Buying Life Insurance in Your 40s [How to Find the Lowest Rates And the Best Coverage for You]

Written by: Steven Gibbs | Last Updated on: July 30, 2024
Fact Checked by Jason Herring and Barry Brooksby (licensed insurance experts)

Insurance and Estates, a strategic life insurance provider composed of life insurance professionals, is committed to integrity in our editorial standards and transparency in how we receive compensation from our insurance partners.

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The following term life insurance rates by age charts are for someone in their 40s in excellent health, with no other risk factors.

The life insurance quotes provided are from top rated life insurance companies rated by AM Best with an A- rating and higher.

Term Life Insurance Rates in Your 40s

MaleFemale
Life Insurance In Your 40s
The following 40-49 year old sample quotes are based on a male qualifying at the top rate class.
10 Year Term
FACE VALUE $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
40$11.89$18.43$25.31$29.23
41$12.81$20.25$28.04$32.11
42$13.80$21.83$30.77$34.74
43$14.84$24.06$33.12$38.76
44$15.69$25.38$35.15$43.01
45$16.81$27.62$38.92$46.88
46$18.30$30.60$43.20$51.05
47$19.55$33.07$47.11$55.59
48$20.95$35.84$51.20$60.66
49$22.49$38.88$54.28$66.25
15 Year Term
FACE VALUE $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
40$13.08$20.49$28.40$35.19
41$14.58$23.36$31.43$39.29
42$16.10$26.27$36.03$45.41
43$17.75$29.45$41.21$52.33
44$19.54$32.87$46.97$59.02
45$21.52$36.65$52.63$66.29
46$23.14$39.81$57.38$72.48
47$24.96$43.33$62.66$79.37
48$26.61$47.19$67.33$84.56
49$29.03$51.25$74.53$94.85
20 Year Term
FACE VALUE $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
40$17.03$27.76$38.17$48.80
41$18.59$30.88$42.80$54.97
42$20.50$34.70$48.48$62.54
43$22.76$39.09$55.20$71.50
44$24.87$43.16$62.16$79.14
45$26.84$47.21$68.23$87.49
46$28.96$51.35$74.44$95.87
47$31.27$55.83$81.17$104.71
48$33.76$60.70$88.46$114.81
49$36.42$65.88$96.24$125.30
25 Year Term
FACE VALUE $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
40$24.41$42.45$61.09$78.12
41$26.77$46.88$67.71$86.65
42$29.19$51.32$74.38$95.39
43$31.77$56.26$81.78$104.75
44$34.53$61.43$89.55$114.74
45$37.58$67.15$98.12$125.78
46$41.01$73.22$107.23$137.43
47$44.86$80.02$117.43$150.52
48$49.13$87.58$128.77$165.07
49$53.78$95.82$141.12$180.95
30 Year Term
FACE VALUE $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
40$28.66$50.52$73.45$93.49
41$31.17$55.33$80.65$103.08
42$33.82$60.40$88.26$113.21
43$36.73$66.60$97.32$124.39
44$39.92$72.67$106.42$136.64
45$44.03$78.98$116.14$150.44
46$47.51$86.89$127.75$165.38
47$52.02$95.44$140.57$182.22
48$57.06$106.58$155.46$201.07
49$62.57$115.88$171.02$221.77
All sample quotes are based on a monthly premium as of 03/01/2020 from an A- Rated Carrier and higher. Sample quotes are for a preferred plus male. Rates are for informational purposes only and must be qualified for.
Life Insurance In Your 40s
The following 40-49 year old sample quotes are based on a female qualifying at the top rate class.
10 Year Term
FACE VALUE $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
40$10.86$15.72$22.50$26.51
41$11.58$17.16$24.50$28.96
42$12.37$18.74$25.75$31.33
43$13.24$20.48$28.44$34.08
44$14.19$22.38$30.83$37.38
45$15.15$24.30$33.92$41.14
46$16.17$25.88$36.49$43.44
47$17.07$27.53$38.96$46.50
48$18.08$29.36$41.70$49.90
49$19.29$31.56$45.00$53.98
15 Year Term
FACE VALUE $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
40$12.67$19.78$26.60$33.37
41$13.55$21.50$28.53$35.93
42$14.53$23.00$30.89$39.08
43$15.20$24.54$33.47$42.93
44$16.36$26.32$36.75$46.44
45$17.42$28.38$39.97$49.88
46$18.40$30.16$42.90$54.93
47$19.40$32.41$46.28$59.22
48$21.11$34.92$50.04$63.98
49$22.46$37.69$54.20$69.27
20 Year Term
FACE VALUE $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
40$15.27$24.48$33.58$42.14
41$16.50$26.77$37.00$46.46
42$17.62$29.15$40.84$50.90
43$18.87$31.47$45.12$57.28
44$20.18$34.00$49.44$61.05
45$21.69$36.91$53.03$67.15
46$23.04$39.62$57.09$72.11
47$24.65$42.83$61.91$78.01
48$26.41$46.33$67.16$84.44
49$28.32$50.16$72.89$91.45
25 Year Term
FACE VALUE $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
40$20.38$34.38$48.99$61.99
41$21.91$37.22$53.26$67.68
42$23.56$40.31$57.88$73.83
43$25.34$43.62$62.84$80.43
44$27.28$47.23$68.26$87.65
45$29.51$51.38$74.75$95.95
46$31.89$55.69$80.96$104.05
47$34.72$60.85$88.69$113.73
48$37.55$66.59$97.31$124.53
49$40.52$73.04$106.98$135.81
30 Year Term
FACE VALUE $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
40$23.59$41.39$59.50$75.38
41$25.25$44.04$63.48$81.78
42$27.09$47.51$68.69$88.86
43$29.12$51.35$74.69$96.66
44$31.38$55.62$81.09$105.40
45$34.01$60.60$88.56$115.59
46$36.66$65.53$95.96$124.90
47$39.82$71.94$104.76$136.00
48$43.41$78.06$114.75$148.61
49$47.46$85.59$126.05$159.78
All sample quotes are based on a monthly premium as of 03/01/2020 from an A- Rated Carrier and higher. Sample quotes are for a preferred plus female. Rates are for informational purposes only and must be qualified for.

