How Does Whole Life Insurance Work
A whole life insurance policy is a type of permanent life insurance that builds cash value.
Unlike term life insurance, whole life will never expire at any age.
Additionally, this type of insurance comes with iron-clad guarantees.
The premiums never increase, the death benefits will never decrease, and the policy will never terminate due to age.
Ultimately, the policy will pay the face amount to your beneficiaries as a tax-free check.
Remember, life insurance proceeds can be spent on anything with no restrictions.
That means your loved ones can use the money to pay for your funeral, medical bills, outstanding debts, or any other matter.
Whole Life Insurance To Cover Final Expenses
Many seniors today do not have the financial means to cover their burial costs or cremation costs.
As such, many people are looking for final expense whole life insurance to ensure their end-of-life costs dont become a financial burden for their loved ones.
Also known as burial insurance or funeral insurance, a whole life final expense policy is a small no exam plan that seniors can qualify for despite past health issues.
The coverage amounts are small, typically between $2,000-$40,000.
Its still a whole life policy, meaning it will last your entire life and accrue cash value.
The premiums will not increase, and the coverage will not reduce in value.
The average cost of a final expense policy is generally $50-$100 per month for roughly $10,000-$15,000 in coverage.
Although the exact price depends on your insurability factors .
Remember that burial insurance is life insurance .
The policy will still only pay out cash directly to the beneficiaries you designate .
So be sure to choose trustworthy beneficiaries who will follow through with your wishes.
Be wary of companies that advertise burial insurance on TV.
Offers on television are generally very expensive and subject all applicants to a waiting period.
For example, look at a Colonial Penn life insurance rate chart. You can see how expensive insurance from TV is.
Average Cost Of A $500000 Permanent Life Insurance Policy
Permanent life insurance policies dont expire, but they can cost up to 20 times more than term life insurance policies on average. Whole life, universal life and guaranteed issue are the most common types of permanent life insurance.
Because such policies are guaranteed to pay beneficiaries provided premiums are up to date, they are more expensive than term life insurance.
People buy permanent life insurance to provide lifetime financial protection for their loved ones and supplement their retirement assets. Whole life insurance offers death benefit coverage and savings for the policyholders entire life.
Similarly, universal life insurance grants death benefit coverage, but its riskier. With this type of insurance, you can customize your coverage amount, monthly premiums, and the way your savings will be invested based on your preference or financial situation.
Meanwhile, a guaranteed issue policy is a type of permanent life insurance that doesnt require a medical exam designed for people with severe health conditions.
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Quick Introduction To Universal Life Insurance
Universal life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that has an insurance component and a savings component. It has the potential to accumulate cash value over time that you can borrow from. You have the option to select flexible premiums and coverage amounts with universal life insurance. Your premiums will typically be higher with this insurance as compared to term life insurance because of the cash value component and because it lasts for your entire life.
Assuming you are a healthy, non-smoker looking for $250,000 of coverage, you can expect universal life insurance quotes near the following ranges:
Age | |
$244 – $427 | $207 – $337 |
Policy Details
Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC | |
$— | $– |
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Term Life Insurance Rates By Age

Like we said, age plays a huge role in pricing for term life policies. If youre wondering why, its simply because your probability of dying goes up as you age.
Of course, there are other factors as well. A few more things insurance companies look at to calculate a term life rate include:
- Whether you use tobacco
- Your health
- Your gender
We used our Term Life Estimator to find the average rates for term life policies based on age. Lets look at how much youd pay per month as a nonsmoker for a $1 million policy in several different yearly coverage terms.
Term Life Insurance Rates by Age and Term Length for Men*
*Monthly rates reflect the average price of $1 million in coverage for nonsmokers. Data is based on January 1 birthdays for every age. Data assumes health rating between good and poor. Actual prices may vary based on health class.
As you can see, theres no time like the present to get an affordable term life insurance rate locked in. The fact is that with each passing year, the cost of getting a new policy rises just a bit. And then it really shoots up in your 50s!
Check out how much a 20-year-old can expect to pay for a new policy of any length, and compare those numbers to the average rates for a 50-year-old. Depending on the term, youre talking about double, triple or even quadruple the monthly payment.
