Our experts answer readers' insurance questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess insurance products). In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners; however, our opinions are our own.
If you're interested in purchasing life insurance, a term policy may be your most affordable option.
While you won't get lifelong or any cash value advantages, a term policy can protect your family in the event of your untimely death in your prime earning years.
Best Term Life Insurance
- Banner Life: Best Overall
- Protective Life: Best for Affordability
- Brighthouse Financial Life Insurance: Best no Medical exam
- State Farm Life Insurance: Best for Customer Service
- Pacific Life: Best for Whole Life Conversions
- Prudential Life Insurance: Best for Seniors
- Transamerica Life Insurance: Best for Foreign Nationals
- MassMutual Life Insurance: Best for Low-Income Parents
- USAA Life Insurance: Best for Military Personnel
We've rounded up our top picks for the best term life insurance companies to help you find a policy meeting all your needs.
Compare Term Life Insurance Companies
Term Life Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, term life insurance will protect your family. In the unfortunate event you pass away during its active period, it will help your beneficiaries cover costs like funeral expenses and outstanding debts and can replace lost income. However, if you pass away after its expiration, your beneficiaries will not be paid.
Term life insurance is better for those seeking a temporary, low-cost policy. A permanent life insurance policy may seem more expensive initially but is better for those who'd like to build wealth through tax-favored, cash-value benefits. By the time the policy is paid, permanent policies are frequently cheaper for the benefit you get.
To get a $1 million term life insurance policy, a 35-year-old female non-smoker will pay an average of $42.92 per month. A male 35-year-old non-smoker will pay an average of $52.01 per month.
If you outlive your term life insurance, your coverage will expire, and you or your beneficiaries won't receive a payout. The funds will simply go into the company's profits. However, if you purchased a return of premium rider, you may get your money back at the end of your policy.
Term Life Insurance Company Reviews
Banner Term Life Insurance
Banner Life Insurance's OpTerm policy has affordable life insurance rates for all ages and approved health classifications. Unfortunately, shoppers with a history of severe health complications, including HIV, cancer, etc., do not qualify for Banner Life policies. Shoppers ages 20 to 75 years old may be eligible for coverage with no maximum and up to 40 years of coverage. You can also expect fast approval and may qualify for a medical exam waiver with the Banner Life OpTerm plan.
Protective Term Life Insurance
Protective Life Insurance's Class Choice Term plan has some of the most affordable rates for the best value in the life insurance market. According to Insider's article on the average life insurance cost, the average life insurance rate for 35-year-old males and females (with a standard 20-year term length and a life insurance benefit of $1,000,000) is about $52 and $43 per month, respectively.
At Protective, the same life insurance policy for a male applicant would cost $46.63 per month. A policy for a female applicant quotes at $38.44 per month. Both of these rates are below the industry average. So while you can find cheaper, you get the most out of your buck with Protective.
Protective's Classic Choice Term is excellent for its customizability and range of options. This plan offers $100,000 to $50 million in coverage, some of the highest life insurance benefits in the market. Additionally, you have several term options ranging from 10 to 40 years.
You may fancy Protective's a la carte of riders, including its child and disability riders. Protective also offers an income provider option endorsement, which allows you to decide how to allocate your death benefit among your beneficiaries.
Brighthouse Term Life Insurance
Brighthouse Financial's SimplySelect term offers best-in-class coverage even without undergoing a physical exam. The company also received an A rating from AM Best and a 741 rating with JD Power, according to its 2022 life insurance study.
This policy allows instant approval with some of the most affordable life insurance rates. You can get anywhere from $100,000 to $3 million in coverage with term lengths of 10, 20, or 30 years. However, higher policy limits may be subject to stricter underwriting. Also, its convertible and renewable rider options allow you to extend your coverage or convert your policy to a whole life insurance plan. See our guide to the best no medical exam insurance companies for more options to compare.
If your health isn't at its best, you might lean towards insurance requiring no medical exam. This is a common misnomer. No medical exam policies still ask health questions, and the company can look at past medical records. So these policies are more frequently issued with lower death benefits to young, healthy applicants. Of course, when you're working with a company like Brighthouse Financial, life insurance agents can run a preliminary application to see your chances of success. If you don't qualify for a no medical exam policy, Brighthouse Financial agents can quote other term or whole life options to fit your needs.
State Farm Term Life Insurance
Reliability and trustworthiness are imperative for a long-standing insurance company, and it doesn't get any better than State Farm. State Farm's life insurance earned an A++ for financial stability with AMs Best. It also received 839 out of 1,000 in 2022 for overall customer satisfaction with JD Power, making it the number one spot for customer service among its industry competitors.
State Farm sells property and casualty products, including home, renters, and auto insurance. So, you can pair your life insurance with another insurance product to reduce your premium.
