Key takeaways
- A $500,000 20-year term policy averages $47 a month for a 40-year-old woman and $59 for a man — the market-wide figure.
- Shopping hard cuts that: the cheapest-quotes average for the same 40-year-old man is $32.
- The same policy at 60 averages $286 and $395. Price roughly doubles every decade and accelerates after 50.
- $500,000 is not a magic number. It is roughly ten times a $50,000 income — check it against your own mortgage and dependants.
- Going from $500,000 to $1 million costs far less than double, because much of a premium is fixed policy cost.
See what you would actually pay
The tables on this page are market averages. Four short questions and a licensed agent will tell you what your own rate is.
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The rate tables
Average monthly premium, $500,000 of 20-year level term, non-smoker, market-wide:
| Age | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | $29 | $36 |
| 25 | $30 | $37 |
| 30 | $31 | $38 |
| 35 | $37 | $47 |
| 40 | $47 | $59 |
| 45 | $69 | $90 |
| 50 | $102 | $137 |
| 55 | $168 | $231 |
| 60 | $286 | $395 |
| 65 | $415 | $591 |
Source: MoneyGeek, 20-Year Term Life Insurance Rates, published 28 August 2026 — an average of 248,399 quotes from 20 major insurers, non-smoker, average build and health. Source.
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And the best-case view, averaging only the cheapest quotes on the market:
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | $21 | $18 |
| 40 | $32 | $27 |
| 50 | $76 | $58 |
| 60 | $217 | $153 |
| 70 | $841 | $678 |
Source: Forbes Advisor, How Much Is Life Insurance?, last updated 22 June 2026 — an average of the three lowest quotes found online for non-smokers of average height and weight. Source.
Why the numbers on this page disagree with each other. Published life insurance averages differ by up to a factor of two, and the reason is methodology, not error. Forbes Advisor and NerdWallet average the three lowest quotes they can find — a best-case figure. MoneyGeek averages roughly 248,000 quotes across 20 insurers — a market-wide figure. For a 40-year-old man that is $32 a month against $59, and both are honest. We label each table with its source and its basis so you can see which question it answers. Nothing on this page is a quote.
Why two sources differ by 80%
For a 40-year-old man the two tables say $59 and $32. Neither is wrong, and the gap is the single most useful thing on this page, because it is not a measurement error — it is the real spread between what the market charges on average and what the market charges at its best.
Closing that gap is what underwriting does. A clean build, no nicotine, no medication history, no recent driving offences and no early cardiac or cancer history in the family puts you in the rate classes those cheapest quotes come from. Anything that moves you off that profile moves you toward the market average and past it.
Which means two things in practice. If you are healthy, get quotes from several carriers before you accept the first number, because the difference over 20 years is measured in thousands of dollars. And if you are not, the average column is a fairer expectation than the headline figure on any comparison site.
Is $500,000 the right amount?
$500,000 is the benchmark the industry quotes, not a recommendation. The standard multiple — ten to twelve times annual income — makes it roughly right for someone earning $45,000 to $50,000. The careful method is to add up what actually has to be paid for:
- The outstanding mortgage balance.
- Other debt that would pass to your household — car loans, co-signed debt, credit cards.
- Income replacement: the annual figure your family needs, multiplied by the years until the youngest child is independent or your partner reaches retirement.
- Education, if you intend to fund it.
- Minus existing savings, and minus any cover you already hold through work.
A $280,000 mortgage plus $45,000 a year replaced for twelve years is already over $800,000 before education. $500,000 is frequently short for a household in that position — and, as the next section shows, the step up costs less than people assume. The full calculation, worked through.
See what cover would cost you
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Start my free quoteWhat $1 million costs instead
| Age | $500,000 — male | $1 million — male | $500,000 — female | $1 million — female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | $21 | $35 | $18 | $28 |
| 40 | $32 | $55 | $27 | $45 |
| 50 | $76 | $141 | $58 | $105 |
| 60 | $217 | $420 | $153 | $292 |
Source: Forbes Advisor, How Much Is Life Insurance?, last updated 22 June 2026 — an average of the three lowest quotes found online for non-smokers of average height and weight. Source. Both face amounts taken from the same source and methodology so the comparison is like for like.
Double the death benefit for about 70% more premium. For the 40-year-old man that is $23 a month buying an extra half a million dollars of cover for his family. Whether that is worth it depends on whether he needs it — but it is a far better deal per dollar than the first $500,000 was, and most people never price it.
If you use tobacco
The same $500,000 20-year policy, published as annual premiums:
| Age | Smoker — men | Non-smoker — men | Smoker — women | Non-smoker — women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | $795 | $213 | $645 | $182 |
| 40 | $1,455 | $321 | $1,157 | $278 |
| 50 | $3,495 | $810 | $2,560 | $636 |
| 60 | $8,435 | $2,331 | $6,001 | $1,640 |
Source: NerdWallet, Average Life Insurance Rates in 2026, updated 3 August 2026, rates valid as of 1 August 2026 — the average of the three lowest rates found per profile, via LifeStein. Published as annual premiums and shown here as published. Source.
At 50 a smoking man pays $3,495 a year against $810 — $2,685 more, every year, for the same cover. Over a 20-year term that is $53,700. Most carriers treat you as a non-smoker after 12 months nicotine-free, some require 24 or 36; the date you cross that line is worth marking on a calendar.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a $500,000 life insurance policy per month?
For a 20-year term policy with no tobacco use, the market-wide average is $31 a month at 30, $47–$59 at 40, $102–$137 at 50 and $286–$395 at 60, women lower and men higher (MoneyGeek, 28 August 2026). Averaging only the cheapest available quotes gives roughly half those figures (Forbes Advisor, 22 June 2026).
Do I need a medical exam for $500,000?
Not necessarily. Several carriers publish no-exam limits well above $500,000 — Ladder and Pacific Life at $3 million, Banner Life and Transamerica at $2 million — subject to age bands and a clean data profile. See no medical exam life insurance.
Is a 20-year or a 30-year term better at $500,000?
Match the term to the obligation, not to a preference. If the mortgage runs 28 more years, a 20-year policy leaves eight years uncovered and the replacement is bought at much higher rates. A 30-year term costs more per month now and is often the cheaper decision over the life of the need.
Can I get $500,000 of cover at 60?
Yes, in good health — the market average is $286 a month for a woman and $395 for a man on a 20-year term. Availability tightens with age and with health, and above about 70 the products realistically open to you shift toward final expense and smaller face amounts. See cover for seniors over 70.