Why compare life insurance quotes?
Life insurance is the best way to provide a financial safety net for your loved ones in the event of your death. Since no insurance company can offer you a discount due to federal regulations, comparing life insurance quotes from multiple companies is the easiest way to find the most affordable policy.
Policygenius makes it easy to compare life insurance quotes from America’s top insurers — and find the lowest price. Once you receive free life insurance quotes, a Policygenius agent can help you find the right coverage at the best rate.
What is life insurance?
Life insurance is a contract in which you make regular payments — also known as premiums — to an insurance company. If you die while your policy is active, the insurance company pays a tax-free sum of money to your beneficiaries.
Ensuring your loved ones have enough money to cover their expenses when you die is the main reason why people buy life insurance. However, only 52% of American adults have a life insurance policy, [1] leaving the rest exposed to unnecessary financial risk.
Meanwhile, 54% of Americans who don’t have life insurance say they’ve avoided purchasing it because they don’t know what kind of policy to buy, or how much coverage they need [2] — but Policygenius can help you answer those questions below.
How to compare life insurance quotes with Policygenius
Choose the best type of life insurance for your needs
The two main types of life insurance you’re most likely to choose from are term and whole. Term life policies cover you for a set period of time — usually between 10 and 30 years. Whole life insurance covers you for your entire life, and usually comes with a cash value component. Whole life is significantly more expensive than a term life policy with the same death benefit.
“Term life is usually the best option for most people,” says certified financial planner Patrick Hanzel, advanced planning manager at Policygenius. “Whole life insurance is usually only suitable for people who have a large annual income or net worth, complex estate planning needs, or a special-needs dependent.”
Term life insurance
Term life insurance is the best type of life insurance for most people because it’s affordable and easy to manage. It can also provide financial protection during the period of your life when you have the biggest expenses — like when your children are younger, or while you have a mortgage to pay off.
Some term life policies let you skip the medical exam during the application process so you can get coverage more quickly. If you have no health issues or just minor health conditions, you may be eligible for an affordable no-exam life insurance policy.
Whole life insurance
Whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance, which means it lasts your entire life, and pays out no matter when you die. It comes with a cash value component in addition to the lump-sum payout. High-net-worth individuals can benefit from this cash value as an additional investment vehicle, or as a buffer against estate tax.
If you have trouble qualifying for traditional life insurance due to your age or a serious health condition, a limited type of whole life insurance called final expense insurance could be a good option. Final expense insurance, also known as burial insurance, pays a small death benefit to your family to help cover end-of-life expenses, like a funeral or medical bills.
Term vs. whole life at a glance
Features | Term life insurance | Whole life insurance |
Length | 10-40 years | Lifetime |
Average cost | $26/month* | $451/month* |
Builds cash value | No | Yes |
Premiums | Fixed | Fixed |
Calculate out how much life insurance coverage you need
One easy rule of thumb is that your life insurance plan should include coverage that’s roughly 10 to 15 times your annual income. For example, if you make $100,000 per year, you’ll likely need around $1 million to $1.5 million in life insurance coverage.
Our life insurance quote calculator can help you estimate how much money your family would need to replace the loss of your income and meet their future goals.
When shopping for life insurance quotes, consider all the expenses your family has now and will have in the future, such as:
Everyday living expenses
Mortgage payments
Your children’s educational costs
The cost of your own funeral
Your life insurance policy amount should cover them all, so your loved ones won’t struggle financially in your absence.
Estimate how much your life insurance will cost
In general, the younger and healthier you are, the cheaper your life insurance will be. Additionally, term life insurance is far less expensive than whole life insurance.
A healthy 30-year-old who doesn’t smoke pays $26 per month on average for a 20-year term life policy with a $500,000 payout.
The same person would pay around 17 times more — $451 per month — for a whole life policy with the same payout.
It’s also more affordable to apply sooner rather than later. “One of the reasons people are encouraged to consider life insurance earlier in their lives is due to the fact that premiums will be lower due to their age,” says Kenneth A. Carow, PhD, CFA, a professor of finance and Kelley Faculty Fellow at Indiana University. “They’re also less likely to have developed additional mortality factors that will increase their premium, or maybe even affect their ability to obtain life insurance.”
