People buy life insurance for a multitude of reasons. Some people purchase life insurance to help pay for their final expenses, others purchase it to cover living expenses for those they leave behind. Whatever your reason is, it’s important that you understand what factors influence the cost of term life insurance.

Factors that Influence the Cost of Life Insurance

The main factors that are going to make your life insurance policy more or less affordable involve these key elements:

1. Age -How old you are when you apply for life insurance makes a difference in the cost. The younger you are, the cheaper the coverage will be.
2. Gender-Females are generally going to pay less for life insurance than males. Why? Because they tend to outlive their male counterparts.
3. Health–Do you take any medications on a daily basis for any chronic conditions? Are you overweight? Do you smoke or use tobacco products? Have you had any surgeries in the last 10 years? How often do you see your family doctor? All of these factors are going to help play a role in “how healthy” you appear to the insurance companies.
4. Lifestyle/Hobbies-Do you engage in any risky hobbies? For example, do you mountain climb, scuba dive, partake in parachuting, hang gliding, ballooning, motorized racing, or pilot non-commercial airplanes? Sometimes the insurance company will charge a flat extra if you participate in such activities, or they will exclude them.
5. Family Health History-Did your mother or father (or siblings) die from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or cancer before age 60? Certain cancers such as breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate have a genetic component to them. So if a family member passed away due to one of these cancers, that could have a slight impact on your life insurance cost.
6. Driving History-Have you had more than one-two moving violations in the last 3 years? Or worse, a DUI or a reckless driving conviction in the last 5 years? As you could imagine, a less than perfect driving history could impact the cost of your life insurance policy in a negative way. Tickets that never hit your record though may not adversely affect you.
7. Occupation-Does your job involve more accident-related risks? Are you employed as a firefighter, policeman, fisherman, farmer, construction worker, pilot, or steelworker? If you are otherwise healthy, the insurance company may charge a table rating to offset the risk, or a flat extra.
8. Foreign Travel/ Residency-Are you a US citizen? Or a permanent resident? Do you travel internationally for more than 8 weeks a year? Do you stay in areas that are considered unsafe according to the US state department?

Sample Rates from an A+ Rated Carrier

$250,000 death benefit, male, select preferred

$500,000 death benefit, male, select preferred

$1,000,000 death benefit, male, select preferred

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As you can see, term life insurance pricing varies based on a number of different factors. It is extremely important that you speak with an experienced life insurance agent that knows how to properly field underwrite their cases. This saves you, the client, a lot of headaches and frustration. If you are ready to find out more, give us a call at 1-866-679-8376 or fill out the form on the right.