Cheapest Life Insurance Companies for December 2024

Trim the cost of your policy by comparing affordable life insurance companies with the lowest rates.

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Updated · 2 min read
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Written by Katia Iervasi
Assistant Assigning Editor
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Edited by Lisa Green
Assigning Editor
Fact Checked

Cheap life insurance isn't out of reach, especially if you're healthy. Compare rates from a range of carriers, and apply as soon as you identify a need for coverage — such as when you take on a new financial obligation, like getting a mortgage or having a child.

To get started, here’s a breakdown of some of the cheapest life insurance companies by age, gender, rate class and policy type.

Methodology: These rates are based on analysis by Covr Financial Technologies, an online life insurance brokerage that works with more than 28 life insurance companies. Covr analyzed data from the 10 term life insurance carriers that it considers most competitive for low prices. For final expense policies, Covr considered five companies. Covr’s analysis does not include insurers that primarily sell directly to consumers or through agents dedicated to a single company.

Although these rates are not representative of the entire life insurance market, they can give you an idea of what to expect as you compare life insurance quotes. Many factors affect life insurance prices, and your rates are likely to be different from the sample rates shown below.

Learn more about the companies Covr analyzed by reading NerdWallet's reviews.

Cheapest term life insurance companies for December 2024

Term life insurance is the cheapest type of life insurance policy; the cost of whole life insurance can be significantly higher. With that in mind, here are some of the cheapest companies for a 20-year, $500,000 term life insurance policy covering super preferred applicants. (“Super preferred" is a term insurers use to describe applicants who pose the least risk — typically nonsmokers in excellent health who meet certain additional criteria.)

Cheapest monthly rates for a super preferred male

Carrier

Age 20

Age 30

Age 40

Age 50

Age 60

Age 70

Banner Life

$18

$19

$30

$69

$200

$790

Protective

$18

$19

$28

$69

$200

$790

Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Life)

$18

$19

$28

$69

$200

$852

Pacific Life

$18

$19

$28

$70

$201

N/A

Transamerica

$19

$19

$28

$71

$251

$852

Securian Financial

$22

$22

$31

$87

$235

N/A

MassMutual

$23

$24

$33

$83

$231

N/A

Mutual of Omaha

$24

$24

$37

$93

$274

N/A

Prudential

$25

$26

$37

$81

$254

N/A

Lincoln Financial

$27

$29

$44

$86

$222

$836

Source: Covr Financial Technologies. Rates generated on 6/18/24.

Cheapest monthly rates for a super preferred female

Carrier

Age 20

Age 30

Age 40

Age 50

Age 60

Age 70

Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Life)

$15

$16

$24

$55

$141

$701

Banner Life

$15

$16

$24

$54

$140

$697

Protective

$15

$16

$24

$54

$140

$697

Pacific Life

$15

$16

$24

$55

$141

N/A

Transamerica

$16

$16

$24

$55

$202

$697

Prudential

$18

$22

$32

$64

$178

N/A

Securian Financial

$19

$18

$27

$62

$153

N/A

MassMutual

$19

$20

$29

$64

$157

N/A

Mutual of Omaha

$20

$20

$32

$69

$189

N/A

John Hancock

$21

$24

$37

$72

$192

N/A

Source: Covr Financial Technologies. Rates generated on 6/18/24.

Cheapest life insurance companies for preferred applicants

Here are some of the cheapest monthly rates for a 20-year, $500,000 term life insurance policy covering a preferred applicant. The term “preferred” refers to a nonsmoking applicant in good health who poses minimal risk to the insurer.

Cheapest monthly rates for a preferred male

Carrier

Age 20

Age 30

Age 40

Age 50

Age 60

Age 70

Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Life)

$21

$24

$35

$83

$226

$935

Banner Life

$21

$24

$35

$83

$225

$929

Protective

$23

$24

$35

$83

$225

$929

Pacific Life

$23

$24

$35

$83

$226

N/A

Securian Financial

$29

$29

$39

$95

$269

N/A

MassMutual

$29

$30

$42

$99

$268

N/A

Mutual of Omaha

$30

$30

$45

$110

$321

N/A

Transamerica

$32

$24

$55

$121

$309

$929

John Hancock

$32

$33

$51

$106

$282

N/A

Prudential

$33

$32

$45

$97

$308

N/A

Source: Covr Financial Technologies. Rates generated on 6/18/24.

Cheapest monthly rates for a preferred female

Carrier

Age 20

Age 30

Age 40

Age 50

Age 60

Age 70

Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Life)

$18

$19

$29

$65

$160

$756

Banner Life

$18

$19

$29

$65

$160

$736

Protective

$18

$19

$29

$65

$160

$736

Pacific Life

$18

$19

$30

$65

$161

N/A

Transamerica

$19

$19

$30

$65

$224

$752

Prudential

$21

$25

$36

$75

$211

N/A

Securian Financial

$22

$24

$33

$73

$183

N/A

MassMutual

$23

$24

$35

$77

$189

N/A

John Hancock

$24

$27

$44

$86

$232

N/A

Mutual of Omaha

$25

$25

$38

$81

$227

N/A

Source: Covr Financial Technologies. Rates generated on 6/18/24.

