Term life insurance offers protection for a specific period of time—anywhere from one to 40 years, depending on the carrier. This is particularly popular for young families and individuals seeking affordable protection, especially those looking for quick-issue coverage online. While term life insurance is sufficient for some, it can be purchased alongside permanent life insurance for increased coverage and lifelong protection. To find the best term life insurance companies, we studied 91 different insurers across more than 50 data points. We then rated the companies based on the following main categories: ease of application, such as online quotes, online applications, same-day coverage, and no-med-exam policies (40% of score); policy features, such as renewal options, convertibility, and available terms (20%); cost (20%); and customer service features, such as live chat and credit card payments (20%). We also considered offerings between top companies including maximum coverage amounts without a medical exam, maximum issue ages for term policies, and included riders. Why Trust Us 91 Companies reviewed 55 Features considered 5,005 Data points analyzed We collected over 5,000 data points from 91 life insurance companies to measure financial stability, customer satisfaction, product and feature variety, and the overall buying experience. We then evaluated each company based on 55 metrics to develop unbiased, comprehensive reviews. Read our Full Methodology Compare life insurance quotes with our partner Covr Financial from multiple providers before buying. Best Term Life Insurance Companies of March 2024 Best Term Life Insurance Companies of March 2024 Final Verdict More Ratings FAQs Methodology Investopedia's Rating 4.8 Pros & Cons Pros Tied for the cheapest term life insurance Offers term lengths up to 40 years Can apply online without an agent Allows credit card payments for the first payment Cons Rated below average by J.D. Power for overall customer satisfaction Why We Chose It Protective is our pick for best term life insurance thanks to its cheap coverage, no-exam policies (no agent contact required), strong financials, and stellar online features.It's also our top pick for best life insurance companies for young adults. Protective tied with our number two choice, Banner, for the cheapest term life insurance, based on the sample applicants we gathered quotes for. On top of that, Protective and Banner are the only two companies we found that offer a 40-year term. That’s one the longest terms we’ve found. And while both companies boast a range of great features like no-exam life insurance and online life insurance quotes and applications, Protective wins by offering massive coverage amounts up to $50,000,000. But if customer satisfaction is more important to you than cost and convenience, note that J.D. Power ranked Protective below average in its 2023 study of customer satisfaction with U.S. life insurers. It ranked 18th out of 22 companies. Read the FullProtective Life Insurance Review Investopedia's Rating 4.5 Pros & Cons Pros Tied with Protective for the cheapest term life insurance Option to “stack” your coverage with term riders for potential savings Very few company complaints Offers term lengths of up to 40 years Cons Doesn’t accept credit card payments, however you can pay by digital wallet Why We Chose It Banner, which is owned by Legal & General America, was a close second to Protective for our pick for best term life insurance company. It tied for the lowest premiums and, like Protective, offers 40-year term policies (most companies cap coverage at 30 years). Plus, Banner received very few customer complaints over the last three years relative to its size (fewer than Protective), according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Banner makes shopping easy with online life insurance quotes, and it lets you “stack” your policy with term riders. Stacking is a way to temporarily increase the coverage on your base policy while reducing long-term costs. Our only complaint about the company: If you want to pay premiums with a credit card, you'll have to do so through a digital wallet. Read the FullBanner Life Insurance Company Life Insurance Review Investopedia's Rating 4.1 Pros & Cons Pros Wide range of living benefits included at no additional cost One of the only top-rated carriers that offers a disability income rider Offers return-of-premium (ROP) term Cons Can’t apply without an agent Why We Chose It If you want more than just death benefit protection on a term policy, Mutual of Omaha is hard to beat. Out of our top picks, it provides the widest range of living benefits included at no additional cost on its term policies. Policies include three accelerated death benefit riders free of charge: terminal illness, chronic illness, and critical illness. These riders let you access the death benefit before death if you’re diagnosed with a qualifying illness.The details for the riders may be different based on whether your policy is a return of premium policy or not. Mutual of Omaha is also the only one of our top-rated carriers that offers an optional disability income rider and ROP term policies. The former provides supplementary income if you become disabled and are unable to work. Return-of-premium policies refund part of your premiums if you outlive the