Term Life Insurance Calculator
Coverage, age & term
Your result will appear here
Fill in the fields on the left and this updates as you type.
Know what this estimate is based on
- Jurisdiction
- United States — state-regulated insurance
- Scope and limitations
- Educational estimate only. Insurance in the U.S. is regulated state by state, so rates, required coverages and available discounts differ by where you live. Your premium is set by an insurer's own underwriting — driving record, claims history, credit-based insurance score where permitted, the property itself — and only a quote is binding. What a policy pays depends on its exclusions and limits, not on this estimate.
- Source links checked
- Jul 30, 2026
Built and regression-tested by Smart Tools Lab. It has not been individually reviewed by a licensed financial, tax, or legal professional.
How to use
- 01
Enter the coverage you want. If you do not have a figure, run the Life Insurance Needs Calculator first.
- 02
Enter your age. It is the single biggest thing that moves a term premium, and it only moves one way.
- 03
Choose a term long enough to cover the years the money is needed — commonly until the mortgage is paid or the youngest child finishes college.
- 04
Read the monthly premium, then the table underneath: it shows what the same policy costs if you buy it at other ages, which is the real cost of waiting.
- 05
If you have already been quoted a rating for health or tobacco, open Advanced options and enter the multiplier.
Formula
Annual premium = (coverage / 1,000) x rate per $1,000 x health class multiplier. The rate comes from a table of typical U.S. level-term prices for preferred non-tobacco applicants, interpolated between the ages listed and scaled by term length — a 10-year term costs roughly two-thirds of a 20-year one, a 30-year term about 45% more, because the insurer holds the risk into older ages. The monthly figure is the annual divided by twelve; most carriers add a small charge for paying monthly rather than annually. The table below the result reprices the same policy at other ages so the cost of waiting is visible rather than implied.
Example
A 35-year-old wanting $500,000 of coverage for 20 years, preferred non-tobacco. Step 1 — Find the rate. At 35 on a 20-year term the table gives about $0.45 per $1,000 of coverage per year. Step 2 — Apply it to the coverage: ($500,000 / 1,000) x $0.45 = $225 a year. Step 3 — Per month: $225 / 12 = about $19. Per day, about $0.62. Step 4 — Over the whole term: $225 x 20 = $4,500 to protect $500,000, or 0.9% of the death benefit. Now the part that matters. The same policy bought at 45 costs $525 a year — $44 a month — and at 55 it is $1,500 a year. Waiting ten years does not delay the cost; it raises it for every one of the twenty years you eventually pay.
Definitions
- Level term
- A policy whose premium and death benefit both stay fixed for the whole term. Almost every term policy quoted in the U.S. is level.
- Rate per $1,000
- How insurers price coverage: an annual dollar figure per $1,000 of death benefit, driven mainly by age, term length and health class.
- Health class
- The band underwriting assigns — preferred plus, preferred, standard plus, standard, or a rating. It can change the premium several times over.
- Tobacco class
- A separate, roughly doubled set of rates for nicotine users. Most carriers require twelve months clear before reclassifying.
- Conversion privilege
- The right to convert term coverage to permanent without new medical underwriting. Valuable if your health changes; check the deadline and which policies qualify.
- Renewal
- Continuing coverage after the level term ends, usually at a steeply increasing annual rate. A stopgap, not a plan.
- Laddering
- Buying two or more policies of different lengths so coverage steps down as the need does, at less cost than one large long policy.
- Accelerated underwriting
- Approval without a medical exam, using prescription, motor-vehicle and other data. Faster, usually slightly dearer.
- Face amount
- The death benefit — the amount the policy pays. Also called the coverage amount.
- Contestability period
- The first two years, during which an insurer can investigate and deny a claim for a material misstatement on the application. A reason to answer every question exactly.
- Waiver of premium
- A rider that keeps the policy in force without payment if you become disabled.
- Return of premium
- A term variant that refunds premiums if you outlive the policy, at a substantially higher price. Compare against buying plain term and investing the difference.
Good to know
Why age is the only input that really matters
Coverage, term and health all move a term life premium, but none of them move it like age. An insurer is pricing one thing: the chance you die during the term. That chance is small at 30 and roughly doubles every seven or eight years after 40, so the rate table climbs steeply rather than steadily. At 35 a healthy applicant pays around $0.45 a year per $1,000 of coverage. At 45 it is about $1.05, at 55 about $3.00, and at 65 around $9.50 — more than twenty times the price for the same protection. This is why the advice to buy term life young is not sales talk. The rate is locked at the age you are approved, and it stays locked for the whole term, so buying at 35 and holding for twenty years means paying a 35-year-old's price at 54. Waiting does not delay the cost; it raises it for every year you eventually pay.
