Current Average Life Insurance Premiums as of August 2025
Life insurance is an essential financial tool that provides financial security to your loved ones in the event of your passing. Here's a comprehensive guide to the cost of life insurance for a 40-year-old, based on a $500,000 term life insurance policy.
Cost Variations
The cost of life insurance for a 40-year-old varies significantly, influenced by factors such as risk class, gender, term length, and health status.
Risk Class
Your risk class plays a significant role in determining the cost of your life insurance policy. Here are the estimated costs for a 20-year term, nonsmoking policy, based on average annual rates from Policygenius:
- Preferred Plus: Men - $27.75 ($333/12) per month; Women - $23.33 ($280/12) per month
- Preferred: Men - $34.33 ($412/12) per month; Women - $28.33 ($340/12) per month
- Standard: Men - $53.33 ($640/12) per month; Women - $41.25 ($495/12) per month
Term Length
The term length of your policy also impacts the cost. For a healthy, nonsmoking male, a 10-year policy might cost between $28 and $33 per month, while a 20-year policy would typically cost around $33 to $34 per month. Longer terms tend to be more expensive, although specific costs for these terms were not detailed in the sources.
Smoking Status
Smokers pay much higher rates for life insurance. For example, a 10-year policy for a smoker might cost around $105 per month, while a 40-year policy could cost up to $495 per month.
Health Status and Gender
Health status and gender also influence the cost of life insurance. Here are the estimated costs for a 10-year, $500,000 policy:
- Healthy: Men - approximately $33 per month; Women - approximately $28 per month
- Poor Health: Men - approximately $43 per month; Women - approximately $36 per month
- Smoker: Men - approximately $105 per month; Women - Smoker female rates not specified
Other Factors
Women generally pay about 15-20% less than men at the same age and term length due to longer life expectancy. The cost of a $250,000 policy, for instance, would typically cost around half of a $500,000 policy per month.
Cheaper options exist for shorter terms and lower coverage amounts. For example, Allstate offers a 10-year, $250,000 policy for men at about $12 per month and women at $11 per month.
The cost of life insurance can vary slightly by insurer and underwriting criteria, but these figures provide a solid benchmark.
Insurers assess factors such as age, gender, smoking status, health, family medical history, driving record, occupation and lifestyle, and type of life insurance. However, factors like ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, credit score, marital status, the number of life insurance policies you have, and the number of beneficiaries you name have no effect on the rate you're offered.
Insurers typically classify applicants using terms like super preferred, preferred, and standard, with super preferred being the healthiest category. The average annual rates for a $500,000, 20-year term life policy for nonsmokers across risk classes range from $176 for Preferred Plus to $1,651 for Standard for women and from $214 for Preferred Plus to $2,352 for Standard for men.
Adding life insurance riders to your policy can increase your premium. The cost of term life insurance for smokers for various term lengths is provided for men and women, while the average annual rates for whole life insurance for nonsmokers and smokers are provided for various ages. Each insurer has its own evaluation process, known as life insurance underwriting. No-exam life insurance rates for nonsmokers and smokers are also provided for different risk classes and ages.
Life insurance premiums are based primarily on life expectancy. The cost of term life insurance for nonsmokers for various term lengths is provided for men and women, while the average annual rates for women smokers and men smokers range from $3,623 at age 20 to $36,728 at age 70. The average annual rates for whole life insurance are not provided in the paragraph.
In conclusion, a healthy 40-year-old non-smoking male can expect to pay around $28-$34 per month for a 10- or 20-year $500,000 term policy, while costs increase with lower health status, smoking, or longer terms. Women pay less, and preferred risk classes pay substantially less than standard risk classes.
- For someone seeking financial advice, it's important to note that credit score doesn't affect the cost of life insurance for a 40-year-old, unlike factors such as risk class, gender, term length, health status, and smoking status.
- In the realm of finance, an app like Policygenius can offer a comprehensive guide to the estimated costs of various life insurance policies, providing details about cost variations based on risk class, term length, smoking status, and health status.
