Term life insurance offers the financial security your loved ones need at premiums you can afford. Choosing a term life insurance plan is a personal decision, based on your family's financial requirements, your current budget and your loved ones' hopes for the future. No matter which policy you choose, you deserve to have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your dependents will be able to live comfortably without the income you currently provide.
Discussing renewable life insurance with your family isn't easy. Not many people want to think about how they would manage their financial future without a parent or a spouse. However, having an affordable term life insurance plan can give you and your dependents the reassurance that you need so you can make the most of your time together. Before you select a term life insurance plan, compare quotes from several companies, providers or brokers to ensure that you're getting the best policy and the cheapest rates.
Determine Your Family's Needs
Maintaining a temporary or short term life insurance policy to protect your spouse, children and other dependents is a crucial component of your financial plan. Without the income you provide to your dependents, their standard of living could decline considerably. In fact, the untimely death of a spouse or parent can be one of the most devastating losses that a family will endure, both emotionally and financially. When people buy term life insurance, many working adults underestimate the total amount of coverage and death benefit they will need to keep their dependents secure.
If you are the primary wage earner in your household, you know how much you contribute to the monthly budget. However, you may not be aware of the value of the other resources you provide to your family, such as the medical benefits they receive through your employer. If you were to die prematurely, your spouse and children would have to seek another source of funding for their health care, probably at a higher cost.
In addition to your income and benefits, consider the cost of your funeral and burial or cremation and the costs of distributing your estate. Funeral expenses can consume a significant percentage of a death benefit if the policyholder is underinsured. In addition, your death benefit should cover your outstanding consumer debts, college education for dependents, mortgages, dependent care, funeral costs and final medical expenses.
An objective, independent term life insurance broker or agent from a reliable company can help you calculate the appropriate benefit amounts to cover the costs your family can expect after your death. Along with their current needs, the goals and dreams your children may have for the future should be considered when choosing a policy. Work with a qualified, caring term life insurance agent to form an accurate projection of how much coverage your family needs in a death benefit.
Depending on your situation, you may need to seek a no medical exam policy or guaranteed coverage. If you do not need a no exam policy, whether you are a smoker or non-smoker will affect how much you pay for your premium. You will want to compare the cost of many premiums and the coverage the plans provide before deciding which is the best quote for you. Be sure to discuss these concerns with an agent when getting free quotes.
Affordable, Flexible Benefits
Renewable life insurance plans are one of the most popular products on the market for several good reasons. Of all the policies you have to choose from, a term plan makes the most sense if you need affordable premiums when looking for financial protection for a specific period of time. Term life insurance policies place the goal of insuring your dependents within your reach, even if you're on a limited budget and need cheap quotes.
Term life insurance plans are affordable, flexible and simple to understand. As the policyholder, you can choose the amount of protection that you need and the length of your coverage period, which will effect the cost of your premium. Whether you need to be insured for 30 years while you pay off a mortgage and your baby grows up, or for just 5 years while your child finishes college, you have the opportunity to define the terms of your contract. In the event of your early death, your loved ones will be guaranteed to receive the benefits described in your policy.
In the future, you may decide to switch your temporary coverage to a permanent policy. Whole life insurance policies offer lifelong protection for your dependents and can include investment options, which can be guaranteed no matter when your death takes place. Many term life insurance policies give you the option to convert to permanent protection plans at the end of your policy, if you choose to do so. However, these may come with higher premiums. Discuss with an agent whether this option would be included in your term life insurance plan.
Three Main Types of Coverage
There are three main types of term life insurance that available to buy, which are level term, decreasing term and annual renewable term insurance. Each have their benefits and drawbacks.
Level term coverage means that when you buy a policy, your death benefit protection and the cost of your premiums will remain the same (or level) for the set period. These could remain level for a specified period of time or it may remain level for the entirety of the policy. This is something that should be discussed with an agent when you are getting cheap quotes.
Decreasing term policies will offer a death benefit that decreases in value over the period of the policy. Although the death benefit protection decreases, the cost of the premium will usually remain level throughout the policy. This type of coverage is usually beneficially for people who have financial obligations that will decrease over time, such as loans, dependent expenses and a mortgage.
Annual renewable term policies have a death benefit that will remain level for the entire period of the policy but the premiums will increase each year. Be sure you are well versed in these main types of term life insurance plans before you talk to an agent to get free quotes. Remember that just because a quote is cheap, it doesn't mean that it will offer you and your family all the coverage and benefits that you need. Make sure you do some research online and understand what is in the policy before you decide on a plan and rate. Be sure to ask the term life insurance agent plenty of questions so you fully understand the policy. Then decide between the best quotes you receive.
Mortgage Protection Life Insurance
A mortgage protection life insurance policy offers coverage intended to pay off your mortgage in the event of your death occurring before the mortgage is paid in full. You can choose to get a decreasing term life insurance plan but the cheapest level term life insurance plan might provide better benefits at a more affordable rate. Although mortgage protection plans are still advised my some banks and agents, it might be a better option to buy coverage with guaranteed cheap rates, a plan that will pay off the mortgage and a policy that will not decrease over the period of the coverage.
Return of premium policies have become more common as a type of mortgage protection term life insurance. This is a term life insurance plan that will return the premiums you paid in over the period of the plan if you keep the policy for the full 20 or 30 years the policy is in effect. Plus, the return of premium plans reimburse you on a tax free basis. The insuring company guarantees it will return your paid premiums on the policy.
Survivorship Life Insurance
Survivorship life insurance is referred to in a few different ways. It is also known as joint coverage, survivor policies, or second to die life insurance. These types of policies cover two people in one policy, generally two spouses or a husband and a wife.
