A renewable term life insurance policy is a type of term life insurance that provides coverage for one year at a time. You can renew your policy annually without taking a new medical exam, so you'll keep your coverage even if your health changes.

The key difference between annual renewable term (ART) life insurance and other term policies is how premiums work. Level term insurance locks in your rate for the entire term (10, 20 or 30 years). With ART policies, your premiums increase yearly as you age and the risk grows.

Note: Life insurance rates and availability vary by state, age, health and other factors.

ART life insurance lets you make flexible coverage decisions each year. You get one year of coverage, then decide whether to renew, giving you year-by-year control.

With annual renewals, you won't need new medical exams even if your health has changed since buying your policy, but your premiums get recalculated based on your current age. Because older people have higher mortality risk, insurance companies charge higher rates as you age while letting you avoid applying for entirely new policies.

Life insurance policies don't have deductibles. When the insured passes away, the life insurance beneficiaries receive the full death benefit.

You decide whether to renew your ART policy each year. Here's how the process works:

• Automatic Renewal: Most renewable term policies include automatic renewal clauses that continue coverage unless you actively cancel. The insurer calculates new premiums based on your current age. This protects your insurability even if you develop health conditions that would make you uninsurable.
• Premium Changes: Your renewal premium reflects age-based mortality risk and any policy-specific rate adjustments. Unlike level term policies that spread costs across multiple years, renewable term policies price each year individually based on your age.
• No Medical Exam: You won't need another medical exam to renew, even if your health has changed since you first applied.
• Review Your Terms: Check your renewal notice each year for any changes to coverage limits, maximum renewal age, or other policy conditions. Pay attention to conversion opportunities that may expire as you age.
• Confirm Payment: Make sure your premium payment goes through to avoid a lapse in coverage. Most insurers offer 30-day grace periods, but missed payments can terminate your renewal rights permanently.

The premium for a renewable term life insurance policy starts cheaper than longer-term policies because insurers have less risk in the short term. But your premiums aren't locked in and will increase yearly when you renew.

Your age is the main factor driving these increases. As you get older, your risk of death naturally rises, so insurers charge more. This means ART can save you money initially, but it gets more expensive over time, especially if your health deteriorates.

Other factors insurers consider when determining rates include:

• Health: Your initial health classification determines your rate class and stays fixed throughout the policy, even if your health changes.
• Coverage Amount: Higher death benefits mean higher premiums, but the per-dollar cost often decreases with larger policies.
• Gender: On average, women pay less due to longer life expectancy.
• Lifestyle: Smoking, dangerous hobbies and high-risk occupations increase rates.

ART premiums follow predictable patterns. Here's an example of how a healthy 30-year-old's $500,000 policy might progress:

• Age 30: $240 annually
• Age 35: $312 annually (30% increase over 5 years)
• Age 40: $456 annually (90% increase from age 30)
• Age 45: $720 annually (200% increase from age 30)
• Age 50: $1,176 annually (390% increase from age 30)

By age 50, the same policy that cost just $240 a year at age 30 has become almost five times more expensive. This steady rise illustrates why ART policies become expensive over time and why many prefer level-term coverage for long-term affordability.

Shopping around helps you find the best ART rates and compare what different insurers offer. Use our life insurance cost calculator to get quotes quickly.

ART life insurance offers benefits and drawbacks worth weighing against your financial goals and timeline.

Choosing life insurance can feel overwhelming when you're unsure how long you'll need coverage. Annual renewable term life insurance provides flexible coverage that adapts to changing personal and business circumstances. ART coverage works best when you need temporary protection with adjustment flexibility.

The medical underwriting process for annually renewable term life insurance determines your initial rates and approval.

Medical Exam Requirements

Higher coverage amounts typically require more comprehensive medical exams. Basic policies may need only health questionnaires, while larger coverage amounts often require paramedical exams with blood work, urine tests and potentially EKGs based on your age and requested coverage.

Health Classifications

Your initial health rating stays fixed throughout your policy. Rating systems vary by insurer, but common classifications include:

• Preferred Plus: Excellent health, lowest available rates
• Standard: Average health with manageable conditions
• Substandard: Significant health issues, higher rates based on risk

You can add riders to your renewable term life insurance for extra protection. Riders are add-ons that expand what your policy covers or how it works.

Popular options include accelerated death benefits or a premium waiver, which can make your policy more valuable but will cost extra. Before adding riders, make sure you can afford the higher premiums long-term.