Whole Life Insurance Rates in Your 40s

MaleFemale
Whole Life to Age 100 Quotes
The following sample whole life insurance quotes are based on a preferred plus male wanting ordinary whole life insurance to age 100 with an A- rated insurance company or better. Monthly Rates are for informational purposes only and must be qualified for.
Age $100,000 $250,000 $500,000 $1,000,000
20 $83 $151 $293 $580
25 $92 $178 $348 $689
30 $105 $216 $422 $839
35 $121 $267 $522 $1038
40 $141 $326 $639 $1273
45 $173 $401 $789 $1571
50 $214 $499 $982 $1959
55 $270 $629 $1239 $2473
60 $324 $802 $1582 $3158
All sample quotes are based on a monthly premium as of 03/01/2020 from an A- Rated Carrier and higher. Sample quotes are for a preferred plus male. Rates are for informational purposes only and must be qualified for.
Whole Life to Age 100 Quotes
The following sample whole life insurance quotes are based on a preferred plus female wanting ordinary whole life insurance to age 100 with an A- rated insurance company or better. Monthly Rates are for informational purposes only and must be qualified for.
Age $100,000 $250,000 $500,000 $1,000,000
20 $56 $132 $255 $504
25 $66 $156 $304 $602
30 $79 $188 $368 $729
35 $96 $230 $450 $894
40 $115 $278 $544 $1081
45 $143 $350 $685 $1364
50 $175 $429 $843 $1681
55 $223 $549 $1082 $2158
60 $280 $700 $1381 $2756
All sample quotes are based on a monthly premium as of 03/01/2020 from an A- Rated Carrier and higher. Sample quotes are for a preferred plus female. Rates are for informational purposes only and must be qualified for.