More Nerdy Perspective

Cheapest term life insurance companies for smokers for 2024

Smokers pay more for life insurance because of the health risks associated with tobacco use. For a smoker in otherwise good health, these are among the cheapest monthly rates for a 20-year, $500,000 term life insurance policy. "Preferred smoker" is a term for applicants who — smoking aside — fit the criteria of the "preferred" category.

Cheapest monthly rates for a preferred male smoker

Carrier

Age 20

Age 30

Age 40

Age 50

Age 60

Banner Life

$63

$66

$121

$294

$716

Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Life)

$64

$66

$121

$294

$716

Transamerica

$64

$68

$128

$297

$745

Securian Financial

$65

$77

$136

$357

$781

Pacific Life

$65

$74

$131

$307

$762

MassMutual

$71

$84

$145

$350

$813

Prudential

$78

$93

$157

$366

$891

John Hancock

$81

$88

$145

$405

$1,256

Mutual of Omaha

$91

$92

$149

$362

$894

Nationwide

$98

$84

$146

$371

$886

Source: Covr Financial Technologies. Rates generated on 6/18/24.

Note: These insurers don't offer term coverage for smokers ages 70 or older.

Cheapest monthly rates for a preferred female smoker

Carrier

Age 20

Age 30

Age 40

Age 50

Age 60

Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Life)

$47

$54

$97

$215

$493

Transamerica

$48

$55

$101

$218

$512

Banner Life

$49

$54

$97

$215

$493

Securian Financial

$49

$63

$102

$244

$525

Pacific Life

$51

$59

$102

$220

$566

Prudential

$54

$71

$121

$275

$613

MassMutual

$55

$67

$111

$254

$575

John Hancock

$60

$71

$118

$287

$756

Mutual of Omaha

$74

$83

$113

$258

$618

Protective

$79

$88

$159

$352

$892

Source: Covr Financial Technologies. Rates generated on 6/18/24.

Note: These insurers don't offer term coverage for smokers ages 70 or older.

Cheapest life insurance companies for smokers in fair health

These are a few of the cheapest insurers for applicants who fall into the “standard smoker” category. Standard smokers are people in moderate health who smoke and may pose other risks to the insurer. The monthly rates below are for a 20-year, $500,000 term life insurance policy.

Cheapest monthly rates for a standard male smoker

Carrier

Age 20

Age 30

Age 40

Age 50

Age 60

Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Life)

$66

$82

$167

$367

$907

Banner Life

$66

$82

$167

$367

$907

Transamerica

$86

$83

$175

$371

$930

Securian Financial

$89

$100

$186

$442

$999

Pacific Life

$89

$99

$180

$410

$975

MassMutual

$96

$102

$198

$437

$1,009

Protective

$102

$112

$195

$490

$1,016

Prudential

$102

$119

$214

$497

$1,117

Mutual of Omaha

$113

$119

$199

$463

$1,035

John Hancock

$128

$156

$275

$646

$1,535

Source: Covr Financial Technologies. Rates generated on 6/18/24.

Note: These insurers don't offer term coverage for smokers ages 70 or older.

Cheapest monthly rates for a standard female smoker

Carrier

Age 20

Age 30

Age 40

Age 50

Age 60

Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Life)

$55

$67

$119

$281

$638

Transamerica

$55

$67

$121

$288

$652

Banner Life

$60

$67

$119

$281

$638

Pacific Life

$60

$72

$138

$299

$719

Securian Financial

$64

$75

$131

$313

$695

MassMutual

$64

$81

$142

$317

$681

Protective

$79

$88

$159

$352

$892

Mutual of Omaha

$93

$99

$148

$330

$728

Nationwide

$96

$92

$156

$324

$691

John Hancock

$101

$122

$201

$423

$913

Source: Covr Financial Technologies. Rates generated on 6/18/24.

Note: These insurers don't offer term coverage for smokers ages 70 or older.

Cheapest final expense companies for 2024

If you’re in the market for no medical exam life insurance, these companies have some of the cheapest monthly rates for a $10,000 final expense policy. Also known as burial insurance, final expense policies skip both the health questionnaire and medical exam and are often capped at low amounts of coverage.

Cheapest final expense companies for a male

Carrier

Age 50

Age 60

Age 70

Age 80

Cincinnati Life Insurance Company

$27

$41

$72

$130

Mutual of Omaha

$31

$44

$75

$140

Protective Life

$31

$50

$80

N/A

Source: Covr Financial Technologies. Rates generated on 6/18/24.

Cheapest final expense companies for a female

Carrier

Age 50

Age 60

Age 70

Age 80

Mutual of Omaha

$24

$33

$53

$98

Cincinnati Life Insurance Company

$24

$36

$60

$103

Protective Life

$26

$41

$64

N/A

Source: Covr Financial Technologies. Rates generated on 6/18/24.

A closer look at these companies

Read full reviews of the insurers Covr Financial Technologies analyzed to learn more about their policy options, pros and cons. NerdWallet’s life insurance ratings take into account financial strength, customer complaint ratios and consumer experience.

Company and review

NerdWallet rating

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

Cincinnati Life Insurance

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

3.5

NerdWallet rating 

3.0

NerdWallet rating 

3.0

NerdWallet rating 

Learn about the best life insurance companies in 2024

Use our tool to find the best life insurance companies across a range of policy types:

Life insurance ratings methodology

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. Read our editorial guidelines.

Insurer complaints methodology

NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2021-2023. To assess how insurers compare with 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.

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