Believe it or not, when you consider what you get for what you pay, life insurance is one of the few bargains in the marketplace. Think about it, a 30-year old male can start a $500,000 Term Life insurance policy for about $20 and then die the day after it’s issued, and his beneficiary will receive a tax-free death benefit of $500,000. That is certainly a bargain!
Cheap life insurance policies can be purchased pretty much anywhere, especially if you are a healthy non-smoker. A lot of people get their insurance free because their employer offers it as part of their benefits package. That is great but you can’t depend on your employer to offer you a group life insurance policy. Most people today will have many employers over their lifetime.
Life insurance purchased through a reputable life insurance agent while you are young can save headaches down the road.
Of course with any product, cheap doesn’t always translate to good. And for this reason, we will be discussing which companies offer great life insurance products at the lowest rates. Not every company has a stellar reputation so we want to make sure that you get what you pay for.
To be thorough and to be fair, we want to cover the most popular categories and offer what we think is the best value for the money.
- Cheap Term Life Insurance
- Cheap Life Insurance for Seniors
- Cheap Life Insurance without a Medical Exam
Cheap Term Life Insurance
Probably, the most competitive category is Term Life Insurance. Since most policyholders rarely keep their policy for the full term they purchase and those that do typically outlive the term, cheap term life insurance is very popular. An alternative to running out of coverage because you outlived your term period is guaranteed universal life (GUL) or guaranteed indexed universal life insurance (GIUL).
Young adults especially like term insurance because they can purchase large face amounts at very affordable rates. It’s the perfect product that allows the policyholder to replace their income at a very affordable rate. Term life insurance is a great solution if you are attempting to:
- Leave money to loved ones for living expenses
- Pay off the mortgage on the family home
- Pay off other debts that have accumulated (credit cards and personal loans)
- Leave money for college education
- Leave money for your spouse’s retirement fund
Our Recommendation for Cheap Term Life Insurance
When we compare the various insurance companies that offer cheap term life insurance and we consider their financial strength, customer service, claims service, and rates, we feel that Protective Life Insurance Company is a solid choice for cheap term life insurance. Protective Life is a company you can trust in and it’s a company we (independent agents) trust in.
Here are their financial ratings from the major rating services:
A.M. Best | Moody’s | Standard & Poor’s | Fitch |
A+ | A1 | AA- | A+ |
Here sample rates for a 30-year old male and female non-smoker in very good health:
Face Amount | Policy Term | Male Non-Smoker | Female Non-Smoker |
$500,000 | 20-years | $20.00 | $17.53 |
$1 million | 20-years | $33.77 | $28.50 |
$2 million | 20-years | $62.84 | $52.59 |
$3 million | 20-years | $91.91 | $76.09 |
Cheap Life Insurance for Seniors
Typically, anytime we discuss cheap life insurance for seniors, we talk about cheap Final Expense Insurance because this product is the most popular one for the age group. We’ll use the same criteria that we mentioned in the introduction but also consider the ease of purchasing a policy. Our reason being that we’ve found over the years seniors prefer not to have to deal with fully-underwritten policies that require a medical exam.
Our Recommendation for Cheap Life Insurance for Seniors
Seniors are very diligent when it comes to selecting a company they will trust which is likely a result of their generation. For this reason, the company they select is typically well-established, very well-known, and has an impeccable reputation of outstanding customer service and claims service.
When we consider the many insurance companies that offer final expense and burial insurance, one company always appears ahead of the pack.
We recommend Mutual of Omaha as a great choice for cheap life insurance for seniors.
Here are the financial ratings for Mutual of Omaha and their subsidiary companies:
| A.M. Best Company | Standard & Poor’s | Moody’s Investors Service |
A+ | A1 | AA- |
Here are sample rates from Mutual of Omaha for a 65-yeard old male and female non-smoker:
Face Amount | Male Non-Smoker | Female Non-Smoker |
$10,000 | $55.76 | $41.01 |
$15,000 | $82.04 | $59.91 |
$20,000 | $108.31 | $78.82 |
| $25,000 | $134.59 | $97.72 |
Certainly, insurance rates for seniors are quite a bit higher. But remember, age is one of the primary rating factors and most seniors have health issues that Mutual of Omaha will accept for their standard program. In fact, Mutual of Omaha will offer a guaranteed issue policy to those seniors who have severe or multiple health conditions.
Cheap Life Insurance Without a Medical Exam
Lately, we have found there are many consumers who prefer not to have a medical exam in order to get cheap life insurance. Not because they have health or other issues they’re attempting to hide, but because they do not want the aggravation and they want a policy issued as soon as possible. These folks assume they’ll pay a little more for their life insurance and they usually do.
Since there are many life insurance companies who offer no-exam term life insurance, we’ll use the same criteria we listed in the introduction but add the “no medical exam” caveat.
For consumers who prefer cheap term life insurance without a medical exam, we recommend SBLI Life Insurance (the No Nonsense Life Insurance Company). SBLI is one of the few term life policies that offers life insurance coverage up to $500,000 without requiring a medical exam or blood/urine tests.
Here are the insurance ratings for SBLI:
A.M. Best Company | Standard & Poor’s | Better Business Bureau |
| A (Excellent) | A- (Strong) | A+ |
Here are sample rates for a 30-year old male and female non-smoker in very good health:
Face Amount | Policy Term | Male Non-Smoker | Female Non-Smoker |
$100,000 | 20-years | $8.50 | $7.75 |
$300,000 | 20-years | $13.54 | $11.78 |
| $500,000 | 20-years | $18.99 | $16.39 |
Although the face amount for this no medical exam term life insurance is limited at $500,000, SBLI Life Insurance provides the cheapest life insurance with no medical exam and is an excellent choice for consumers who want to avoid a medical exam.
Tips for Getting the Best Cheap Life Insurance
While getting cheap life insurance depends on the insurance carrier you purchase coverage from, here are some tips for steps you can take to make sure you get the biggest bang for your buck.
- Always use an independent agent and avoid all company (captured) agents.
- Get multiple quotes (not every agent represents the same companies)
- Buy term insurance whenever appropriate
- Don’t bundle with your home and auto insurance. The rates will never be as good.
- Pay your premium annual whenever possible.
- Get in shape and by all means, quit smoking!
- Buy your insurance today. It will never be cheaper.
