Life insurance statistics & data (2024)

Stats to help you understand life insurance costs, coverage, and ownership.

Headshot of Nupur Gambhir
Headshot of Rebecca Shoenthal

By

Nupur GambhirSenior Editor & Licensed Life Insurance ExpertNupur Gambhir is a licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert and a former senior editor at Policygenius. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service Cake.&Rebecca ShoenthalEditor & Licensed Life Insurance ExpertRebecca Shoenthal is a licensed life, disability, and health insurance expert and a former editor at Policygenius. Her insights about life insurance and finance have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, The Balance, HerMoney, SBLI, and John Hancock.

Edited by

Julia KaganJulia KaganContributing EditorJulia Kagan is a contributing editor at Policygenius, where she specializes in life insurance. Previously, Julia was the senior personal finance editor at Investopedia for nearly a decade, a vice president and editorial director at Consumer Reports, the editor of Psychology Today, and the vice president of content at Zagat Surveys.

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Getting a life insurance policy is an important decision that you want to put a lot of thought into — it protects your family’s financial security if you die unexpectedly. Because you’re relying on your policy to protect your loved ones, you want to make sure you understand both the basics and the nitty-gritty of your coverage.

We’ve done the research so you don’t have to: From how much life insurance costs to the biggest reasons to get it — we have answers to all your questions.

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Life insurance by the numbers

52% • Percent of American adults who have life insurance [1]

26% • Of American adults with life insurance, the percent who only have group coverage — which usually isn’t enough (and rarely stays with you if you leave your job) [2]

10 to 15 times • The multiples of your annual income that most financial advisors recommend you need when buying life insurance for income replacement

29% • Percent of American adults who intend to buy their life insurance online

40% • Percent of insured who wish they had purchased their policies at a younger age

11% • Percent difference between life insurance ownership for women compared to men

$3.29 trillion • Face amount of life insurance policy purchases in the United States [3]

Stats about the cost of life insurance

Five to 15 times • How much more permanent life insurance (like whole life insurance) costs vs. term life insurance

4.5% to 9% • Average percent increase in your insurance costs as you age, assuming your health stays the same

23% • The average cost difference between sequential health ratings (Preferred vs. Standard, for example)

Two to three times • How much rates for smokers cost vs. rates for non-smokers (but a year after you quit smoking, most companies will offer you non-smoker rates

39.6% • The average difference between the least expensive and most expensive rate for the same person across insurance companies, based on Policygenius data

24% • Percent difference between premiums for men and women (with women paying nearly 1/4 less than men, on average)

Best life insurance companies ranked by customer satisfaction

When you’re working with an insurer to secure a life insurance policy, customer experience matters. After all, you’re trusting it to provide a payout to your loved ones if something happens to you.

According to J.D. Power, these are the 2022 top 10 life insurance companies for customer satisfaction with their corresponding scores on a 1,000-point scale. [4]

Company

J.D. Power rating

State Farm

839

Globe Life

812

Mutual of Omaha

801

Northwestern Mutual

794

Pacific Life

793

Nationwide

791

Guardian Life

787

Met Life

786

MassMutual

780

New York Life

775

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Average cost of life insurance by age and gender

The monthly cost of a life insurance policy depends on unique factors like your age, health, term length, gender, and the death benefit amount on the policy. The following are sample monthly premiums for a 20-year term life insurance policy for a non-smoker.

Age

Gender

$250,000 coverage amount

$500,000 coverage amount

$1 million coverage amount

25

Female

$14.38

$21.00

$32.52

Male

$17.26

$27.12

$43.71

35

Female

$16.70

$25.75

$41.99

Male

$18.87

$30.78

$51.03

45

Female

$28.88

$48.41

$86.31

Male

$35.83

$61.47

$112.45

55

Female

$61.84

$111.31

$206.62

Male

$84.56

$153.70

$281.06

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Methodology: Average monthly estimated rates for male and female non-smokers in a Preferred health classification with a 20-year term length. Rates are based on the monthly Policygenius Life Insurance Price Index. Prices in the index are determined by internal actuarial rate tables for life insurance carriers that offer policies through the Policygenius marketplace: Brighthouse Financial, Corebridge Financial, Legal & General America, Lincoln Financial, Foresters Financial, Mutual of Omaha, Pacific Life, Protective, Prudential, SBLI, Symetra, and Transamerica. Illustration valid as of 01/01/2024.

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Top reasons for buying life insurance in the U.S.