In a survivorship life insurance policy, the death benefit will not be paid out to the beneficiary until the second person on the policy has died. These joint policies are usually available to buy as either a whole or universal coverage. These second to die or joint options generally offer the same level of benefits at a more affordable rate than having two separate plans.
Survivorship or joint plans are useful in estate planning. Since they do not pay a death benefit until the second person dies, estate taxes do not need to be paid until the second person does die. The survivor policy can be used to pay for estate taxes by removing the proceeds of a policy through gifting and putting the policy in a third party's name, such as a child or a trust.
It is important to remember that these types of survivorship policies are referred to many different terms: joint, survivor and second to die. But these are all strategies for estate planning.
First to die coverage is a group policy that pays out a death benefit to the surviving insured person in the event of the death of the other person on the plan. First to die is also know as a joint whole plan that pays out a fixed guaranteed rate and builds guaranteed cash value. First to die coverage is a joint plan that insures two people but pays the death benefit to the surviving insured person when the first of the policyholders dies.
Joint term life insurance gives you and your spouse coverage on the same plan with the same premium. This is the most affordable kind of group term coverage because you only pay one premium but you receive coverage for you and your spouse. Joint term life insurance provides peace of mind and financial protection to your family with affordable rates.
These types of policies can be slightly more complicated than your typical term life insurance plan. Be sure to talk to an objective agent from a reputable company. Get all of the questions you may have about the details of the plan and the premium answered. Then request free quotes from multiple agents. When you find a quote that offers a complete plan at a cheap rate, simple choose to buy that quote.
Key Person or Key Man Life Insurance
In addition to protecting your family, you will also want to protect your business if you are a business owner. This can be done with a key person or key man life insurance policy. A key person or key man is anyone in company or organization that is vital to the success and operations of the business. This could be an owner, executive, a premium salesperson or a person with a specialized skill set that replacing will be difficult. Generally, this employee or executive is someone that is responsible for generating a large portion of the company's revenue or is a solid executive who makes credit from banks viable.
In a key person or key man life insurance policy, the actual business is the owner of the policy, pays the premiums, and is also the beneficiary. If the key person dies, the policy will financially allow the company to maintain operations and protect the credit of the business. This coverage can help pay for expenses such as loss of sales or revenue, hiring of interim staff until a replacement is found, and the costs that come along with hiring and training an employee or executive to replace the lost key person. Key person or key man coverage compensates a business for financial losses or credit disruptions caused by the death of a valuable executive.
An important consideration along with key man life insurance is a buy-sell agreement. A buy-sell agreement is part of a business continuation plan. If a business owner, partner or shareholder dies, a buy sell agreement will ensure the company will remain intact. A buy sell agreement also ensures that the family survivors will get a fair settlement for the deceased person's individual interest in the company. Usually, buy-sell agreement policies will offer immediate funds to buy out the deceased person's family at fair market value.
Like survivorship policies, key man or key person options can be a little more complex to understand than standard term life insurance plans. When you request your free quotes online, be sure to ask plenty of questions of the agent. You want to be reassured that they are well versed in the subject and that their company can offer you the coverage and rates you need. When you decide on a cheap quote that offers your company the coverage you need, discuss the details with an agent. Be sure to search online and compare several quotes before you make a final decision.
Term Life Insurance Rates
Term life insurance rates are based your age, occupation, health history, weight, alcohol and tobacco use and whether you are a smoker or non-smoker. Many applicants are approved at very low rates and offer no medical exam options. If you have a more complicated health history, a company may require you to take a medical exam or provide documentation from your doctor. If you meet standard health criteria, you can generally buy term life insurance for cheap premiums.
With a level premium payment schedule, your scheduled payments will remain the same from the time you start your plan until your contract ends. If your death occurs at any time within the covered period, your beneficiaries will receive the benefit amount. To learn more about the benefits and cost of term life insurance, request a free quote from providers in your area. For protection that lasts as long as you need it, term life insurance policies make good financial sense.
Term life insurance offers the best temporary coverage for the most affordable premiums. These policies provide your family with the guaranteed protections they need in the event of your death. You can find no exam options and cheap quotes whether you are a smoker or non-smoker. To get your free quotes for cheap term life insurance coverage, complete the short form above. It is quick and easy. Then, you will be contacted by local agent who are ready to offer you the best coverage at the cheapest rate. Protect your family. Get your free quotes today!
Benefits of Term Life Insurance
- Long-term financial safety
- Coverage for any final expenses
- Significant death benefit
Our Commitment
We are committed to helping you make term life insurance shopping simple, fast, and convenient. We will empower you with decision making tools so that you can decide which product is best for you.

Renewable Term Life
QUOTE >Much more common than annual renewable term insurance is guaranteed level premium term life insurance, where the premium is guaranteed to be the same for a given period of years. The most common terms are 10, 15, 20, and 30 years.
Level Term Life
QUOTE >The amount of death benefit protection you purchase will remain the same for the entire term period. The premiums you pay for this level amount of death benefit may also be level for the entire period, may be level only for a specified period, or may increase over time.
Decreasing Term Life
QUOTE >The amount of the death benefit protection you purchase will decrease over the term period. Decreasing term insurance is generally purchased by those who have financial obligations that decrease over time such as a mortgage or a personal or a business loan.
Jonathan D, Chicago IL
Searching for a term life insurance quote can be a huge hassle if you go around calling individual agents for rates - but this site did all the work for me
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Jonathan D, Chicago IL
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Can a Beneficiary Decline to Accept my Life Insurance Benefits?
- Can I Apply with Different Insurance Companies at the Same Time?
- Can I Change my Beneficiary After the Loss of a Loved One?
- Can I Change my Life Insurance Beneficiary Online?
- Can I Sign Up for Automatic Payments with my Life Insurance Provider?