term. They cost more, but amount to a forced savings vehicle that may be right if you struggle to save and are uncomfortable with the idea of paying for coverage you might not use. One potential downside of Mutual of Omaha is that you can’t apply without contacting an agent. Read the FullMutual of Omaha Life Insurance Review Investopedia's Rating 4.0 Pros & Cons Pros A++ financial strength rating from AM Best Very few complaints for a company of its size Broad choice of term conversion options Cons Does not accept credit card payments Fewer free living benefits included compared to some competitors Why We Chose It Founded in 1851 MassMutual has earned a rating of A++ (Superior) from AM Best (the highest rating available), winning our award for the most financially stable of the top term insurers. We also like that the company gets very few complaints relative to its size. And it offers convertible term life insurance that you can convert into any type of permanent policy it offers—most companies give you fewer choices. To top it all off, MassMutual makes policies available to a wide range of applicants for a respectable amount of coverage. However, we found that MassMutual offers fewer free-term life riders than some other companies on our top pick list. Although every term life policy from MassMutual includes a terminal illness rider at no added cost, rivals Mutual of Omaha and Nationwide also provide free critical and chronic illness riders with term policies. Read the FullMassMutual Life Insurance Review AM Best Rating AM Best is a credit rating agency that assigns insurance companies a letter grade from “A++” to “D.” A company’s grade indicates its ability to pay its claims and honor its financial obligations. Term Life Sample Cost Policy Types Accepts Credit Cards Reset All Hide, not for me Hide, not for me Hide, not for me Hide, not for me *Quotes above are examples of what a 40-year-old in excellent health might pay for a 30-year $250,000 policy.Get life insurance quotes from multiple companies to find your best rate. Term policies, in general, aren’t very expensive. So when choosing a life insurance company, make sure you can afford the coverage you need, but don’t overlook each company’s unique offerings. That said, your go-to options for cheap coverage with excellent perks are Protective and Banner. They’re also go-to options if you want a 40-year policy. Fortunately, both companies offer an online no-agent-required application process as well. But if you prefer an agent experience or are older than 64 and need term coverage, choose MassMutual. The company has been in business since 1851, and has AM Best’s top-tier A++ (Superior) rating for financial stability. For those who prefer a return-of-premium policy, go to the only provider on this list to offer one—Mutual of Omaha. The company also includes three accelerated benefit riders on some of its term policies, and makes a life insurance disability income rider available for purchase. When you purchase term life insurance, you get protection for a fixed number of years. For this reason, term life insurance is usually the most affordable life insurance you can purchase. Most life insurance providers sell term life policies with term lengths of 10 to 30 years, but shorter and longer terms can be found, like 40-year terms from Protective and Banner. If you pass away during the term, your beneficiary receives the death benefit, which is tax-free money that can be used for any purpose. When the term ends, your coverage usually ends, but you may have options to keep it, depending on your policy. Many insurance companies allow you to renew your coverage on an annual basis, but at a higher premium each year based on your current age. Some insurance companies also allow you to convert your term coverage into a permanent policy without taking a medical exam (permanent coverage is designed to last your entire life). If your insurance carrier does not offer convertible life insurance, you’ll have to apply for another policy if you want to continue coverage. Many term life insurance policies don’t require a medical exam. Providers that offer no-med-exam life insurance often have applicants complete a detailed health questionnaire to gauge their overall level of health. Term life insurance and whole life insurance are similar in some ways, but they have a number of differences that are important to understand. Whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that provides coverage from the moment your policy takes effect until you pass away—as long as premiums are paid. Unlike a term life policy, you cannot “outlive” a whole life policy unless you cancel your coverage. In addition to a guaranteed death benefit, whole life insurance policies also build cash value, which term life policies do not do. Cash value is similar to a savings account. When you pay your premium, a portion of the money goes toward the cash value. You may be able to withdraw the money, or borrow a portion of the money like a loan. If you don’t repay the amount you borrowed, it gets taken out of your death benefit. Another big difference between term life and whole life policies is cost. Because whole life insurance offers a longer period of coverage and has a cash value component, the premiums are typically a lot higher. The maximum age for term life insurance