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Life Insurance For Seniors
Life insurance for seniors can be a bit trickier than it is for other age groups. Most insurance companies will not sell new life insurance policies to people over a certain age, usually around 70 to 80. For people who are older or suffer from pre-existing health conditions, a guaranteed life insurance policy may be the best or only option. This type of policy does not have a medical exam and coverage is guaranteed. However, even though coverage is guaranteed, affordability is not. These policies can be expensive. Guaranteed life insurance policies usually have a death benefit cap around $25,000.
Life insurance rates typically increase as you get older. However, insurance companies look at other factors, like your overall health, your gender, the type of policy you buy and the amount of coverage you need in order to calculate your personalized rate. If you are thinking about buying life insurance, it is a good idea to figure out what type of policy makes sense for your age, your budget and your coverage needs.
Whole Life Vs Term Life Insurance For Seniors
When thinking about whether you should buy term vs whole life insurance, you need to keep two things in mind: your age and your budget. Keep in mind that as you age, renewing a term life insurance policy will become more difficult which is why whole life insurance may be a smarter choice for seniors.
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How To Choose The Best Coverage For You
If youre looking at universal life insurance quotes, keep in mind that this insurance is meant to provide for your dependents in the event of your death. You may have been told to purchase enough insurance to cover about five to 10 times your annual salary, but many experts now say that advice is outdated. This may be too general a rule and it also does not take into account families in which one parent is a stay-at-home mom or dad.
In order to choose the best universal life insurance coverage for you, you may want to consider factors like your salary, your mortgage, funeral costs, as well as the size of your family.
A life insurance calculator can help you figure out how much coverage you need, and comparing quotes from different insurance companies can improve your chances of getting the best rates. Ideally, youd be able to get a universal life insurance policy that adequately covers your beneficiaries for a low premium.
Is Whole Life Insurance Worth It
The premiums on a whole life policy are generally much more expensive than that of a term life policy. But while most people won’t need coverage for their entire lifetime, a whole life plan can be worth it, depending on the needs of your specific situation â here are three examples of when permanent coverage could be a good idea.
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Estate planning
A whole life policy is one tax-advantaged way to leave your beneficiaries with a large sum of money.
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Trust fund
If you want to build a trust fund for future generations, a whole life policy can be just what you need.
-
Business operations
As a business co-owner, whole life insurance can provide the funds needed for a buyout agreement upon death.
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Rachael Brennan has been working in the insurance industry since 2006 when she began working as a licensed insurance representative for 21st Century Insurance, during which time she earned her Property and Casualty license in all 50 states.After several years she expanded her insurance expertise, earning her license in Health and AD& D insurance as well. She has worked for small health in… |
Written byRachael BrennanLicensed Insurance Agent |
Benjamin Carr was a licensed insurance agent in Georgia and has two years’ experience in life, health, property and casualty coverage. He has worked with State Farm and other risk management firms. He is also a strategic writer and editor with a background in branding, marketing, and quality assurance. He has been in military newsrooms literally on the frontline of journalism. |
Former Licensed Life Insurance Agent |
Average Cost Of $500000 Term Life If You Smoke Or Are In Poor Health
Health is an essential factor that insurance companies consider when pricing their policies. Generally, an unhealthy person is riskier to insure because they have a higher chance of dying early.
Because smoking may lead to health problems and early deaths, it’s much riskier for insurers to provide life insurance for smokers. A persons lifestyle and health profile also affect their life insurance rates.
On average, a 20-year term life insurance policy costs $87.71 per month for a smoker, while a person with a high body mass index may have to pay $36.82 per month for the same policy.
$500,000 Monthly Rates for Smoking, Low-Health & High-BMI Individuals
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- $62.22
The coverage amount of your life insurance policy is the amount of money paid out to your beneficiary or beneficiaries if you die. You have several options when it comes to the way your death benefit will be paid. These include lump-sum payments, installments and retained asset accounts.
Insurers offer various coverage amount options, and a $500,000 life insurance policy is just one of them. Your financial and family situation will determine the amount of coverage you need. If youre the breadwinner in your family or carry a lot of debt, buying life insurance will help ensure that your dependents wont face financial hardship if you pass away.
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The Benefits Of Whole Life Insurance
- Life insurance coverage lasts for an entire lifetime.
- Whole life is easy to understand.
- Owners can earn a guaranteed fixed interest rate on their cash value like a Certificate of Deposit or Fixed Annuity.
- Some whole life insurance accepts funding from a 401 or IRA.
- Some policies allow policyholders to access the death benefit as long-term care insurance.
