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How much does life insurance cost?

What drives the price of term and permanent life insurance, why published averages mislead, and how to get a real number for your age, health and coverage.

4LifeInsurance · Published October 4, 2026

There is no single price for life insurance. The premium for a given person depends mostly on age, health, tobacco use, the amount of coverage and, above all, whether the policy is temporary (term life insurance) or lifelong (permanent life insurance). Permanent coverage for the same death benefit usually costs many times more per month than term, because it is guaranteed to pay out eventually and builds cash value. The only way to know your own price is to collect quotes on identical terms.

This guide does not list "average" premiums. Averages blend healthy 25-year-olds with 55-year-olds who smoke, and they go stale quickly. It shows instead what the price depends on, uses dated government rate schedules to show the shape of the pricing, and walks through getting a real figure.

People usually guess too high

According to the LIMRA and Life Happens 2026 Insurance Barometer Study, which surveyed 5,237 adults in January 2026, about 3 in 4 Americans overestimate the cost of life insurance. The same study found that cost is the most common reason people give for not having coverage (45%), and that 38% of adults, about 92 million people, say they need coverage or more of it. A reasonable guess based on a real quote is better than a fearful guess based on none.

The price is set by a few big inputs

Insurers start with the odds that someone like you dies during the coverage period, add the insurer's costs and profit margin, and subtract what they expect to earn on reserves. The inputs that move the result, covered in full in what affects the cost of life insurance:

  • Age. The chance of dying rises every year. See what term life insurance costs by age for the slope.
  • Sex. Women live longer on average and usually pay less; see why women pay less for life insurance.
  • Health and build. Blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, medical history and family history place you in a rate class.
  • Tobacco and nicotine. Smokers typically pay far more than nonsmokers.
  • Amount and length. A larger death benefit and a longer term cost more in total.
  • Product type. A 20-year term policy and a whole life policy with the same death benefit are different products at very different prices.

Term and permanent: why the gap is so large

A term policy covers a fixed period, such as 10, 20 or 30 years, and pays nothing if you outlive it. Its price reflects only the risk of dying during that window. A permanent policy such as whole life must pay a death benefit whenever you die, and it also accumulates cash value you can borrow against. Part of every premium funds that guarantee and savings component, which is why the premium is much higher. what whole life insurance costs and why explains the mechanics, and term vs whole life insurance: which fits you covers when the extra cost makes sense.

According to LIMRA's 2025 sales results, whole life made up 37% of U.S. individual life new annualized premium and term 17%. That is a statement about premium dollars, not the number of policies: a term buyer pays far less per policy, so term policies are a much larger share of policies sold than of premium.

Dated public rate schedules show the shape

Two public schedules are dated and sourced, and neither is a quote for a commercial policy.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs publishes monthly premiums for Veterans' Group Life Insurance. As of July 1, 2025, a $500,000 VGLI policy cost $30 a month at 29 and under, $50 at 35 to 39, $95 at 45 to 49, $250 at 55 to 59 and $425 at 60 to 64 (VA.gov). The price multiplies several times over three decades. See Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI): eligibility, cost and conversion for who qualifies.

The IRS Table I rates in Publication 15-B for 2026, used to tax employer group-term coverage above $50,000, run from $0.06 per $1,000 a month at ages 25 to 29 to $0.43 at 55 to 59 and $1.27 at 65 to 69. They are a tax valuation, not a price list, but the age pattern is the same.

What the Social Security numbers say about price differences

The Social Security Administration's 2023 period life table (2026 Trustees Report) shows why a flat price cannot exist. A 35-year-old man has about a 3.1% chance of dying within 10 years and 17.7% within 30. From age 50 the figures are 7.2% within 10 years and 44.3% within 30. A 35-year-old woman's chances are 1.6% and 10.8%. These are general-population figures; insured people, who have passed underwriting, die at lower rates. The point is the relative difference: price follows risk.

Hypothetical example: what a quote request involves

Say two coworkers, both healthy nonsmokers, each want $500,000 of coverage for 20 years. One is 30 and one is 45. The 45-year-old's quote will be a multiple of the 30-year-old's, because the 20-year window covers ages 45 to 65 instead of 30 to 50. If one of them has treated high blood pressure, or uses nicotine, the gap widens again. These descriptions deliberately carry no dollar figures; any figure here would be invented rather than a market price.

How to find your price

  1. Decide how much coverage and for how long. The How much life insurance do I need? and How much life insurance do I need? help you size it first, so you are comparing prices for the right thing.
  2. Be accurate about tobacco, health and build. A quote built on optimistic answers is not what you will be offered after underwriting. See how life insurance underwriting works.
  3. Get at least three quotes for the same amount, term and class, from an independent agent, an online marketplace or insurers directly.
  4. Record them on the life insurance quote comparison worksheet, including whether the premium is guaranteed to stay level.
  5. Compare total cost over the term, not only the monthly figure, and check whether paying monthly or annually changes the total; see paying life insurance monthly vs annually.
  6. Then look for savings using ways to lower your life insurance premiums.

Key takeaways

  • No average price is useful; your age, sex, health, tobacco status, amount and term decide your premium.
  • Term costs a fraction of permanent coverage for the same death benefit because it covers a limited window and builds no cash value.
  • The LIMRA 2026 Insurance Barometer found about 3 in 4 people overestimate the cost, so get real quotes before assuming it is out of reach.
  • Government schedules such as VGLI (as of July 1, 2025) show how steeply price rises with age but are not commercial quotes.
  • Compare at least three quotes on identical terms using the life insurance quote comparison worksheet.

Terms used in this guide

Premium The amount a policy owner pays an insurer, monthly, quarterly, yearly or in one sum, to keep life insurance coverage in force. Term life insurance Life coverage for a set number of years, such as 10, 20 or 30, that pays a death benefit only if the insured dies within that period. Permanent life insurance Life coverage designed to last for the insured's whole life as long as it is funded, usually with a cash value account that grows over time. Rate class The underwriting category, such as preferred plus, standard or substandard, that sets the price an insurer charges for a given age and coverage. Mortality rate The share of people of a given age expected to die within a year, often shown as deaths per 1,000; it is the foundation of life insurance pricing. Level premium A premium that stays the same each year for a set period or for life, with early overpayments offsetting the rising cost of coverage at older ages.

Related tools

Life insurance quote comparison worksheet Enter up to four quotes to see cost per $1,000 of coverage and total cost over the term, with flags for differences that matter besides price. How much life insurance do I need? Add up income replacement, debts, college and final costs, subtract what you already have, and see how much coverage is left to buy.

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