Life insurance statistics in 2020

Life insurance by the numbers

57% • Percent of American adults who have life insurance^‡

32% • Of American adults with life insurance, the percent who only have group coverage — which usually isn’t enough (and is rarely portable)^‡

10x to 12x • The multiples of your annual income that most financial advisors recommend you need when buying life insurance for income replacement^†

50% • Percent of life insurance policies are purchased via independent agents (like Policygenius advisors, who are not beholden to any one insurance company)

40% • Percent of life insurance policies purchased via affiliated agents (meaning they only sell products for one insurance company)^‡

Stats about the cost of life insurance

6x-10x • How much more permanent life insurance (like whole life insurance) costs vs. term life insurance^†

8% * Average percent increase in your insurance costs as you age, assuming your health stays the same^†

30% • The average cost difference between sequential health ratings (preferred vs standard, for example)^†

2x to 3x • How much rates for smokers cost vs. rates for nonsmokers (but a year after you quit smoking, most companies will offer you nonsmoker rates)^†

50% • The average difference between the least expensive and most expensive rate for the same person across insurance companies^†

30% • Percent difference between premiums for men and women(with women paying nearly ⅓ less than men, on average)^†

Sources

^†Policygenius data

^‡2019 Insurance Barometer Study, Life Happens and LIMRA

Best life insurance companies ranked by customer satisfaction

When you’re working with an insurance company to secure a life insurance policy, customer experience matters. After all, you’re trusting them to care for your loved ones if something happens to you. According to the J.D. Power 2019 Life Insurance Study, here are the top ten life insurance companies for customer satisfaction, with their corresponding scores on a 1,000 point scale.

Average cost of life insurance by age and gender

The monthly cost of a life insurance policy depends on factors like your age, health, term length, gender and the death benefit amount on the policy. The following are sample monthly premium rates for a 20-year term life insurance policy for a non-smoker in 2020, based on Preferred health ratings.

Average life insurance rates by age for men

Average life insurance rates by age for women

Top reasons for buying life insurance in the U.S.

According to a 2019 report from trade research organization LIMRA and the non-profit organization Life Happens, these are the most common reasons Americans said they bought life insurance:

• 37% Income replacement

• 30% Burial/final expenses

• 28% Wealth transfer

• 27% Pay off mortgage

• 19% Replaced a policy

• 17% Tax advantaged save/invest

• 14% Estate taxes/liquidity

• 14% Funds for college education

• 13% Charitable gift

• 8% Supplement group coverage

• 8% Business purposes

How much life insurance coverage is purchased in every state?

According to data from the NAIC, published by the American Council of Life Insurers, here is the cumulative value of the death benefits for the life insurance policies purchased in every U.S. state in 2017, in billions of U.S. dollars.

Biggest life insurance companies by market share

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, these are the ten largest life insurance companies in the U.S. and Canada, by their share of the total market.

Percent of U.S. adults with life insurance (2011 to 2019)

According to the 2019 LIMRA and Life Happens report on life insurance in the U.S., the percent of U.S. adults who own life insurance has ranged between 63% and 57%.

Number of life insurance policies purchased in the US from 1998 to 2017

According to the NAIC, here’s the number of life insurance policies purchased in the U.S. each year from 1998 to 2017.