Term Life Premium Calculator

This calculator produces an illustrative estimate of term life insurance pricing, built from a simplified exponential mortality curve calibrated against published 2026 rate surveys, which put a healthy 35-year-old male's $500,000, 20-year level term policy in the $25-$40/month range at Preferred-or-better health. This calculator's default case uses Standard health, one tier below that survey figure, plus a flat annual policy fee, so the shipped default (age 35, male, Standard, $500,000, 20-year term) comes out a bit higher, in the mid-$40s per month -- consistent with Standard-class applicants generally paying more than the Preferred-class rates most published surveys headline with. It is a calibrated illustration, not a quote: it is not derived from any specific insurer's actual, currently-filed mortality or rate tables, and it models neither tobacco use nor the volume banding that makes larger policies cheaper per thousand. Real term life pricing is set by licensed actuaries using detailed mortality tables (in the US, often based on or benchmarked against the industry's standard CSO mortality tables) combined with each insurer's own underwriting guidelines, and can vary meaningfully between carriers for an identical applicant. What this estimate does correctly reflect directionally: premiums rise with age, and the rate of increase itself accelerates as you get older, since underlying mortality risk roughly doubles every 8 years late in life; women are commonly quoted lower premiums than men at the same age under most real underwriting guidelines, consistent with statistically longer average life expectancy; and a Substandard health rating (reflecting conditions like uncontrolled health issues or high-risk activities) carries a meaningfully higher rate than Preferred Plus.

Use the Cost per $1,000 Coverage figure to compare coverage amounts on equal footing — it falls as coverage rises, because a flat annual policy fee is spread over more coverage. Real carriers amplify this with hard pricing bands at $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 and $1 million, which this calculator does not model, so it is often genuinely cheaper to buy the next band up than to stop just below one. Use the age-by-premium chart to see how waiting to buy a policy compounds in cost. Treat every dollar figure here as illustrative for comparison purposes, not a quote — get real numbers from a licensed agent or carrier before making a purchase decision.