For complimentary life insurance quotes, please give us a call today or enter your info in our quote forms below.

Term Life vs Whole Life Insurance Rates


So, Why Buy Life Insurance in Your 40s?

Chances are if you own a TV youโ€™ve probably heard the commercial that goes something like thisโ€ฆ

โ€œMeet John. John is a 42-year-old male and we were able to secure a $250,000-dollar 10-year term life insurance policy for him for less than $17 a month.โ€

(And life insurance rates for a female are even less than for males).

Which given the factโ€ฆ

That weโ€™ve all seen this commercial or something really close to it at least a thousand times tells us it must be really effective, otherwise it wouldnโ€™t play over and over.

The problem isโ€ฆ

As anyone in my family can attest to (because every time this commercial airs I yell) โ€ฆ

โ€œWhat happens in 10 years when this really affordable 10-year term life insurance policy ends?โ€

What happens then?

In this scenario, John is only going to be 52, so will all of his insurance needs suddenly disappear?

Or will John now need to apply for life insurance all over again, only this time heโ€™s going to be in his early 50s as opposed to his early 40s.

What happens ifโ€ฆ

Over the next 10 years, John develops some type of medical condition?

What if John suffers from an injury that prevents him from being able to work full time?

In other words,

โ€œWhat happens if John isnโ€™t that perfect applicant any longer?โ€

Wellโ€ฆ

This is when John might start โ€œre-thinkingโ€ whether or not that really affordable term life insurance policy he purchased 10 years ago was such a good idea.

Nowโ€ฆ

The good news is that most of the time, these super low 10 year term life insurance rates are used to โ€œcaptureโ€ someoneโ€™s attention so that theyโ€™ll call in, at which time a โ€œfull reviewโ€ of oneโ€™s insurance needs can be done.

Then a client will usually be offered additional term life insurance products ranging from 10 years all the way to 30 year term life insurance policies.

The problem isโ€ฆ

That a lot of times, many of the nationwide insurance agencies that handle extremely large amounts of potential clients fail to offer other types of life insurance policies, including cash value whole life insurance.

Nowโ€ฆ

We here at I&E canโ€™t say for sure why most of these larger insurance brokerages fail to make all options available to their clients.

However, we assume that itโ€™s probably because the โ€œsales cycleโ€ for these other types of life insurance products is longer that it is for most term life insurance policies.

And also because itโ€™s difficult to find qualified life insurance agents who fully understand advanced markets life insurance.

Some brokeragesโ€ฆ

Even go so far as to say that they โ€œrefuseโ€ to offer any type of permanent life insurance policies because in their opinion, they are a โ€œrip offโ€ and the only reason why any life insurance agent would offer them to a client is so that they can earn a higher commission for themselves.

And whileโ€ฆ

It is true that in many situations insurance agents will earn a higher commission for selling a whole life insurance policy than they would for selling a term life insurance policy, we here at I&E feel that there are some very valid reasons why someone should at least consider purchasing whole life insurance vs term life insurance.

And that is why we believe that those agencies who refuse to offer them to their clients simply arenโ€™t living up to the fiduciary duty.

Which isโ€ฆ

Quite a statement to make without providing some โ€œreal worldโ€ examples where purchasing a whole life insurance policy might be a good idea for a particular client.

So, we will give you 5 …

Top 5 Reasons To Consider Buying Whole Life Insurance in Your 40s

1. Never ending insurance needs

For the sake of argument, letโ€™s assume that right now you are 45 years old and are in great shape.ย  Chances are youโ€™ll be able to qualify for a 30 year term life insurance policy, and in theory this policy should be quite affordable.

โ€œMission Accomplishedโ€

But what ifโ€ฆ

At age 75 your insurance needs havenโ€™t gone away?

