Term Life InsuranceMaximum Coverage. Lowest Cost.

Term life insurance pays a fixed death benefit to the people you name if you die during a set number of years, usually 10, 20 or 30. You pay a monthly price that stays the same for that whole stretch. The money your family receives is generally not counted as federal taxable income, though interest paid on it can be.

When the term ends, so does the coverage. Most term policies build no cash value you can use later, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). You are paying for the years your family needs protection most.

That is why term costs less than whole life or IUL, which are built to last your whole life. For many families with kids at home and a mortgage, it is the most coverage for the least money.

For $500,000 of 20-year term, a tobacco-free man in standard health pays about $32 a month at 25 and about $86 at 45. A woman of the same ages pays less: about $27 at 25 and $65 at 45. Those are the lowest prices of the carriers we compared on October 10, 2026.

Price climbs with age because the chance of a claim does. A 35-year-old man pays $38.25, but if he waits until 45 the same policy costs $85.85, about 2.2 times as much, and at 65 it is $725.05. That is the main reason to buy early: you lock in the price for the whole term.

The lowest price came from Transamerica in most of our checks and from Legal & General America in a few, so comparing carriers matters. That is one day's data, not a recommendation.

LIMRA's 2025 Insurance Barometer found that 40% of U.S. adults say they need life insurance or more of it, and that about three-quarters of Americans have historically guessed the price too high.

Age, coverage amount, term length, tobacco use and health move your price the most. Age matters most (see the table above). Here are the other four from the same October 10 pull.

More coverage costs less per dollar. A 35-year-old man pays $38.25 for $500,000 and $70.55 for $1,000,000, only about 1.8 times as much for twice the protection.

A longer term costs more because you are covered for more years. A 40-year-old man pays $34.85 for 10 years, $54.40 for 20 years and $92.65 for 30 years of $500,000.

Tobacco is the biggest price jump you can control. A 40-year-old man who uses tobacco paid $175.10 for $500,000 of 20-year term, against $54.40 for a non-user, about 3.2 times as much.

Health is the last piece. These tables show the standard class. Excellent health may qualify you for a lower preferred class, and some conditions raise the price or lead to a decline.

You need enough to pay what your family would owe and replace the income they would lose, minus what they already have. A common rule of thumb is 10 to 15 times your yearly income, which for someone earning $60,000 is $600,000 to $900,000. It is only a starting point, because it ignores your debts and your family's plans.

For a closer number, add up four things. This is a version of the DIME method, and the Maxout calculator at maxoutinsurance.com/calculator does the math for you.

1. Debts. Add your mortgage, car loans, credit cards and other loans.
2. Income to replace. Take the part of your pay your household depends on and multiply it by the years your family would need it, such as until the kids are grown.
3. Future costs. Add college, child care and final expenses, which the NAIC's buyer's guide lists among the costs a death benefit can cover.
4. Subtract what you have. Take away savings, investments and life insurance you already own. The NAIC notes that coverage through work is usually less than you need and may not follow you if you leave.

Then match the term to your longest need, such as 30 years for a 30-year mortgage.

Yes, if you are in decent health and size the policy to your real need, but the price rises fast with every year. A 55-year-old man paid $215.90 a month for $500,000 of 20-year term in our October 10 pull, and a woman $146.20. At 60 those were $356.58 and $255.43, and at 65 they were $725.05 and $525.84.

Four ways to find inexpensive term life insurance after 50:

• Lower the amount. At 45, $250,000 cost a man $49.36 a month and $500,000 cost $85.85.
• Shorten the term. At 40, a 10-year term cost a man about a third less than a 20-year term ($34.85 against $54.40).
• Compare carriers. At 55, the lowest and highest prices for the same policy were $215.90 and $293.56, a gap of about 36%.
• Quit tobacco if you use it: prices were about three times higher in our pull.

Choices narrow with age. At 65, one of the four carriers that priced 20-year term at 60 returned no price, and some insurers do not sell the longest terms to older applicants. If term gets too costly late in life, a smaller permanent policy such as final expense insurance may fit better.

Yes. Many people can get term life insurance without a medical exam, including $100,000 policies, if their health history is clean enough. The insurer uses your answers and outside records in place of an exam.

• Accelerated underwriting: you answer questions and the insurer checks data such as prescription records, driving records and credit reports. The NAIC notes that if the data is not enough, you may still need the exam.
• Simplified issue: a short health questionnaire and database checks, with no exam. Amounts are often capped lower than with a full exam.
• Guaranteed issue: no health questions at all, but small amounts, higher prices and a waiting period before the full benefit. See our final expense guide.

The trade-off is price and amount. The NAIC says a policy that does not ask for detailed health information usually costs more and gives less coverage than one that does, so a healthy person can pay less with an exam. Answer honestly: false answers can lead the insurer to reduce or cancel coverage (NAIC).