varies, depending on the insurance company. What also varies is the term length you're eligible for. If you're 55, for example, you may be eligible for a 30-year term policy with one company, but only a 20-year policy with another. When you buy insurance, you're purchasing protection. And even if you don't end up using it, that protection is there and available for your family should you pass away from an untimely death. But you can get return-of-premium term life insurance, or ROP term life insurance, which refunds your premiums if you outlive the term. No-med-exam life insurance is not a specific type of coverage. Rather, it’s any life insurance policy that doesn't require you to complete a medical exam in order to get approved. There are two main forms of no-medical-exam life insurance for term policies—accelerated issue and simplified issue. Accelerated-issue policies can be more affordable, but ask more thorough health questions. Accelerated issue: With accelerated issue life insurance, the application starts with a comprehensive health questionnaire and phone interview. If the underwriter determines that you are a healthy candidate, you get to skip the medical exam, which “accelerates” your application. Simplified issue: These policies typically only require a few basic health questions and not an interview. Some simplified issue policies can provide you with an instant decision, meaning you will know right away if you are approved or not based on your responses. But this type of coverage tends to be more expensive than policies that rely on accelerated underwriting or require an exam. In order to compile our list of the best term life insurance companies, we developed a comprehensive life insurance methodology. We started off by researching what consumers want from life insurance companies, and for that, we looked to third-party consumer studies, including J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Life Insurance New Business Study and the 2022 Insurance Barometer Study, by Life Happens and LIMRA. With those findings in mind, we gathered more than 50 data points on 91 life insurance companies, including ratings for financial strength, customer satisfaction, and customer complaints, as well as information about years in business, cost of term policies, term policy features, online tools, no-exam options, and available riders. Our review process gave preference to companies with a streamlined application process, affordable premiums, valuable term features, and long coverage terms available. In particular, we valued online quoting and application tools, transparent pricing, and no-medical-exam policy options. Companies received ratings boosts if customer service was accessible via features like live chat. We ranked each company according to the following categories and weights. To finalize our list, we compared individual offerings between top companies by considering third-party ratings and by delving deeper into product specifics, including maximum coverage amounts without a medical exam, maximum issue ages for term policies, and included riders. We used this research to determine the best term life insurance companies.Best Term Life Insurance Companies of March 2024
Best Overall :Protective
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Best for Cheap Insurance :Banner by Legal & General
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Best for Living Benefits :Mutual of Omaha
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Best for Financial Stability :MassMutual
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Compare the Best Term Life Insurance Companies of March 2024
Best For Protective Best Overall A $22.92/month Indexed Universal (IUL), Term, Universal (UL), Variable Universal (VUL), Whole Yes Get A Quote Banner by Legal & General Best for Cheap Insurance A+ $22.92/month Term, Universal (UL) No Get A Quote Mutual of Omaha Best for Living Benefits A+ $28.38/month Final Expense, Indexed Universal (IUL), Term, Universal (UL) Yes Get A Quote MassMutual Best for Financial Stability A++ $26.97/month Term, Universal (UL), Variable Universal (VUL), Whole No Get A Quote Final Verdict
More Ratings of Top Life Insurance Companies
How Does Term Life Insurance Work?
What's the Difference Between Term Life Insurance and Whole Life Insurance?
What Is the Maximum Age for Term Life Insurance?
Do You Lose Money With Term Life Insurance?
What Is No-Medical-Exam Life Insurance?
Methodology
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FAQs
Best Term Life Insurance Companies of March 2024? ›
Suze Orman recommends that generally most people should get a 20 year term life insurance policy at 20 times your annual income. What does that mean? That means if you're 30 years old and you make $50,000 a year you should get a million dollar 20 year term life insurance policy.
Who is the number one most trusted life insurance company? ›Best life insurance companies: Pros and cons
- MassMutual: Best overall.
- Guardian: Best for applicants with a history of HIV.
- Northwestern Mutual: Best for consumer experience.
- New York Life: Best for high coverage amounts.
- Pacific Life: Best range of permanent life insurance.
- State Farm: Best for customer satisfaction.
May 7, 2024
The Best Term Life Insurance Companies in 2024
- Banner Life: Best for term life insurance.
