Life Insurance to Protect the People Who Depend on You
Compare life insurance quotes from 25+ A-rated companies. I am an independent broker, so I help you find the policy that actually fits — not just the cheapest one. No broker fee.
Reviewed by Phillip Chin, licensed broker · NPN #8895251 · Updated June 2026Life insurance, in plain English
Life insurance does one job: it replaces your income if you die. The people who depend on you use that money to keep paying the mortgage, cover the bills, and fund things like college — so their plans do not have to change because your paycheck did.
I do not work for an insurance company. I am an independent life insurance broker, which means I compare life insurance quotes from more than 25 A-rated carriers, and I charge no broker fee.
That matters more than it sounds. Every insurer writes its own underwriting rules. One company may look past a medication that another one charges extra for. So the same applicant, with the same health, can be quoted very different prices depending on who reads the file. My job is to compare life insurance companies and find the one whose rules fit your health, your budget, and what you need the coverage to do.
Most people also guess high on price. A healthy 35-year-old can often get $500,000 of term life insurance for about $27 to $28 a month. Whole life insurance costs more, because it never expires and builds cash value. Real rates by age and company are further down this page.
What is life insurance?
You pay a premium. If you die while the policy is active, the insurer pays the people you name a lump sum, which is generally income-tax-free. That is the entire product.
How it worksWho actually needs it?
Anyone whose death would leave someone financially worse off — a partner, children, a business partner, or somebody who co-signed a loan with you. If nobody relies on your income, you may not need it.
Work out your numberWhat does it cost?
Less than most people guess. A healthy 35-year-old can get $500,000 of 20-year term for roughly $27 to $28 a month. Age and health class move that number more than anything else.
See real ratesNot sure how much you need? Prefer to skip the bloodwork? See your no-medical-exam options. Or use the free Life Insurance Calculator →
Term vs. Permanent Life Insurance
Term Life Insurance
The most affordable way to protect your family during the years they need it most. Your premium stays level for the term you choose — 10, 20, or 30 years — and many policies can convert to permanent coverage later.
- Level Term — a guaranteed, fixed premium for your chosen period.
- Annual Renewable & Convertible Term — renew or convert without a new medical exam.
- Return of Premium Term — get your premiums back if you outlive the term.
Permanent Life Insurance
Lifelong protection that never expires and builds cash value you can borrow against. Ideal for estate planning, final expenses, and long-term financial strategy.
- Whole Life — guaranteed coverage, level premiums, and guaranteed cash value.
- Universal Life — permanent coverage with flexible premiums.
- Indexed & Variable Universal Life — cash growth tied to market indexes or investments.
- Guaranteed Acceptance — final-expense coverage with no medical exam or health questions.
Life Insurance Costs Less Than You Think
A healthy 35-year-old can get $250,000 of 20-year term coverage for around $25 a month — less than most of your everyday bills.
*Based on a 35-year-old male non-smoker, $250k 20-year term, preferred health. Your rate depends on age and health — get a quote for your exact number.Most people land on a round number and hope. There is a method that takes two minutes, and it is called DIME.
- Debt — everything you owe apart from the mortgage, plus final expenses.
- Income — your salary times the number of years your family would need it. If your youngest is four, that is a longer number than you think.
- Mortgage — the full remaining balance.
- Education — what you would want to cover for each child.
Add those four together, then subtract what you already have: savings, and any coverage through work. What is left is the policy you should be buying.
The ten-times-salary rule is a sanity check, not an answer. It ignores your mortgage, your debts and how many years your kids still depend on you — a 32-year-old with a newborn and a 58-year-old with grown children do not have the same gap.
What Does Term Life Insurance Actually Cost?