Learn more about how health classifications affect life insurance rates
Average monthly rates for term life insurance in March 2024
Age | Gender | $250,000 coverage amount | $500,000 coverage amount | $1 million coverage amount |
20 | Female | $15.01 | $22.65 | $33.63 |
Male | $19.18 | $30.20 | $47.51 | |
30 | Female | $15.17 | $22.99 | $36.89 |
Male | $18.19 | $29.32 | $48.88 | |
40 | Female | $21.66 | $35.27 | $60.64 |
Male | $25.38 | $42.95 | $75.24 | |
50 | Female | $43.92 | $78.29 | $139.47 |
Male | $56.69 | $102.49 | $188.26 | |
60 | Female | $107.84 | $194.16 | $354.62 |
Male | $149.38 | $268.09 | $500.15 |
Average monthly rates for whole life insurance in March 2024
Age | Gender | $250,000 coverage amount | $500,000 coverage amount | $1 million coverage amount |
20 | Female | $147.50 | $290.00 | $558.50 |
Male | $175.50 | $347.00 | $670.50 | |
30 | Female | $209.50 | $414.50 | $814.00 |
Male | $245.50 | $487.00 | $954.50 | |
40 | Female | $305.00 | $605.50 | $1,195.00 |
Male | $371.00 | $737.00 | $1,422.00 | |
50 | Female | $480.50 | $957.00 | $1,899.00 |
Male | $569.50 | $1,134.5 | $2,222.00 | |
60 | Female | $800.50 | $1,597.00 | $3,179.50 |
Male | $957.00 | $1,909.50 | $3,769.00 |
Gather the information you need & get free quotes
Comparing free life insurance quotes online is easy with Policygenius. Here’s everything you need to get your quotes.
Basic details like your age, gender, date of birth, and ZIP code
Individual and household income
Health and lifestyle information, like your height, weight, and basic medical details
All the same information for your spouse, if you’d like to get coverage for them too
Depending on your circumstances, you may need to answer a few more questions with a Policygenius agent about your lifestyle, health, and past medical conditions.
Choose the best life insurance company for you
The right life insurance company for you will depend on factors like your age, health, and financial needs. Our independent, unbiased ratings and reviews of the best life insurance companies will help you find a great life insurance policy with confidence, and our online quotes will show you which insurers can provide you with the most affordable coverage.
Compare the 5 best life insurance companies of 2024
Insurer | Policygenius rating | Best for | AM Best rating | |
---|---|---|---|---|
5.0/5 ★ | No-medical-exam, young adults | A | ||
4.9/5 ★ | Affordability, term life, smokers | A+ | ||
4.9/5 ★ | Whole life | A++ | ||
4.8/5 ★ | Pre-existing conditions | A | ||
4.8/5 ★ | Customer satisfaction | A+ |
Explore our reviews of more than 30 life insurance companies
Apply for life insurance
Whether you’re applying online or with a Policygenius agent over the phone, you’ll need to provide some additional information about your health and lifestyle so insurers can make an offer.
Here are some of the details you’ll need to provide when you apply:
Identification and financial information like your driver’s license number, your citizenship status, and your income and net worth.
Health history and medical information like any conditions you’ve had in the last 10 years, any medications you’re currently taking, and details about your family history.
Habits and hobbies including any risky sports like scuba diving or skydiving, use of tobacco products, and drinking habits or drug use.
The online application or phone interview with an agent usually only takes 15 to 30 minutes. After applying, the process to make your policy active can take up to two months, so if you want to get coverage soon, apply as early as you can.
How to save money by comparing life insurance quotes
Many factors determine how much your life insurance policy will cost, including your age, gender, and health profile. Since every life insurance company weighs these factors differently, comparing quotes from multiple insurers is the best way to find the cheapest coverage.
At Policygenius, our agents can help you compare quotes from different insurance companies and apply for the right coverage at a price that works for you.
What factors affect life insurance rates?
The best insurance company for you might not be the best for someone else — one insurer might offer you more affordable life insurance quotes than another for the same policy. Your age, health, and coverage needs are the primary factors to consider when shopping for life insurance.
Age: The younger you are, the lower your premium payments will be. Life insurance rates typically go up 4.5% to 9% every year you age, since we all become riskier to insure as we grow older.
Gender: Women pay an average of 24% less for life insurance than men. Since women often live longer than men, covering women presents less risk to an insurance company.
Health: Serious health conditions can lead to high rates or denied coverage. Mild conditions may have a small impact on the cost of your premiums.
Lifestyle: Insurance companies consider some hobbies — like skydiving or scuba diving past a certain depth — risky enough to increase the cost of your life insurance policy.