Whole Life Insurance Rates
If you are looking to buy whole life insurance, you might have several questions – How are policy rates calculated? How to get personalized quotes from insurance providers? How to get the best rates? And more importantly, how much coverage do you actually need ?
In this article, we take a look at the answers to all these questions.
Let us now take a look at the average cost of a whole life policy for men and women at different ages.
| Age | $100,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | $1,031 | $2,110 | $4,158 | $8,191 |
| 40 | $1,485 | $3,113 | $6,164 | $12,203 |
| 50 | $2,246 | $4,769 | $9,476 | $18,828 |
| 60 | $3,550 | $7,527 | $14,992 | $29,860 |
| Age | $100,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | $913 | $1,851 | $3,639 | $7,154 |
| 40 | $1,336 | $2,784 | $5,505 | $10,886 |
| 50 | $1,952 | $4,264 | $8,466 | $16,806 |
| 60 | $3,023 | $6,547 | $13,033 | $25,941 |
Determining the premium of a whole life policy is a complex process and the insurance company generally takes a wide range of factors into account while calculating the best rates for each individual who applies for a policy.
The insurance company incurs a variety of expenses while issuing a policy. The most common expenses include underwriting charges, the costs associated with medical exams, management fees, and the commissions paid to agents.
This is quite simple to understand – the larger the death benefit amount, the higher your premium will be. If you are looking for a whole life policy with a large payout – typically more than $500,000 – you should be prepared to pay a substantial amount every year towards the premium.
The insurance company determines your mortality risk based on a wide range of factors and determines the premium for your policy accordingly. Given here is the list of factors that are taken into consideration by the company while determining your mortality risk.
Age – The older you are, the higher your mortality risk. It is as simple as that! This is why experts say that you should never wait for the right time to insure yourself. The right time to buy life insurance is right now, because the longer you wait, the higher your costs are going to be.
Health Condition – If you have preexisting conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, hormonal disorders, and heart disease or if you have a family history of genetic disorders and hereditary diseases, your insurability gets affected to a certain extent, as a result of which your policy costs might go up.
Gender – Women tend to live longer than men and have a lower risk of mortality in general. So, if you are a woman, you are likely to pay lower premiums than a man for the same policy.
Tobacco, Drug, and Alcohol Use – If you are a smoker, you are seen as a ‘high risk’ consumer by insurance providers. Similarly, if you drink regularly and/or use recreational drugs, you are likely to be charged a higher rate compared to someone who does not consume tobacco, drugs, or alcohol.
Occupation – A miner is likely to be charged a higher rate than an accountant, due to the inherently risky nature of their occupation. If your line of work – be it construction, firefighting, logging, roofing, or trucking – is considered ‘high risk’ by the insurance company, you are likely to be charged a higher rate compared to an office worker.
Hobbies – It is not just what you do for a living, but what you do in your free time also affects your insurability.
If you have risky and dangerous hobbies like mountain climbing, racing, hang gliding, skydiving, and bungee jumping, your mortality risk is likely to be higher than someone who spends their time reading books or playing video games. As a result, your policy costs are likely to be higher too.
Driving Record – If you have a history of driving under influence, you are likely to be charged a higher rate compared to someone with a clean driving record.
Getting quotes from multiple insurance providers is very important, as it is the only way to find a policy that meets your needs and fits within your budget.
There are two ways in which you can get quotes from insurance companies.
Calculating the amount of coverage you need is one of the most important aspects of buying life insurance. If you under-insure yourself, your policy’s payout might not be sufficient to cover your family’s financial needs in your absence. If you over-insure yourself, you might end up paying unnecessarily high premiums.
There are a few factors based on which you can determine exactly how much coverage you need.
Income Level – How much do you make on a yearly basis? Your policy’s death benefit should be at the very least five to ten times your annual income.
Debts – The last thing you want to do is to pass on your debt burden to your family after your death. So, you should make sure the death benefit is sufficient to pay off all your debts.
Children’s Education – If you have young children, you need to make sure their schooling expenses are taken care of, even in your absence. So, you need to take these expenses into consideration while calculating the amount of coverage you need.
Treatment and Care Expenses – If you have children with special needs or a spouse or a parent with a chronic disease or disability, you need to factor in the ongoing medical management costs into your calculations as well.
Taxes and Outstanding Bills – If your estate is large enough to attract federal estate taxes, your policy’s death benefit should also be large enough to pay the estate tax bill and other outstanding bills and debts, so that your family does not have to dip into their savings.
Final Expenses – A well-arranged funeral can cost up to $15,000, which is something you need to keep in mind while determining the amount of coverage you require.
Obviously, not all of these factors mentioned above might be applicable to you. So, depending on your income level, your family’s financial needs, the number of dependents you have, and the amount of debts you have, you can decide the right amount of whole life coverage you need.
Given here are eight tips that can help you get the lowest possible whole life insurance rates.
You can choose a whole life policy that is ideally suited for your family’s financial needs and your budget based on the information given above.
One thing you need to remember, however, is that it is not prudent to make cost the make-or-break factor when it comes to life insurance.
There is no point in buying a low-cost policy if the company is financially unstable and could go under during an economic downturn. So, make sure the company you choose to do business with is financially stable and has a proven track record of settling claims quickly without any hassles.