What if all the reasons why you bought an insurance policy at age 45 are still there at age 75?

Sure, at 75 you probably donโ€™t still have a mortgage, you children are all grown up and out of college and youโ€™re no longer working so you donโ€™t necessarily need to worry about any lost wages in the event of your death โ€œpost age 75โ€.

In theoryโ€ฆ

That 30 year term life insurance policy that you bought at 45 did exactly what it was supposed to do, it provided the protection you needed during your families most vulnerable years.

But what ifโ€ฆ

  • Youโ€™re the parent of a special needs child who wasnโ€™t able to provide for him or herself?
  • Or you have a younger spouse who may be counting on your life insurance proceeds to help with their own retirement planning?

Or maybeโ€ฆ

Utilizing some of the financial benefits of owning a cash value whole life insurance that arenโ€™t available to those who only purchase a term life insurance policy might also be beneficial.

You seeโ€ฆ

Because we here at I&E work with folks from all walks of life, we know that itโ€™s just irresponsible for us to automatically assume that a term life insurance policy is the โ€œonlyโ€ type of life insurance policy that makes sense for everyone.

Conversely, we also understand that a whole life insurance policy isnโ€™t always going to be the โ€œbestโ€ option either!

Which is why we here at I&E offer all sorts of life insurance products including term and whole life!

2. Supplemental Insurance please!

Another reason why someone might want to consider purchasing a whole life insurance policy is if they already have a term life insurance policy in place but would like to have a โ€œsmallerโ€ supplemental whole life insurance policy as well, which would remain in place once their term life insurance policy expired.

For exampleโ€ฆ

Letโ€™s think of an individual who has:

  • Two small children in elementary school,
  • Twenty-five years remaining on a 30-year mortgage,
  • And a spouse that is dependent up them for income.

Clearly this individual has all the need in the world for a reasonably large life insurance policy.

That said however, in 30 years, many of the reasons why this individual decided to purchase a life insurance policy will go away.

Which is whyโ€ฆ

It may make sense to have a large convertible term life insurance policy in place and simply supplement that coverage with a smaller whole life insurance policy so that when the larger term life insurance policy expires, they will still have some life insurance coverage in place.

Clearly this isnโ€™tโ€ฆ

A very โ€œcontroversialโ€ reason why someone might want to purchase a whole life insurance policy which is why we find it so โ€œstrangeโ€ for some insurance brokerages to simply not want to offer this option to their clients.

3. Limited Insurance Needs

Another common reason why we may suggest a client might want to pursue purchasing a whole life insurance policy vs a term life insurance policy is when an individualโ€™s insurance needs isnโ€™t all that large.

In cases like theseโ€ฆ

An individual may want to ensure that their final expense or the final expenses of a loved one would be covered in the event of their passing.

In cases like these, because one is simply trying to make sure that they wonโ€™t be on the โ€œhookโ€ for paying for burial expenses, it may make sense to purchase a small burial insurance policy rather than term life insurance policy which could expire prior to actually being useful.

Weโ€™ll commonly recommendโ€ฆ

These โ€œtypesโ€ of policies to individuals who are worried about being responsible for another family members burial costs such as a parent, a sibling or perhaps an aunt or uncle who wonโ€™t be able to cover their burial expenses, which will ultimately mean that the more โ€œaffluentโ€ family members will be stuck having to cover the bill.

In cases like these, purchasing a small whole life insurance policy could be a huge help for everyone else involved.

4. Itโ€™s all you can get

Here at I&E, we often wonder what these other insurance brokerages do when theyโ€™re โ€œdead setโ€ on never offering a whole life insurance policy when an individual canโ€™t qualify for a traditional term life insurance policy?

Do they offer them only accidental death insurance? Do they tell them theyโ€™re out of luck?ย  Or do they tell them to โ€œshopโ€ around a bit because other brokerages may have an option for them?