Pacific Life Term Life Insurance
A term to permanent life insurance conversion allows you to extend your coverage and take advantage of those coveted cash-value benefits. Pacific Elite Term offers some of the best options if you're planning on purchasing a whole, universal, or variable life insurance plan eventually. With this term life plan, you can convert after the first ten years of term coverage. This policy also adds cash credit to your permanent policy after conversion, which may reduce the overall cost of your premium.
Keep in mind conversion is not guaranteed. Your insurance agent can advise when you'd submit your application to convert. Once you do, underwriting will assess your health and risk at the time of application (not when you originally applied for your term policy). Insurance companies will also set rates based on your current application.
With competitive rates and availability in all 50 states, Pacific Life may be your pick of the litter for policy convertibility. In addition, Pacific Life has outstanding customer satisfaction and financial strength scores, ranking 5th place with JD Power (above the industry average) and A+ with AM Best. Pacific Life may also allow qualifying buyers to forego a medical exam.
Prudential Term Life Insurance
For seniors, getting life insurance at an affordable rate can be challenging. However, Prudential's Term Essential is an excellent option for shoppers over 60 needing short-term coverage at a competitive price.
Prudential's Term Essential allows for higher age limits than many competitors. As a result, underwriters may overlook minor age-related conditions, likely at a better cost than its competitors. Exclusions for terminal or costly illnesses like cancer, multiple sclerosis, and HIV may still apply. The plan provides coverage as little as $100,000 up to $1 million and term lengths of 10, 15, 20, or 30 years. Additionally, this policy offers a Living Needs Benefit rider, free of charge, with all of Prudential's term life policies. This rider gives you access to a portion of your death policy if you become terminally ill, a beneficial option for senior retirees.
Not all senior applicants will qualify for a life insurance policy with Prudential Term Essential. But options may be more flexible than it would be with competitors. See our guide to the best life insurance for seniors for more information.
Transamerica Term Life Insurance
Life insurance can be an invaluable tool, but it may be hard to qualify for those who don't have US citizenship. As one of the oldest and largest life insurance carriers, Transamerica accommodates foreign nationals within the US to offer the best coverage options.
Transamerica Trendsetter Super is a term life policy providing some of the most competitive rates. If you're 18 to 80-years-old, you can get coverage of as little as $25,000 up to $2 million. Qualifying applicants may also waive the medical exam requirement. We recommend talking to a licensed insurance agent if you are still determining if you qualify.
USAA Term Life Insurance
USAA is one of the nation's leading insurance providers, created with active military members and veterans in mind. With USAA, military members and veterans may appreciate the unique benefits of purchasing its Level Term V policy. This plan doesn't require a medical exam, but you may have to answer a health questionnaire online.
USAA's equivalent of a guaranteed insurability rider is its Life Event Option rider. For qualifying life events (like getting married or having a child), you can get up to $100,000 of coverage. While many insurance companies offer this add-on at an additional cost, USAA's Life Event Option rider is built into the policy without the extra fee. Also, if you're injured in the line of duty, USAA helps pay for your medical bills and even replaces your health coverage if you retire or leave the military.
The critical thing separating USAA from other life insurance companies is its options for active duty military members outside of SGLI (a group life policy tied to your service in the military), i.e., you lose it once you separate from the military). As a result, its death benefits may be lower compared to some competitors. But active duty military members, particularly if deployed, will not qualify for coverage at all with other life insurance providers.
MassMutual Term Life Insurance
For many families, getting life insurance isn't in the budget or may not be a financial priority. Fortunately, MassMutual created the LifeBridge program to assist low-income families with affordable coverage.
With MassMutual's LifeBridge program, qualifying parents and guardians get a free 10-year life insurance policy. In addition, this policy pays your designated beneficiary a $50,000 death benefit.
While MassMutual's term coverage through the LifeBridge program isn't as elaborate as some of the options on this list, this free plan will cover your dependent's educational expenses and sustain a good living if you pass away.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Chose the Best Term Life Insurance
We choose our picks for the best term life products best on a company's customer satisfaction points, financial stability ratings, affordability and
- Customer satisfaction: We use JD Power's life insurance customer satisfaction survey to assess a company's customer service practices. Life insurance companies with ratings of more than 774 out of 1000 are considered above the industry standard.
- Company offerings: We compare each company's offerings. These include but are not limited to riders, policy flexibility, no medical exam options, and instant approvals.
- Financial stability ratings: We use AM Best, an industry-leading credit rating agency, to assess an insurance company's financial health. A company with an A++ to B+ is stable and likely to be around for years. On the other hand, anything lower than a B means a company is unstable or unable to meet its financial obligations.
- Affordability: According to our article on average life insurance rates, a reasonable monthly premium is on par with or below the average cost of life insurance, which is between $40 to $55 a month.
Check out the details of our insurance rating methodology to learn more.
Why You Should Trust Our Recommendations
Insider strives to create the highest quality and most helpful content. While we have paid partnerships, we don't get paid based on the brands we write about and what we write about insurance products. Moreover, our partners only see the post after its publication and can't make changes afterward. For information on how we choose and rate our financial products, visit our editorial page standards.