
| Maryland | $712 | $59 |
| Massachusetts | $718 | $60 |
| Michigan | $610 | $51 |
| Minnesota | $639 | $53 |
| Mississippi | $581 | $48 |
| Missouri | $590 | $49 |
| Montana | $601 | $50 |
| Nebraska | $603 | $50 |
| Nevada | $607 | $51 |
| New Hampshire | $708 | $59 |
| New Jersey | $732 | $61 |
| New Mexico | $588 | $49 |
| New York | $675 | $56 |
| North Carolina | $617 | $51 |
| North Dakota | $603 | $50 |
| Ohio | $599 | $50 |
| Oklahoma | $598 | $50 |
| Oregon | $627 | $52 |
| Pennsylvania | $658 | $55 |
| Rhode Island | $660 | $55 |
| South Carolina | $615 | $51 |
| South Dakota | $591 | $49 |
| Tennessee | $609 | $51 |
| Texas | $633 | $53 |
| Utah | $636 | $53 |
| Vermont | $655 | $55 |
| Virginia | $682 | $57 |
| Washington | $655 | $55 |
| West Virginia | $590 | $49 |
| Wisconsin | $607 | $51 |
| Wyoming | $601 | $50 |
SEE ALSO:
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- How To Find Out If Life Insurance Policy Is Still Valid
- Mortgage vs Life Insurance – Is Mortgage Life Insurance Worth It?
Factors that determine your life insurance costs
There are many factors life insurance providers examine when determining your eligibility for coverage and your premium price. To better understand these costs, it can help to think of them from the perspective of insurance providers and how rates are based on risk.
Gender
Women have a longer life expectancy than men on average, so if you are a male, you represent a higher risk to the insurance companies. Based on this, life insurance costs are typically more expensive for a male than a female of the same age.
Age
The older you are when you request a policy, the more likely it is that the insurance company will have to pay the benefit.
Amount of death benefit
Another factor affecting the cost of life insurance is how much coverage you need. If you want a policy that provides financial assistance to a loved one (think $50,000), you will pay far less for this than you would for a policy that provides a $1,000,000 benefit upon passing away.
Type of life insurance
Term life insurance rates are cheaper than whole life insurance rates. Term life insurance is only effective for a set period of time. Whole life insurance is permanent and only ends when you choose to cancel or stop paying the premiums. Term life insurance leaves a death benefit amount of your choice. Whole life insurance also includes a cash value amount you contribute to that can be accessed while you’re alive.
Job
What you do for a living can also have an impact on how much you pay for life insurance. If you are in a dangerous profession such as construction, war reporting or law enforcement, you could face more risks on a daily basis than an office worker. Because of this added risk, you might pay a little more for life insurance.
Health
Your health also plays a huge factor in how much you pay. If you use tobacco products, that will typically raise your premium significantly. Furthermore, most life insurance companies will want you to undergo either a health questionnaire or a health check-up before approving you for a policy.
A company-approved nurse will visit your home, gather information about your and your family’s health history and check health metrics like your blood pressure and resting pulse rate, or in some cases, even taking a blood sample. Your current health and your family’s risk factors will at least partly determine how much you will pay.
Lifestyle
Last but not least is how you live your life. If you drink alcohol regularly or participate in high-risk activities such as cliff diving, you will likely pay more for life insurance.
How do I buy life insurance?
In all cases, you can start the process by going through a few carriers’ websites to receive life insurance quotes. Some allow you to buy a policy online while others will want you to fill out a medical questionnaire that allows them to learn more about your health and your family’s health history. Moreover, some will also want to do a check-up to determine how healthy you are now. Therefore, with some, you can buy a policy right away while with other companies, it might take weeks before you receive coverage.