Weโ€™re not sureโ€ฆ

But what we can tell you is that there is a large population of folks out there who simply cannot qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy and may have to rely on an โ€œalternativeโ€ whole life insurance policy, which is commonly referred to as a โ€œguaranteed issue whole life insurance policyโ€.

Nowโ€ฆ

In fairness, the vast majority of these โ€œtypesโ€ of life insurance policies will only be available to those 50 and older, and those companies that will accept folks at age 45 may not always have the โ€œbestโ€ pricing out there.

But if youโ€™re 45 years old and youโ€™re really need to purchase a life insurance policy and you arenโ€™t able to qualify for any other type of life insurance, these smaller whole life policies might work.

But before youโ€ฆ

Get your hopes up too high, we should mention that these types of life insurance policies will typically only provide around $25,000 dollars in coverage and they will usually contain either a 2- or 3-year waiting period before they will begin coverage an insured for โ€œnatural causesโ€ of death such as:

  • Cancer,
  • Stroke,
  • Heart disease,
  • Diabetes,
  • Etc

Accidental causes of death will be covered immediately, which is nice, but we understand that most folks want to be covered for both accidental causes of death as well as natural causes of death right away.

Unfortunatelyโ€ฆ

With these types of policies, that is simply not the case.

The good news is that because guaranteed issue life insurance policies donโ€™t ask any underwriting questions other than citizenship, age, and residence, so even those who are seriously ill should be able to qualify for coverage.

5. A new way of thinking!

One of the biggest complaints many financial advisors will state when comparing term life insurance vs whole life insurance is that whole life insurance rates cost a lot more than term life insurance and that the only reason why a life insurance agent would recommend one of their clients purchase one is so that they can earn a higher commission for the sale.

And whileโ€ฆ

Weโ€™ve tried to provide concrete examples where purchasing a whole life insurance policy might be better for an individual because of the importance of actually receiving the insurance death benefit, we now want to describe why someone may choose to purchase a whole life insurance policy for the simple reason that there are a LOT of benefits to whole life insurance.

The problem isโ€ฆ

That the first thing youโ€™re going to need to understand is that a purchasing a whole life insurance policy should not be considered like purchasing aโ€ฆ

โ€œTraditional Investmentโ€

Because, if you do, the whole life insurance policy critics will be correct in that one could purchase a term life insurance policy for less and find better โ€œinvestmentsโ€ which could yield a higher return than a whole life insurance policy will.

Insteadโ€ฆ

One needs to think of a whole life insurance policy as a way of creating aโ€ฆ

โ€œForced Savings Accountโ€

In which your monthly premiums go into a cash value whole life insurance policy which will earn you a much higher return than they would in a traditional savings account in a bank.

The only difference isโ€ฆ

Now that this money is stored in your โ€œcash value whole life insurance policyโ€ earning a higher return than a bank savings account, you will also reap many other benefits not commonly discussed or understood by those who believe term life insurance is always better than whole life insurance.

Whole Life Benefits such as:

  • Tax free loans,
  • Tax deferred growth on guaranteed cash value growth,
  • Improved cash flow and liquidity vs other types of โ€œinvestmentsโ€,
  • Guaranteed death benefit protection, and
  • Guaranteed level premiums payments.

The problem isโ€ฆ

It does take a while for folks to โ€œwrap their mindโ€ around the idea which is why you generally wonโ€™t see advertisers on TV or Radio promote it because these โ€œtypesโ€ of whole life insurance policies and strategies generally donโ€™t fit a call center insurance brokerage sales model.

The good news is thatโ€ฆ

Here at I&E, we donโ€™t operate like a call center.ย  And we donโ€™t assume any one โ€œtypeโ€ of life insurance policy is going to be the right kind for you.

This is why we have chosen to remain an independent life insurance brokerage that is able to offer a variety of insurance products from dozens of different insurance companies.

So, what are you waiting for?ย  Give us a call today and see what we can do for you!

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