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A term life insurance policy is affordable if you're interested in purchasing life insurance.

While you won't get lifelong or any cash value advantages, a term policy can protect your family in the event of your untimely death in your prime earning years. Of course, many companies offer the option to extend or convert your term policy to a permanent one.

The Best Term Life Insurance of 2023

• Best Overall: Banner Life
• Best for Affordability: Protective Life
• Best no Medical exam: Brighthouse Financial Life Insurance
• Best for Customer Service: State Farm Life Insurance
• Best for Whole Life Conversions: Pacific Life
• Best for Seniors: Prudential Life Insurance
• Best for Foreign Nationals: Transamerica Life Insurance
• Best for Low-Income Parents: MassMutual Life Insurance
• Best for Military Personnel: USAA Life Insurance

But it's essential to know conversion is not guaranteed unless you buy a separate rider. Applicants would have to pass underwriting a second time, and the death benefit would be based on qualifications at that time. If you have a rider for guaranteed conversion, the life insurance company can still raise your rate and reduce your benefit. It only guarantees the option to convert.

We've rounded up our top picks for the best term life insurance companies to help you find a policy meeting all your needs.

Compare the Best Term Life Insurance

Methodology: How We Chose the Best Term Life Insurance

We choose our picks for the best term life products best on a company's customer satisfaction points, financial stability ratings, affordability and

• Customer satisfaction: We use JD Power's life insurance customer satisfaction survey to assess a company's customer service practices. Life insurance companies with ratings of more than 774 out of 1000 are considered above the industry standard.
• Company offerings: We compare each company's offerings. These include but are not limited to riders, policy flexibility, no medical exam options, and instant approvals.
• Financial stability ratings: We use AM Best, an industry-leading credit rating agency, to assess an insurance company's financial health. A company with an A++ to B+ is stable and likely to be around for years. On the other hand, anything lower than a B means a company is unstable or unable to meet its financial obligations.
• Affordability: According to our article on average life insurance rates, a reasonable monthly premium is on par with or below the average cost of life insurance, which is between $40 to $55 a month.

Why You Should Trust Our Recommendations

Insider strives to create the highest quality and most helpful content. While we have paid partnerships, we don't get paid based on the brands we write about and what we write about insurance products. Moreover, our partners only see the post after its publication and can't make changes afterward. For information on how we choose and rate our financial products, visit our editorial page standards.

Term Life Insurance Frequently Asked Questions

Best Overall

Banner Life

We're kicking off this list with our best pick for term life. Banner Life received an outstanding score of A+ from AM Best. However, it needs a ranking in JD Power's individual life insurance customer satisfaction survey.

Banner Life OpTerm policy has affordable life insurance rates for all ages and approved health classifications. Unfortunately, shoppers with a history of severe health complications, including HIV, cancer, etc., do not qualify for Banner Life policies. Shoppers ages 20 to 75 years old may be eligible for coverage with no maximum and up to 40 years of coverage. You can also expect fast approval and may qualify for a medical exam waiver with the Banner Life OpTerm plan.

Best for Affordability

Protective Life

Protective's Class Choice Term plan has some of the most affordable rates for the best value in the life insurance market. According to Insider's article on the average life insurance cost, the average life insurance rate for 35-year-old males and females (with a standard 20-year term length and a life insurance benefit of $1,000,000) is about $52 and $43 per month, respectively.

At Protective, the same life insurance policy for a male applicant would cost $46.63 per month. A policy for a female applicant quotes at $38.44 per month. Both of these rates are below the industry average. So while you can find cheaper, you get the most out of your buck with Protective.

Protective's Classic Choice Term is excellent for its customizability and range of options. This plan offers $100,000 to $50 million in coverage, some of the highest life insurance benefits in the market. Additionally, you have several term options ranging from 10 to 40 years.

You may fancy Protective's ala carte of riders, including its child and disability riders. Protective also offers an income provider option endorsement, which allows you to decide how to allocate your death benefit among your beneficiaries.

Best for No Medical Exams

Brighthouse Financial

If your health isn't at its best, you might lean towards a policy requiring no medical exam. This is a common misnomer. No medical exam policies still ask health questions, and the company can look at past medical records. So these policies are more frequently issued with lower death benefits to young, healthy applicants. Of course, when you're working with a company like Brighthouse Financial, life insurance agents can run a preliminary application to see your chances of success. If you don't qualify for a no medical exam policy, Brighthouse Financial agents can quote other term or whole life options to fit your needs.

Brighthouse Financial's SimplySelect term offers best-in-class coverage even without undergoing a physical exam. The company also received an A rating from AM Best and a 741 rating with JD Power, according to its 2022 life insurance study.