The Life Insurance Cost Factors You Can Usually Control

- Your health: Insurers typically look at your height, weight, and medical history especially any chronic or serious illnesses you’ve experienced. Standard policies require a medical exam before determining your eligibility, though there are some life insurance policies that don’t require a medical exam.
- Tobacco use: Life insurance for smokers usually comes with higher rates than for non-smokers due to the number of medical conditions associated with smoking, including cancer.
- Hobbies: If you sky-dive or partake in amateur stock car racing, you might have higher premiums than someone who collects stamps. However, the activities insurers consider risky vary by company.
- Criminal history: DUIs, previous arrests, and other criminal convictions may affect your rate or even disqualify you from coverage with some insurers. Learn about insurance and DUIs.
- Occupation: As with hobbies, the riskier your job, the more you could pay for life insurance. Police officer, firefighter, pilot, and construction worker are just a few of the occupations that may see higher life insurance rates.
- Financial history: Your actual credit score won’t affect your premium, but any bankruptcies or other risk factors identified in your credit report may. Long periods of unemployment may also affect your rate or ability to get coverage.
- Coverage amount: As you’d expect, the amount of coverage you select will change your life insurance rate more coverage means higher rates.
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Frequently Asked Questions For Whole Life Insurance
Whole life insurance is coverage that, unlike term, does not expire. The life insured is covered from the date of the coverage becoming in-force, until death. Whole life insurance has the added benefit of accumulating savings. Part of the premium is directed into a cash accumulation account, which can later be leveraged by the policy owner.
Whole life insurance is ideal for everyone since it does not expire. With term, premiums go up with each renewal, and it can be hard to requalify for insurance if a health condition develops. Whole life insurance does not expire and cannot be cancelled due to an unexpected health condition after it is in force. However, initially it is more expensive than term insurance.
It makes sense to purchase whole life insurance when you are young and healthy for two reasons. First, the premiums, which are locked in, will be lower. Second, there is a longer time horizon for the cash value to build.
With whole life insurance, the premium is split three ways: part of it goes to the death benefit, part to the insurers administration fees, and one part to the cash accumulation account. The cash value builds over time and can be leveraged by the policy owner. You can treat the cash value as a type of savings account.
Term life insurance expires and the premiums rise with each renewal. Whole life insurance does not expire and, unless modified, the premiums remain level.
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Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that were putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and reviewed by subject matter experts, who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and worthy of your trust.
Our insurance team is composed of agents, data analysts, and customers like you. They focus on the points consumers care about most price, customer service, policy features and savings opportunities so you can feel confident about which provider is right for you.
- We guide you throughout your search and help you understand your coverage options.
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All providers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide. And we constantly review our criteria to ensure were putting accuracy first.
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How Do Limited Pay Whole Life Policies Work
A limited pay whole life policy stipulates that you pay for a specific period of time.
After youve made all the required payments, the policy becomes paid-up, and no further premiums are required.
Once paid up, your policy will last indefinitely without contributing more money.
Not every company offers limited-pay options, but many of them do.
Here are the typical limited-pay options:
- 7 Pay
- Paid up at age 65
- Paid up at age 80
Any whole life policy that is not limited-pay is considered life-pay, which means you pay forever.
On the one hand, limited-pay options are great because your payments eventually stop.
However, the cost of the average life insurance policy with a limited-pay feature is typically 2-3 times higher than life-pay policy options.
Universal Life Insurance Vs Whole Life Insurance
If youre looking for whole life insurance but want more alternatives in terms of investment and rates, universal life insurance might be a better fit. With a few key distinctions, universal policies are very comparable to whole life insurance:
- You may use the policys cash value to pay a portion or all of your premiums.
- There are minimum and maximum premiums, but you can usually pay an acceptable amount.
- Premium payments are not level and can increase.
- You may invest your cash value in several ways.
Traditional universal insurance is one option, indexed universal life insurance is another , and variable universal life insurance is yet another alternative .
A universal life insurance policy also has a fixed interest rate investment option, which seldom pays out.
Traditional and indexed universal life insurance is riskier and offers a more significant return potential than whole life insurance. Your cash value in standard and indexed universal policies will generally have a guaranteed yearly return however, this can be minimal or zero.
Variable universal life insurance is a riskier choice. If you pick this, your money may go down with higher expenses. In addition, your investment options come with higher expenses than comparable mutual funds.
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