Reduced Rates for Term Life Insurance
November 22, 2007
There may be some good news for those looking for better rates on term life insurance. The premium insurance rates for individual term life in 2008 are expected to decrease about 1 percent from the year rate for 2007. This is according to an Insurance Information Institute report. This trend of decreasing rates began decades ago and is continuing.
Term rates for life insurance have decreased on average 4 percent since 2000. From the years 1994 through 1999, the rate decrease was approximately 15 percent. What this means in real terms is that rates have dropped nearly 50 percent as compared to what they were ten years ago.
As an example, the Insurance Information Institute estimates that the yearly premium for a forty-year-old male who does not smoke, and is purchasing a $500,000 20-year term life insurance policy in 2008 would come in at about $725. This is if he is rated as a standard risk. If he can meet the preferred category, his rate would be even less and come in at about $350.
The news is even better for females and young people. The same policy for a forty-year-old female who does not smoke would come in at approximately $600 for a standard risk and $300 if they meet the preferred category.