7 Best Term Life Insurance Companies in March 2024 - NerdWallet (2024)

The best term life insurance policy for you may not be the best one for someone else. Coverage amounts, term lengths, age restrictions and whether you can convert the policy to permanent coverage are all important factors to consider when shopping for life insurance, and some of these things may be more significant to you than others.

We’ve highlighted term life policies sold by some of the best life insurance companies in the United States, so you can weigh your options and find the right coverage for you and your family.

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The best term life insurance companies in March 2024

The following term life insurance companies hold up under scrutiny. They have solid financial strength ratings, received high marks for consumer experience and had fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for companies of their size. Since you won’t be around to fight for your rights when your policy pays out, you need to be able to trust that your insurer will treat your life insurance beneficiaries right.

How we ranked the top life insurers

NerdWallet’s life insurance ratings are based on consumer experience, complaint index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for individual life insurance, and weighted averages of financial strength ratings, which indicate a company’s ability to pay future claims. Within the consumer experience category, we consider ease of communication and website transparency, which looks at the depth of policy details available online. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale.

These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews.

Best term life insurance policies for 2024

Learn more about each company and the policies available by reading the brief summaries below and checking out the full NerdWallet reviews.

Guardian Level Term: Policies are issued to applicants 18 to 75 years old, and coverage amounts start at $100,000. Policies are available in 1-, 10-, 15-, 20- and 30-year terms.

Guardian also offers coverage for people living with HIV. To apply, you must be from 20 to 65 years old and meet certain eligibility requirements, such as being on active antiretroviral therapy.

MassMutual Term: MassMutual’s term life policies are available in 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-year increments. The company also offers an annually renewable term life policy that renews every year, though you can expect to pay higher premiums over time if you choose that option.

The maximum issue age for MassMutual term life policy is 75, with coverage starting at $100,000. You can convert to permanent life insurance before the deadline specified in your policy documents.

Through MassMutual's LifeBridge program, the parent or legal guardian of a child under 18 may qualify for a free policy if the family's total income is from $10,000 to $40,000 a year. The 10-year, $50,000 policy is designed to help pay for the child's education if the parent or guardian dies.

Annual Renewable Term Life: Premiums are relatively low at first, compared to level term policies, but they increase as you get older. Coverage automatically renews each year.

Level Premium Term Life: Coverage lasts 20 years, and the insurer offers a policy with steady premiums for the first decade.

Yearly Renewable Term: Applicants must be from 18 to 75 years old, and the minimum coverage amount is $250,000. You can renew this policy every year. If you want lifelong coverage, you can convert it to a permanent policy.

Level Premium Term: Coverage is available for terms lasting 10, 15 or 20 years, with death benefits starting at $100,000. Policies are available to applicants from 18 to 75 years old. You can typically convert the policy to permanent coverage within the first five or 10 years after issuance.

PL Promise Term: Available in 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-year terms, this policy has a minimum coverage amount of $50,000. It includes an accelerated death benefit rider at no additional cost, and allows you to convert to a universal life insurance policy before the age of 71.

Pacific Elite Term: This policy can be converted to a permanent policy within the first 10 years. A cash credit is also added to your new policy, which can help offset some of the initial premiums of your new permanent coverage.

Select Term Life Insurance: Coverage starts at $100,000 and is available to applicants from 18 to 75 years old. You have the option to add a child rider, term rider or waiver of premium rider at an additional cost. The term lengths available are 10, 20 and 30 years.

Return of Premium Life: Similar to the standard term life product, this policy offers coverage for a set number of years. But if you outlive the term, it returns the premiums you paid. You must be from 18 to 60 years old to apply, and coverage is available in 20- and 30-year terms. However, note that return-of-premium life insurance tends to be more expensive than standard term policies.

Instant Answer Term Life: You can apply in person with a State Farm agent and get coverage the same day. The policy lasts 10 years or until you reach 50, whichever is longer, and only $50,000 of coverage is available.

AARP Level Benefit Term Life Insurance: AARP offers term life insurance to its members ages 50 to 74 and their spouses ages 45 to 74 through its partnership with New York Life. You can get $10,000 to $150,000 in coverage (or $100,000 in New York), or potentially a higher amount by calling New York Life. There’s no medical exam required.

Instead of having traditional term lengths, coverage lasts until the insured person’s 80th birthday, with annual premiums going up each time they reach a new five-year age band. The policy can be converted to permanent life insurance before age 80.

How to find the best term life insurance company

When you buy life insurance, you’re counting on a company to be there for your family many years in the future. For that reason, it’s important to choose a company you can trust. Here are some ways to compare companies and find the one that’s best for you.

Look up the insurer’s financial strength

You want a company that will be around decades from now, with enough money to pay claims. The financial strength rating of a life insurance company is one way to gauge whether an insurer is likely to meet that mark. You can check the financial strength rating of each term life insurance company you’re considering through a rating firm such as AM Best.

NerdWallet typically recommends considering insurers with ratings of A- or higher. That said, any company with an AM Best rating of B+ or higher has a "good" ability to meet its obligations, according to AM Best’s website. Companies with ratings below that may not be quite as safe a bet and often have higher rates of complaints relative to their size.

Research the insurer’s reputation for customer service

You want a company that provides good customer service, from the day you start shopping until it’s time for a claim. To get an idea of whether other customers have been satisfied, you can look up an insurer’s complaint index on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website. The score is based on the number of complaints filed against the insurance company with state regulators, adjusted for the company’s market share (based on premiums written). The average score is one, so anything higher than one means the company received more complaints than expected for its size.

Once you’ve narrowed down your list, it’s a good idea to compare life insurance quotes from more than one company. That way, you can get the best rate for the type of term life policy you're looking for.

More about term life insurance

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