Rates below are approximate monthly premiums for a $500,000 20-year term policy for a healthy non-smoking male. Women typically pay 20–30% less. Your exact rate depends on health history — call or get a quote online for your specific number.
| Age | Banner Life | Transamerica | Protective Life | Prudential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | ~$19/mo ★ | ~$21/mo | ~$20/mo | ~$23/mo |
| 30 | ~$22/mo ★ | ~$24/mo | ~$23/mo | ~$26/mo |
| 35 | ~$28/mo | ~$27/mo ★ | ~$29/mo | ~$31/mo |
| 40 | ~$40/mo | ~$39/mo | ~$38/mo ★ | ~$43/mo |
| 45 | ~$63/mo | ~$61/mo | ~$59/mo ★ | ~$68/mo |
| 50 | ~$98/mo | ~$95/mo ★ | ~$97/mo | ~$108/mo |
★ Best rate shown at each age. Estimates for male non-smokers in preferred health. Actual rates vary. Call (646) 866-6990 for your exact number.
See My Exact Rate →
How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
A quick way to size your coverage: replace your income for the years your family would need it, then add major debts.
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What actually drives your price
Two people the same age, buying the same policy, can be quoted rates that are double each other.
Here is what moves the number, roughly in order of how much it matters.
Your health class
Carriers sort you into a class based on your labs, your build, your medications and your history. This is the biggest lever on the page, and it is set by what is in your file — not by how well you feel.
Your age
Every birthday costs you. You can see it in the table further down this page: the same policy that runs about $28 a month at 35 is closer to $40 at 40. Nothing you do later undoes that.
Tobacco and nicotine
Any nicotine moves you into smoker rates, and the gap is not small. Carriers differ on how long you need to be quit and on how they treat cigars, vaping and patches, so this is worth a conversation rather than a guess.
Your build
Height and weight against the carrier’s chart. Every carrier’s chart is different, and this is exactly where an independent broker earns their keep — the same build can be one class at one company and a class better at another.
What is already in your chart
Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, family history and the medications you take. A managed condition is usually priced, not declined. An unmanaged one is priced harder.
The things people forget to mention
Your driving record, and any hobby the carrier treats as a risk. These come up at underwriting whether or not you raise them, so it is better to raise them.
Term length and coverage amount
A longer term and a bigger benefit both cost more, and not in a straight line. It is worth pricing two or three combinations before you settle.
The part most people miss: the first few of these are fixed on the day you apply. Carrier choice is where the room is.
Do you need a medical exam?
Often not. But skipping the exam is not automatically the better deal.
There are three broad paths, and the right one depends on your file rather than your preference.
Fully underwritten
Labs, a paramedic visit and your medical records. It is the slowest route and it is how you reach the lowest rate a carrier offers.
Accelerated underwriting
No needle. The carrier decides from databases instead — prescription history, motor vehicle record, and prior application data. Age and coverage limits apply, and they vary by carrier and change often enough that I would rather tell you what you qualify for than print a number here that is wrong by next quarter.
Simplified issue
Health questions, no exam. Faster, lower limits, and you pay for the convenience.
Who should take the exam anyway: anyone whose condition looks worse on paper than it is in practice. If your file needs context, the exam is your chance to give it. That is a large share of the people I place.
If you would rather skip it entirely, start with the no-medical-exam guide.
Riders worth understanding
A rider is an add-on to the policy. Most are noise. A few genuinely matter.
Conversion
Lets you turn a term policy into permanent coverage later without a new medical exam. This is the one I care about most, because it is insurance on your insurability: if your health changes mid-term, it is the difference between having options and having none. Conversion deadlines and which permanent products you can convert into vary by carrier and by policy, so check yours before you assume.
Waiver of premium
The policy keeps paying its own premiums if you become disabled. Worth asking about, particularly if you do not carry separate disability coverage.
Accelerated death benefit
Lets you draw part of the benefit early on a qualifying terminal diagnosis.
A fuller breakdown lives in the riders guide. The short version: buy the ones that protect your ability to keep the policy, and be skeptical of the rest.
Mistakes that cost people money
Most of what goes wrong is decided before anyone fills in an application.