- MassMutual: Best for permanent life insurance.
- Guardian Life: Best for an in-person experience.
- State Farm: Best for customer satisfaction.
- Transamerica: Most affordable coverage.
- Pacific Life: Our pick for universal life coverage.
6 days ago
Indicators:
| Company Name | Plan Name | CSR |
|---|---|---|
| SBI Life Insurance | eShield Next | 98.39% |
| Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance | e-Term Plan | 98.82% |
| Shriram Life Insurance | Family Protection Plan | 97.4% |
| Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance | DigiShield Plan | 98.12% |
Suze Orman recommends that generally most people should get a 20 year term life insurance policy at 20 times your annual income. What does that mean? That means if you're 30 years old and you make $50,000 a year you should get a million dollar 20 year term life insurance policy.
What is the most popular term for life insurance? ›20 years
Ratio for Complaint Years 2022, 2021, and 2020
| 2022 Rank | Company Name | 2022 Approx. Exposure Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Company | 115,066 |
| 2 | American National Prop & Cas Co | 82,749 |
| 3 | Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois | 58,402 |
Currently, the largest car insurance company in America is State Farm.
What is the best life insurance for seniors? ›6 Best Senior Life Insurance Companies
- Fidelity Life: Our top pick for seniors.
- MassMutual: Our pick for guaranteed issue coverage for seniors.
- State Farm: Our pick for customer satisfaction.
- Northwestern Mutual: Our pick for a personalized experience.
- Mutual of Omaha: Our pick for accelerated death benefits.
6 days ago
Life insurance can provide peace of mind at any age, but isn't always necessary after age 60. To see if you need life insurance, assess your family's needs, your financial resources and assets, your outstanding debts and your long-term financial goals.
When should I drop my term life insurance? ›
If you're experiencing financial difficulties or your life insurance policy has fulfilled its primary need to protect you when you need it most, such as protecting your mortgage payments until you pay off your home, you may find that ending your policy is the best course of action.
What is the major negative to term life insurance? ›Term Life insurance Cons: If you outlive the term length, your coverage will end and you won't receive any benefits. You will not be covered your entire lifetime and your policy will not accumulate cash value like an investment account does.
Who is the top five life insurance company? ›Below, we present our picks for the best life insurance providers in 2024.
- Mutual of Omaha: Best for no-exam coverage.
- MassMutual: Best for permanent life insurance.
- John Hanco*ck: Best for people with diabetes.
- Guardian Life: Best for an in-person experience.
- Nationwide: Best for whole life insurance.
6 days ago
What are the Cheapest Term Insurance Plans for all Age Groups?
| Cheapest term insurance plan | Entry age | Maturity age |
|---|---|---|
| ICCI Prudential iProtect Smart | 18 - 65 years | 99 years |
| HDFC Click 2 Protect Super | 18 - 65 years | 85 years |
| Max Life Smart Secure Plus | 18 - 60 years | 85 years |
| Tata AIA SRS Vitality Protect | 18 - 60 years | 85 years |
Simply put, “best terms pricing” refers to the practice where an insurer submits a quoted premium for its portion of a subscription insurance policy (a policy where a panel of insurers underwrite respective percentages of a particular risk) and qualifies that quote by providing, essentially, “if another panel insurer ...
At what age should you stop buying term life insurance? ›If retirement savings, investments and Social Security are enough to provide for final expenses and your survivors who still rely on your income—you may not need life insurance in your 60s. In some situations, however, having life insurance after 60 makes sense.
When should you stop buying term life insurance? ›Therefore, if you're buying term life insurance primarily to replace your income, you may not need it after retirement. Once your kids are grown up, the house is paid off and you're living off your retirement savings, life insurance is one more thing you no longer need to worry about.
What is the best age to buy term insurance? ›Anyone between the ages of 18 to 65 can opt for term insurance. However, your 20s is a good time to get into the insurance market and plan for your family's future. Since most people land their first jobs in their 20s and start earning a basic amount, they have relatively lower incomes and quite a few expenses.
How many years is best for term insurance? ›A policy term of 25 years should suffice. However, you can pick a longer tenure of 35 years or opt to get coverage until the age of 99.