Affordable Whole Life Insurance Rates from $94/month

Traditional whole life insurance is the basic type of whole life insurance. You receive insurance coverage for your entire life, and your premiums are locked when you qualify for the policy. You also accumulate cash value as you pay premiums.

With limited payment whole life insurance, you pay premiums for a certain time but get coverage for your entire life. For instance, you can pay premiums for 20 years but still get insurance coverage until you pass away. Since you only have to pay premiums for a limited time, premium payments are generally higher than traditional whole life insurance.

Limited payment whole life insurance is sometimes written as 10-pay, 15-pay, or 20-pay life insurance. The number before the “-pay” indicates how many years you need to pay insurance premiums.

Indexed Whole policies are best if you’re willing to take on some risk to potentially get higher investment returns on your premiums.

In single premium whole life insurance, you’re only required to pay premiums once to gain lifetime insurance coverage. Naturally, your single payment will be much higher since you’re paying off the entire policy in one go.

Survivorship life insurance protects two people instead of one. It’s usually taken by couples or spouses and only provides death benefits after both policyholders pass away. Survivorship life insurance can be a way for parents to leave a financial legacy for their children or support lifelong dependents in their absence.

Modified whole life insurance has lower premiums at the start of the policy, which means you can save money early on. However, your premiums will rise for the rest of your life after the introductory period. In most cases, the premium increase will offset your early savings, meaning you’ll pay more than a traditional permanent policy. 

Variable whole life insurance works similarly to a traditional whole life policy, where you build cash value as you make premium payments. However, variable whole life policyholders can choose where to invest money into, giving them more control over their investments. Depending on market conditions, you can build cash value faster or slower than traditional whole life policyholders.

Final expense insurance is whole life insurance with smaller payouts and lower premiums. The death benefit is smaller because it’s generally used to pay end-of-life costs like your medical bills and funeral expenses. Since this insurance is geared towards older people, it’s also easier to qualify for.

Younger people often land lower premiums because they’re less likely to have serious health issues. Conversely, older people may get higher rates because they’re more likely to develop health issues.

However, that doesn’t mean getting whole life insurance at a young age is always the right call. While you may lock in lower premiums if you get insurance early, you also need to make more premium payments if you want to keep insurance coverage until you pass.

Men usually get higher whole life insurance rates because they have lower life expectancy than women. Therefore, they’re statistically more likely to pass away earlier than women, making them riskier to insure.

Height and weight matter when determining your whole life insurance costs because they determine your body mass index (BMI). Many insurers use your BMI to determine whether you’re overweight or obese, which are seen as risk factors.

Naturally, your personal health matters when determining insurance risk. You may see higher rates if you have conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. If you have very serious health issues, you may be denied coverage altogether.

Even if you’re in good health, some medical issues can be hereditary. You’ll likely be asked questions about your family’s health condition and whether they’ve been diagnosed with serious issues or diseases.

Dangerous hobbies like extreme sports and skydiving increase your chances of injury or death, and that makes you riskier in the insurer’s eyes. To compensate for that risk, insurers raise your rates if you participate in potentially dangerous activities.

The same goes for your occupation. If you work in jobs with high mortality rates, your insurer may increase your rates to offset the risk.

Note that you shouldn’t lie about your hobbies or occupations in your insurance application. This is a form of insurance fraud and may result in the insurer declining your coverage.

Smoking and nicotine consumption increases your likelihood to develop serious medical conditions like lung cancer. Most insurers charge higher rates for smokers to make up for the extra risk they take.

A history of alcoholism and drug use may cause insurers to raise your rates, since your risk of health issues or premature death may be higher. However, insurers usually review an applicant’s substance abuse history on a case-by-case basis. If you’ve only done drugs once years ago, you may still get insurance coverage, albeit at a higher rate. However, frequent drug users often get denied coverage altogether.

Having a criminal record will likely affect your life insurance rates. Whether it’s vehicle-related offences or something more serious, having criminal acts on your record may raise your premiums or lead to insurers declining coverage. Different insurers treat criminal records differently, so you may find more lenient companies that can sell you insurance at reasonable prices.

Getting a higher policy face value means you can leave more money behind when you pass away. However, a higher coverage amount means you need to pay higher insurance premiums.

Not all whole life insurance policies require you to pay premiums until you pass away. Limited payment and single premium policies have shorter payment periods but generally have larger premium payments.