What 'level term' locks in, and what it does not
Level term means two things stay fixed for the whole term: the premium and the death benefit. The insurer cannot raise your rate because you aged, developed a condition or made a claim on something else. That guarantee is the product. What it does not lock is anything after the term ends. On the last day of a 20-year policy the coverage simply stops. Most contracts allow annual renewal at a steeply rising rate — often several times the level premium in the first renewal year alone — which functions as a bridge, not a plan. The more valuable feature is the conversion privilege: the right to swap into permanent coverage with no new medical exam, usually before a stated age or a set number of years in. If your health changes during the term, that clause is the most valuable thing in the contract, and it is worth reading before you buy rather than after.
Reading the by-age table
The table under the result reprices your exact policy — same coverage, same term, same health class — at other ages. It exists because the cost of waiting is invisible in a single premium figure. Take $500,000 of 20-year cover. At 35 it is about $19 a month and $4,500 over the whole term. At 40 it is $27 a month and $6,500. At 45, $44 a month and $10,500. At 50, $73 and $17,500. The row for your own age is marked so you can see where you sit on the curve. Read it in two directions. Downward, it prices procrastination. Upward, it shows what someone slightly younger than you would pay, which matters if you are insuring a spouse as well. And note the last column: total premiums over the term, which for a healthy 35-year-old is under 1% of the death benefit.
Where the health class comes from
Every carrier sorts applicants into classes, typically preferred plus, preferred, standard plus, standard, and then table ratings for significant conditions. The multiplier under Advanced options is where that lands. Preferred non-tobacco is 1.0 and is what the table prices. Standard commonly runs 1.3 to 1.6 times. Tobacco use roughly doubles the rate, and most carriers want twelve months clear before reclassifying, some longer. Table ratings for conditions like diabetes or a cardiac history step up from there. The part worth knowing is that carriers disagree sharply about the same medical history — one may decline what another prices at 1.5. That disagreement is why an independent agent who can shop several carriers matters far more when your health is complicated than when it is straightforward.
Turning this into a real quote
The figure here reflects the shape of the U.S. market, not an offer. To turn it into something binding, expect three steps. First an application covering medical history, prescriptions, family history, driving record and any hazardous hobbies. Then underwriting, which may include a paramedical exam at your home, or may be waived under accelerated underwriting for younger applicants at moderate face amounts. Then an offer at a specific class, which may or may not be the one you were quoted. Answer every question exactly: the first two years are the contestability period, during which a material misstatement lets the insurer deny a claim. And compare quotes on the same coverage, term and class — a lower number that assumes a class you will not qualify for is not a lower price.
Frequently asked questions
How is a term life premium worked out?
An insurer prices your risk of dying during the term, then charges a rate per $1,000 of coverage. That rate rises steeply with age and roughly doubles for tobacco use. This tool uses a table of typical U.S. rates for preferred non-tobacco applicants; a real application, including a medical exam, sets the rate that binds.
What term length should I pick?
Match it to the need, not to a round number. If the mortgage has 22 years left, a 20-year policy leaves a gap and a 30-year policy covers years you will not need. Twenty years is the most common choice because it usually spans both the mortgage and the child-rearing years.
Why does waiting a few years cost so much?
Because the rate is set at the age you buy and then stays level for the whole term. The table on this page shows it: the same policy bought at 45 rather than 35 typically costs more than double, every month, for twenty years.
What happens when the term ends?
Coverage stops. Most policies let you renew annually at a sharply higher rate, or convert to permanent coverage without a new medical exam — a valuable option if your health has changed. Read what the conversion privilege allows before you buy, not after.
Do I get anything back if I outlive the policy?
No, and that is the point. Term insurance is a pure transfer of risk with no savings component, which is exactly why it costs so little. Return-of-premium versions exist and charge far more for the privilege.
How much does tobacco use change the price?
Roughly double, sometimes more. Most carriers want you nicotine-free for twelve months before they reclassify you, and some ask for two to three years for the best class. If you have recently quit, it is worth asking each carrier where their line sits.
Do I need a medical exam?
Often, though accelerated underwriting can skip it for younger applicants and moderate face amounts, using prescription and motor-vehicle records instead. A no-exam policy is faster and usually a little more expensive.
Should I buy one big policy or several smaller ones?
Laddering — a 30-year policy plus a 15-year one, say — matches falling need and costs less than one large 30-year policy. It adds a second application, so it makes most sense at larger coverage amounts.
Can the insurer raise my premium?
Not on a level term policy. The premium and the death benefit are both fixed for the term, which is what the word level means. The rate is locked at the age and health class you were approved at.
What if I have a health condition?
Carriers rate conditions very differently — one may decline what another prices at 1.5x. Working with an independent agent who can shop several carriers usually matters more than any other decision when your health is complicated.
Does my employer's coverage count toward this?
Subtract it from the coverage you need, but do not treat it as yours. It ends when the job does, usually just when you would be least able to buy replacement coverage.
How accurate is this estimate?
It reflects the shape of the U.S. market for a healthy applicant, and should land within a reasonable range of a real quote. It cannot know your medical history, your state, or which carrier is competitive for someone like you. Only an application binds a rate.