• Accelerated Death Benefit Rider: This rider lets you access a portion of your death benefit while living if diagnosed with a terminal illness. You can typically access 25% to 100% of your death benefit, depending on your prognosis and insurer guidelines. The remaining death benefit passes to your beneficiaries upon death. Requirements include medical certification of terminal illness with a life expectancy of 12 to 24 months.
• Waiver of Premium Rider: This rider continues your life insurance coverage without premium payments if you become totally disabled. The rider activates after a waiting period, usually 90 to 180 days from disability onset. You must typically be under age 60 when the disability occurs, and the waiver continues until age 65. Most insurers require medical documentation proving that total disability prevents you from working in your occupation.
• Child Term Rider: This rider offers temporary coverage for dependent children between $10,000 and $25,000 per child. The rider covers all eligible children under one premium, regardless of how many children you have. Coverage usually continues until the child reaches age 25, at which point they can often convert to their own individual policy without medical underwriting.
• Accidental Death Rider: This rider doubles your death benefit if death results from an accident, providing additional financial protection for unexpected, tragic events. The rider typically defines specific circumstances that qualify as accidents and may exclude certain activities like extreme sports or military combat. Coverage usually applies 24 hours a day, worldwide, for qualifying accidental deaths.

ART life insurance isn't right for everyone, especially if you need long-term coverage. Depending on your situation, you might want to consider these alternatives instead.

• Level Term Life Insurance: This locks in your premium for the entire term (10, 20 or 30 years). You'll pay the same rate throughout, making it cheaper than ART if you need coverage for several years.
• Decreasing Term Life Insurance: The death benefit shrinks over time to match your declining debt, like a mortgage balance. It costs less than a level term since the payout decreases each year.

• Whole Life Insurance: Combines lifelong coverage with a savings account that grows at a guaranteed rate. Your premiums stay the same, and you can borrow against the cash value if needed.
• Universal Life Insurance: Gives you more control over your premiums and death benefit than whole life. You can adjust both up or down as your financial situation changes.

• Long-term planning: You want lifelong coverage plus an investment that builds cash value you can borrow against later.
• Estate planning: You need to leave money for heirs or cover estate taxes to protect your family's inheritance.
• Changing income: Your earnings fluctuate, so you want the flexibility to adjust premiums and coverage as needed.

Choosing between term and permanent life insurance depends on your budget, age, health and whether you want an investment component. Many people start with term insurance since it's cheaper, then consider permanent options as their financial situation improves.

Renewable term life insurance provides flexible coverage that adapts to changing circumstances. With annual renewals, you can maintain coverage without medical exams even when your health changes.

Annual renewable term (ART) life insurance suits transitional periods like starting a family, changing careers or covering temporary debts. For short-term needs, ART's lower initial costs save money compared to longer-term policies.

Here are answers to common questions about ART life insurance.

Renewable term life insurance automatically renews each year without requiring new medical exams, but premiums increase annually based on your age. We examined how it works, including its key features like guaranteed renewability, premium escalation patterns, and conversion options to permanent life insurance. Our analysis helps you understand whether renewable term's flexibility and initial affordability outweigh the certainty of rising costs, especially compared to level term policies that lock in rates for 10, 20 or 30 years.

Beyond explaining renewable term life insurance, we analyzed data to identify the top life insurance companies across the industry. This research ensures you can find quality coverage regardless of which policy type best fits your needs.

Why Trust MoneyGeek?

We analyzed 1,488 life insurance quotes alongside customer satisfaction ratings, financial stability reports, product offerings and identified the best life insurance companies for various needs.

MoneyGeek's Scoring System

We created a scoring system comparing life insurance companies across three categories and ranked them based on their scores. We chose to review these companies based on their broad national coverage and ability to provide an online quote.

In our scoring system, companies earn up to five points in each category. We then use these category scores to calculate an overall score out of 100. 

We applied the following weightings to score insurers:

• Affordability: 50%
• Customer experience: 30%
• Coverage options: 20%

What We Analyzed

Each company's score incorporates:

• Cost data obtained through online quotes
• Financial strength ratings from AM Best and the number of years in business
• Customer satisfaction data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) customer complaint index
• Availability of tools to aid in the buying process, such as online product materials and multiple payment options
• Diversity of life insurance products offered

Sample Customer Profile
MoneyGeek used a standard profile to obtain life insurance quotes:

• 40-year-old male
• Nonsmoker
• 5 feet 9 inches tall and 160 pounds
• Average health rating

Premiums are based on the standard profile unless otherwise noted. We modified the profile by age, gender, height, weight, tobacco use, health rating and geographic location to collect various quotes and determine the best life insurance company for several types of customers. We also collected quotes for term life insurance with varying term lengths and coverage amounts.

We identified trends in the dataset and used those patterns to calculate projections and extend the data beyond what was initially collected.