According to 2023 statistics from trade research organization LIMRA and the non-profit organization Life Happens, these are the most common reasons Americans said they bought life insurance:

  • 82% Burial/final expenses

  • 68% Wealth transfer

  • 60% Income replacement

  • 66% Supplement retirement income

  • 50% Pay off mortgage

Life insurance coverage by state

According to data from the NAIC, published by the American Council of Life Insurers, here is the cumulative value of the death benefits for the life insurance policies purchased in every U.S. state in 2018, in billions of U.S. dollars. [5]

State

Amount of coverage purchased (in billions of U.S.dollars)

Alabama

39.35

Alaska

7.36

Arizona

49.80

Arkansas

20.57

California

356.98

Colorado

58.26

Connecticut

42.35

Delaware

21.50

District of Columbia

10.59

Florida

188.85

Georgia

110.82

Hawaii

11.13

Idaho

12.88

Illinois

135.54

Indiana

48.87

Iowa

30.28

Kansas

26.55

Kentucky

34.21

Louisiana

47.66

Maine

8.31

Maryland

63.33

Massachusetts

91.68

Michigan

77.88

Minnesota

54.92

Mississippi

22.95

Missouri

55.01

Montana

7.40

Nebraska

18.60

Nevada

23.84

New Hampshire

12.63

New Jersey

121.35

New Mexico

11.52

New York

218.55

North Carolina

101.19

North Dakota

7.70

Ohio

107.83

Oklahoma

27.73

Oregon

31.36

Pennsylvania

121.21

Rhode Island

8.37

South Carolina

51.11

South Dakota

13.31

Tennessee

66.40

Texas

275.72

Utah

34.38

Vermont

7.91

Virginia

85.61

Washington

63.55

West Virginia

8.88

Wisconsin

75.73

Wyoming

4.59

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Biggest life insurance companies by market share

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), these are the 10 largest life insurance companies in the U.S. and Canada in 2022, by their share of the total market. [6]

Company

Market share

Northwestern Mutual

7.20%

New York Life

6.45%

MetLife (Metropolitan Group)

6.37%

Prudential

5.45%

MassMutual

4.93%

Lincoln Mutual

4.42%

Nationwide

3.15%

State Farm

2.87%

Minnesota Mutual

2.61%

Aegon US Holding

2.60%

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Percent of U.S. adults with life insurance (2011 to 2023)

According to the most recent LIMRA and Life Happens data on life insurance in the U.S., the percent of U.S. adults who own life insurance has ranged between 63% and 50%.

Year

Percent of U.S. adults who owned life insurance

2011

63%

2012

59%

2013

62%

2014

57%

2015

57%

2016

60%

2017

59%

2018

59%

2019

57%

2020

54%

2021

52%

2022

50%

2023

52%

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Number of life insurance policies purchased in the U.S. from 1998 to 2018

According to the NAIC, here’s the number of life insurance policies purchased in the U.S. each year from 1998 to 2018. [7]

Year

Number of life insurance policies purchased

1998

31.89 million

1999

38.58 million

2000

33.36 million

2001

40.1 million

2002

38.71 million

2003

35.77 million

2004

38.45 million

2005

34.52 million

2006

29.29 million

2007

30.79 million

2008

28.6 million

2009

29.19 million

2010

28.62 million

2011

27.18 million

2012

27.06 million

2013

25.26 million

2014

27.15 million

2015

28.32 million

2016

27.52 million

2017

28.04 million

2018

27.80 million

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References

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Policygenius uses external sources, including government data, industry studies, and reputable news organizations to supplement proprietary marketplace data and internal expertise. Learn more about how we use and vet external sources as part of oureditorial standards.

  1. LIMRA

    . "

    2023 Insurance Barometer Study

    ." Accessed April 28, 2023.

  2. LIMRA

    . "

    2020 Insurance Barometer Study

    ." Accessed April 28, 2023.

  3. Statista

    . "

    Face amount of life insurance policy purchases in the United States from 2000 to 2020

    ." Accessed January 31, 2022.

  4. J.D. Power

    . "

    Both Life Insurance and Annuity Customer Satisfaction Decline as Pandemic Fears Wane, J.D. Power Finds

    ." Accessed April 28, 2023.

  5. Statista

    . "

    Face value of life insurance purchases in the United States in 2018, by state

    ." Accessed April 28, 2023.

  6. National Association of Insurance Commissioners

    (NAIC). "

    2022 Top 25 Groups and Companies by Countrywide Premium

    ." Accessed June 07, 2023.

  7. Statista

    . "

    Number of life insurance policy purchases in the United States from 1998 to 2018

    ." Accessed April 28, 2023.

Authors

Nupur Gambhir is a licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert and a former senior editor at Policygenius. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service Cake.

Rebecca Shoenthal is a licensed life, disability, and health insurance expert and a former editor at Policygenius. Her insights about life insurance and finance have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, The Balance, HerMoney, SBLI, and John Hancock.

Editor

Julia Kagan is a contributing editor at Policygenius, where she specializes in life insurance. Previously, Julia was the senior personal finance editor at Investopedia for nearly a decade, a vice president and editorial director at Consumer Reports, the editor of Psychology Today, and the vice president of content at Zagat Surveys.

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