8 Best Term Life Insurance Companies in January 2023
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The best term life insurance policy for you may not be the best one for someone else. Coverage amounts, term lengths, age restrictions and whether you can convert the policy to permanent coverage are all important factors to consider when shopping for life insurance, and some of these things may be more significant to you than others.
We’ve highlighted term life policies sold by some of the best life insurance companies in the United States, so you can weigh your options and find the right coverage for you and your family.
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The best term life insurance companies in January 2023
The following term life insurance companies hold up under scrutiny. They have solid financial strength ratings, received high marks for consumer experience and had fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for companies of their size. Since you won’t be around to fight for your rights when your policy pays out, you need to be able to trust that your insurer will treat your life insurance beneficiaries right.
Term lengths: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years. | ||
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Term lengths: 1, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years. | ||
Term lengths: 1, 10 or 20 years. | ||
Term lengths: 1, 10 to 20 years. | ||
Term lengths: 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years. | ||
Term lengths: 10, 20 or 30 years. | ||
Term lengths: 10 to 30 years. |
» MORE: Term life insurance definition
How we ranked the top life insurers
NerdWallet’s life insurance ratings are based on consumer experience, complaint index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for individual life insurance, and weighted averages of financial strength ratings, which indicate a company’s ability to pay future claims. Within the consumer experience category, we consider ease of communication and website transparency, which looks at the depth of policy details available online. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale.
These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews.
» COMPARE: Life insurance quotes
Best term life insurance policies for 2023
Learn more about each company and the policies available by reading the brief summaries below and checking out the full NerdWallet reviews.
Haven Life: Best for online experience
Guardian Life: Best for applicants living with HIV
MassMutual: Best for low-income parents
Northwestern Mutual:
New York Life: Best for high coverage amounts
Pacific Life: Best for conversion flexibility
State Farm: Best for customer satisfaction
Haven Life
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Haven Life
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Haven Simple: Haven offers a simplified issue term life policy, which means a life insurance medical exam is never required. You must be from 20 to 55 years old to apply. Coverage is available in 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year terms, and the insurer offers a built-in accelerated death benefit rider. Policy amounts range from $25,000 to $500,000. You can apply online and, if approved, coverage may start immediately.
Haven Term Life: Haven’s term life application can be completed online and approved within minutes, though you might need to take a medical exam to qualify for coverage. Policies are available to applicants ages 64 and younger, with coverage amounts reaching as high as $3 million. Policies are available in 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- or 30-year terms and come with a built-in accelerated death benefit rider.
» Read the full review: Haven Life insurance
Guardian Life
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Guardian Life
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Guardian Level Term: Policies are issued to applicants 18 to 75 years old, and coverage amounts start at $250,000. Policies are available in 1-, 10-, 15-, 20- and 30-year terms.
Guardian also offers coverage for people living with HIV. To apply, you must be from 20 to 65 years old and meet certain eligibility requirements, such as being on active antiretroviral therapy.
» Read the full review: Guardian life insurance
MassMutual
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MassMutual
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MassMutual Term: MassMutual’s term life policies are available in 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-year increments. The company also offers an annually renewable term life policy that renews every year, though you can expect to pay higher premiums over time if you choose that option.
The maximum issue age for MassMutual term life policy is 75, with coverage starting at $100,000. You can convert to permanent life insurance before the deadline specified in your policy documents.
Through MassMutual's LifeBridge program, the parent or legal guardian of a child under 18 may qualify for a free policy if the family's total income is from $10,000 to $40,000 a year. The 10-year, $50,000 policy is designed to help pay for the child's education if the parent or guardian dies.
» Read the full review: MassMutual life insurance
Northwestern Mutual
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Northwestern Mutual
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Annual Renewable Term Life: Premiums are relatively low at first, compared to level term policies, but they increase as you get older. Coverage automatically renews each year.
Level Premium Term Life: Coverage is available in 10- or 20-year terms. Premiums stay level, which means they won’t go up over the term of the policy.
» Read the full review: Northwestern Mutual life insurance
New York Life
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New York Life
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Yearly Convertible Term: Applicants must be from 18 to 75 years old, and the minimum coverage amount is $100,000. You can renew this policy every year. If you want lifelong coverage, you can convert it to a permanent policy.