This policy allows instant approval with some of the most affordable life insurance rates. You can get anywhere from $100,000 to $3 million in coverage with term lengths of 10, 20, or 30 years. However, higher policy limits may be subject to stricter underwriting. Also, its convertible and renewable rider options allow you to extend your coverage or convert your policy to a whole life insurance plan.

Best for Customer Service

State Farm

Reliability and trustworthiness are imperative for a long-standing insurance company, and it doesn't get any better than State Farm. State Farm's life insurance earned an A++ for financial stability with AMs Best. It also received 839 out of 1,000 in 2022 for overall customer satisfaction with JD Power, making it the number one spot for customer service among its industry competitors.

State Farm sells property and casualty products, including home, renters, and auto insurance. So, you can pair your life insurance with another insurance product to reduce your premium.

Best for Whole Life Conversions

Pacific Life

A term to permanent life insurance conversion allows you to extend your coverage and take advantage of those coveted cash-value benefits. Pacific Elite Term offers some of the best options if you're planning on purchasing a whole, universal, or variable life insurance plan eventually. With this term life plan, you can convert after the first ten years of term coverage. This policy also adds cash credit to your permanent policy after conversion, which may reduce the overall cost of your premium.

Keep in mind conversion is not guaranteed. Your insurance agent can advise when you'd submit your application to convert. Once you do, underwriting will assess your health and risk at the time of application (not when you originally applied for your term policy). Insurance companies will also set rates based on your current application.

With competitive rates and availability in all 50 states, Pacific Life may be your pick of the litter for policy convertibility. In addition, Pacific Life has outstanding customer satisfaction and financial strength scores, ranking 5th place with JD Power (above the industry average) and A+ with AM Best. Pacific Life may also allow qualifying buyers to forego a medical exam.

Best for Seniors

Prudential

For seniors, getting life insurance at an affordable rate can be challenging. However, Prudential's Term Essential is an excellent option for shoppers over 60 needing short-term coverage at a competitive price.

Prudential's Term Essential allows for higher age limits than many competitors. As a result, underwriters may overlook minor age-related conditions, likely at a better cost than its competitors. Exclusions for terminal or costly illnesses like cancer, multiple sclerosis, and HIV may still apply. The plan provides coverage as little as $100,000 up to $1 million and term lengths of 10, 15, 20, or 30 years. Additionally, this policy offers a Living Needs Benefit rider, free of charge, with all of Prudential's term life policies. This rider gives you access to a portion of your death policy if you become terminally ill, a beneficial option for senior retirees.

Not all senior applicants will qualify for a life insurance policy with Prudential Term Essential. But options may be more flexible than it would be with competitors.

Best for Foreign Nationals

Transamerica

Life insurance can be an invaluable tool, but it may be hard to qualify for those who don't have US citizenship. As one of the oldest and largest life insurance carriers, Transamerica accommodates foreign nationals within the US to offer the best coverage options.

Transamerica Trendsetter Super is a term life policy providing some of the most competitive rates. If you're 18 to 80-years-old, you can get coverage of as little as $25,000 up to $2 million. Qualifying applicants may also waive the medical exam requirement. We recommend talking to a licensed insurance agent if you are still determining if you qualify.

Best for Military Personnel

USAA is one of the nation's leading insurance providers, created with active military members and veterans in mind. With USAA, military members and veterans may appreciate the unique benefits of purchasing its Level Term V policy. This plan doesn't require a medical exam, but you may have to answer a health questionnaire online.

USAA's equivalent of a guaranteed insurability rider is its Life Event Option rider. For qualifying life events (like getting married or having a child), you can get up to $100,000 of coverage. While many insurance companies offer this add-on at an additional cost, USAA's Life Event Option rider is built into the policy without the extra fee. Also, if you're injured in the line of duty, USAA helps pay for your medical bills and even replaces your health coverage if you retire or leave the military.

The critical thing separating USAA from other life insurance companies is its options for active duty military members outside of SGLI (a group life policy tied to your service in the military), i.e., you lose it once you separate from the military). As a result, its death benefits may be lower compared to some competitors. But active duty military members, particularly if deployed, will not qualify for coverage at all with other life insurance providers.

Best for Low-Income Parents

MassMutual

For many families, getting life insurance isn't in the budget or may not be a financial priority. Fortunately, MassMutual created the LifeBridge program to assist low-income families with affordable coverage.

With MassMutual's LifeBridge program, qualifying parents and guardians get a free 10-year life insurance policy. In addition, this policy pays your designated beneficiary a $50,000 death benefit.

While MassMutual's term coverage through the LifeBridge program isn't as elaborate as some of the options on this list, this free plan will cover your dependent's educational expenses and sustain a good living if you pass away.