Enter your age, sex, tobacco use, coverage amount and term in the Maxout calculator to see live monthly prices from several carriers in about a minute, with no email or Social Security number needed. You can then buy term life insurance online or with a licensed agent. The NAIC points out that buying online is not necessarily cheaper, because premiums are often the same either way.

1. Get a quote. The calculator prices 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-year level term, from $100,000 to $2,000,000, for ages 18 to 80.
2. Compare the same thing. Match the amount, term length and health class. At 40, four carriers priced the same $500,000 20-year policy for a man from $54.40 to $71.15, a gap of about 31%.
3. Apply and answer honestly. Your final price is set after the insurer reviews your application and, for some policies, your records or an exam. Pay the insurance company, not the agent. A licensed agent can help you through it.
4. Read the policy and use the free look. You can usually return a new policy within about 10 days for a full refund. The review period is stated on the policy's first page and some states allow longer.

Name beneficiaries you trust. Insurers will not pay a minor child directly, so consider a trust or your estate.

One-year term life insurance covers you for a single year and renews at a higher price each year. If it is renewable you do not need a new exam to keep it, but the price is reset for your age at every renewal. It is often called annual renewable term.

It can fit a short, specific need, such as a year or two of coverage while you wait for something else to start. For anything longer than a few years, level term usually costs less in total because you lock in today's age.

Our online tool prices level terms of 10 to 30 years, not one-year policies. If you want a true one-year quote, a licensed agent can check whether a carrier offers it.

Decreasing term life insurance pays a death benefit that shrinks over time while your price stays the same. It is usually tied to a loan, such as a mortgage you pay down each year.

It costs less than a level policy that starts at the same amount, because the benefit falls as the insurer's risk does. The catch is that your family's needs may not fall at the same pace. Rent, income and college costs do not shrink because the mortgage does.

Check who gets paid. Credit life insurance sold with a loan is usually decreasing term and often pays the lender, not your family. Many families prefer level term sized to cover the mortgage plus other needs, so the money goes to the people they name. Our online tool prices level term only.

Term to 100 is a level-price policy meant to stay in force until about age 100, so it behaves more like permanent insurance than like regular 10-, 20- or 30-year term. The name is used differently from one insurer to the next, and we did not price it in this guide.

Because the coverage can last decades longer, it costs much more than a 20-year term. The NAIC says that if you want coverage for your whole life, cash value insurance may be more cost effective than term.

Before you buy anything called term to 100, ask whether the price is guaranteed for life, whether it builds cash value and what happens if you miss a payment. For lifetime coverage of funeral costs only, compare final expense insurance.

Term costs far less than whole life for the same death benefit, because it covers a limited time and builds no cash value. Whole life lasts your whole life and builds cash value, so it costs more.

We do not publish a live price for $100,000 of whole life. For scale, the lowest-priced $10,000 final expense policy, a small whole life policy, cost a 50-year-old man $30.67 a month in our October 10 pull, while $500,000 of 20-year term cost him $127.50. That is about $3.07 a month per $1,000 against $0.26 per $1,000, roughly twelve times as much.

A larger, fully underwritten whole life policy usually costs less per $1,000 than a small final expense policy, but it still costs far more than term. The only way to know your price is a written quote for your age, health and state.

Choose term if your need has an end date, like kids at home or a mortgage. Choose permanent coverage if you need coverage that cannot expire. Many people do both: a large term policy now and a small permanent policy later.

Often yes, if your policy has a conversion feature. It lets you exchange some or all of your term coverage for a permanent policy without proving your health again, which matters if you become hard to insure. The permanent policy costs more.

Conversion windows are limited. Purdue Extension notes conversion is usually allowed only in the early years of a policy. Check how long your window lasts, which permanent products you can choose and how the new price is figured.

Not every policy has the feature, so ask before you buy if you might want permanent coverage later.

Your coverage stops and nothing is paid back, unless you added a return-of-premium rider. That is the main downside of term: if you outlive the policy, you paid for protection you did not use.

You then have four choices: renew, convert, buy a new policy, or stop if you no longer need coverage. The NAIC says most term policies can be renewed even if your health has changed, but the new premiums are higher, so ask the price before the term ends. A man who paid $85.85 a month at 45 would pay about $725.05 for a new 20-year, $500,000 policy at 65 in our pull, roughly 8.4 times as much.

The downsides of term life insurance, in plain words:

• Coverage ends at the end of the term and pays $0 if you are still alive.
• Renewing or buying again at an older age costs far more.
• Most term policies have no cash value to borrow or withdraw.
• A health change can make a new policy cost more or be unavailable.
• A return-of-premium rider refunds what you paid but raises the price, so compare the extra cost.

The simplest fix: pick a term long enough for your real need and ask about conversion.