Waiting
The cheapest policy you will ever be offered is the one you qualify for today. Age moves one direction and health does not ask permission.
Buying on the quoted price alone
The cheapest quote is worthless if that carrier’s underwriting does not like your build or your condition. The quote is what you are shown. The rate class is what you actually get, and they are not the same thing.
Treating work coverage as the plan
Group coverage through an employer is a good start and a bad finish. It generally ends when the job does, which means the one thing you cannot control also controls your cover.
Buying a term that is too short
People choose a shorter term on price, then meet the real cost at renewal in their fifties. Match the term to the years someone actually depends on you.
Rounding down on the health questions
The records arrive regardless. Now the file has a credibility problem on top of whatever it started with, and that is a harder problem to fix.
Why go through a broker instead of straight to a carrier
A carrier’s agent can sell you that carrier’s policy. That is the entire job.
If their underwriting does not like your build, your blood pressure or your hobby, that becomes your problem to solve. You start again somewhere else.
I am independent. I compare 25+ carriers and I know which ones are lenient on what. That matters most exactly when your file is not textbook — the same person can land in different rate classes at different companies purely because of whose chart they are measured against.
It does not cost you more. The carrier pays the commission out of the premium either way, so the help is not an extra line on your bill. I charge no broker fee, ever.
Life insurance FAQ
The questions I get asked most, answered straight.
How much does life insurance cost?
A healthy 35-year-old can expect roughly $27 to $28 a month for $500,000 of 20-year term, based on the carrier rates shown above. Your own number depends on your age, health class, tobacco use, the term you pick and how much coverage you buy. Women generally pay less than men of the same age.
How much life insurance do I need?
Add up your debts, your income multiplied by the years your family would need it, your remaining mortgage and any education costs. Then subtract your savings and any coverage you already have through work. That is the DIME method. The old rule of ten times your salary is a sanity check, not an answer.
Is term or whole life better?
Neither. They do different jobs. Term covers a defined period when people depend on your income, and it is cheap because most policies never pay out. Permanent covers you for life and builds cash value. Plenty of people end up with both: a large term policy for the high-need years and a smaller permanent policy underneath it.
Do I need a medical exam to get life insurance?
Often not. Healthy applicants can frequently qualify for accelerated underwriting, where the carrier decides from prescription and driving records instead of labs. Limits vary by carrier. If you have a condition that reads worse on paper than it is in practice, taking the exam is usually worth it — it gives your file the context a database cannot.
Can I get life insurance with a health condition?
Usually yes. Managed conditions get priced, not declined. I regularly place people with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation, and cancer histories. What decides the outcome is documentation and picking the carrier whose guidelines suit your case, which is the whole argument for using an independent broker.
What happens if I outlive my term policy?
Nothing gets paid out, and that is precisely why term is inexpensive. Before the term ends you can usually convert to a permanent policy without a new medical exam, or reapply at your current age and health. Conversion rules and deadlines differ by carrier and policy, so check yours well before the term runs out.
Is the life insurance through my job enough?
It is a good start and a poor finish. Employer coverage generally ends when the job does, so the one variable you do not control also controls your cover. It is also usually sized to your salary rather than to your mortgage, your debts or how many years your children still depend on you.
Does using a broker cost more than going direct?
No. The carrier pays the commission out of the premium whether you buy through me or go to them directly, so the help does not appear as an extra line on your bill. I charge no broker fee. The difference is that I can compare 25+ carriers instead of selling you the one company I work for.
The bottom line
Most families are best served by a term policy sized to the years someone actually depends on your income — long enough to cover the mortgage and get the kids through school. Your health class moves the premium more than any other factor, and every year you wait makes it cost more. Because I am independent, I compare 25+ A-rated carriers and match your file to the company whose underwriting fits it best. No broker fee, ever.
Licensed Insurance Broker · Licensed since 2008 · NPN #8895251
Independent broker comparing 25+ carriers. Educational information only, not financial advice.
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