Level Premium Convertible Term: Coverage is available for terms lasting 10 to 20 years, with death benefits starting at $100,000. Policies are available to applicants from 18 to 75 years old. You can typically convert the policy to permanent coverage within the first 10 years after issuance.
Million Plus Level Term: With a minimum face value of $1 million, this policy is for people looking for a sizable death benefit. The only available term length is 10 years, and you must be from 18 to 69 years old to apply.
» Read the full review: New York Life insurance
Pacific Life
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Pacific Life
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PL Promise Term: Policies are available in 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-year term lengths, with a minimum coverage amount of $50,000. You can choose to add life insurance riders at an extra cost, such as an accelerated death benefit, waiver of premium or child term rider.
Pacific Elite Term: A more conversion-friendly product, the Pacific Elite Term policy can be converted to a permanent policy within the first 10 years. A cash credit is also added to your new policy, which can help offset some of the initial premiums of your new permanent coverage.
» Read the full review: Pacific Life insurance
State Farm
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State Farm
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Select Term Life Insurance: Coverage starts at $100,000 and is available to applicants from 18 to 75 years old. You have the option to add a child rider, term rider or waiver of premium rider at an additional cost. The term lengths available are 10, 20 and 30 years.
Return of Premium Life: Similar to the standard term life product, this policy offers coverage for a set number of years. But if you outlive the term, it returns the premiums you paid. You must be from 18 to 60 years old to apply, and coverage is available in 20- and 30-year terms. However, note that return-of-premium life insurance tends to be more expensive than standard term policies.
Instant Answer Term Life: You can apply in person with a State Farm agent and get coverage the same day. The policy lasts 10 years or until you reach 50, whichever is longer, and only $50,000 of coverage is available.
» Read the full review: State Farm life insurance
USAA
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USAA
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Level Term V: You don’t need a military connection to get USAA life insurance. But policies like this are designed with military personnel in mind. Term lengths range from 10 to 30 years. Coverage ranges from $100,000 to $10 million and is available to applicants from 18 to 70 years old. If you’re from 18 to 35 years old, you can purchase an additional $100,000 of coverage after qualifying life events like having a child or getting married.
Essential Term Life: This policy renews every year and does not require a medical exam. It is available to applicants from 21 to 35 years old. It offers $100,000 of coverage and expires when you turn 39 years old. This policy is not available in New York.
USAA life insurance covers military members during wartime and helps pay bills if you're severely injured in the line of duty. It also lets you replace your lost group coverage if you retire or leave the military.
» Read the full review: USAA life insurance
How to find the best term life insurance company
When you buy life insurance, you’re counting on a company to be there for your family many years in the future. For that reason, it’s important to choose a company you can trust. Here are some ways to compare companies and find the one that’s best for you.
» MORE: Life insurance reviews
Look up the insurer’s financial strength
You want a company that will be around decades from now, with enough money to pay claims. The financial strength rating of a life insurance company is one way to gauge whether an insurer is likely to meet that mark. You can check the financial strength rating of each term life insurance company you’re considering through a rating firm such as AM Best.
NerdWallet typically recommends considering insurers with ratings of A- or higher. That said, any company with an AM Best rating of B+ or higher has a "good" ability to meet its obligations, according to AM Best’s website. Companies with ratings below that may not be quite as safe a bet and often have higher rates of complaints relative to their size.
All of the largest life insurance companies have solid financial strength ratings.
Research the insurer’s reputation for customer service
You want a company that provides good customer service, from the day you start shopping until it’s time for a claim. To get an idea of whether other customers have been satisfied, you can look up an insurer’s complaint index on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website. The score is based on the number of complaints filed against the insurance company with state regulators, adjusted for the company’s market share (based on premiums written). The average score is one, so anything higher than one means the company received more complaints than expected for its size.
Once you’ve narrowed down your list, it’s a good idea to compare life insurance quotes from more than one company. That way, you can get the best rate for the type of term life policy you're looking for.
» MORE: Best life insurance companies
More about term life insurance
Learn more about term life insurance, and find the right policy for your coverage needs.
Insurer complaints methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2019-2021. To assess how insurers compare to one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
