Best Life Insurance Companies in New York

The cost of life insurance in New York depends on the coverage amount you purchase. The higher the amount, the higher the monthly premium. Policies with lower coverage amounts often cost less but may not cover your beneficiaries’ financial needs when you pass away.

Progressive Life offers male buyers the lowest cost for a policy with a coverage limit of $250,000, at $12.19 per month on average. Mutual of Omaha offers the cheapest premium for female buyers at an average of $11.03 monthly.

While the cost of such a policy is quite low, the payment made to your beneficiaries may not meet all their needs. MoneyGeek estimated the ideal coverage in New York to be $966,000 based on factors such as average age, personal debt and income.

If you have a young family, a policy with this coverage should adequately meet their expenses in the future. On average, the cheapest life insurance company in New York for this coverage level is Mutual of Omaha, charging men roughly $26.14 per month and women about $19.04 per month.

Best Cheap Life Insurance Companies in New York: Males

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• Company
  $250K Coverage
  Suggested Coverage: $966k
• Mutual of Omaha
  $12.26
  $26.14
• Nationwide
  $13.56
  $29.84
• State Farm
  $17.62
  $41.35
• Progressive Life
  $12.19
  $46.52

Best Cheap Life Insurance Companies in New York: Females

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• Company
  $250K Coverage
  Suggested Coverage: $966k
• Mutual of Omaha
  $11.03
  $19.04
• Nationwide
  $11.82
  $21.62
• Progressive Life
  $12.90
  $34.07
• State Farm
  $19.97
  $44.77

Life insurance policy costs were determined by gathering 10-year term quotes from major life insurance companies in New York using average buyer profile statistics in New York, including average age of 31, average weight of 184 pounds for males and 145 pounds for females, and an average coverage need of $966,000.

Several factors impact the cost of life insurance in New York. One of these is the buyer’s gender. In most cases, insurance companies charge women less per month due to their longer lifespans.

In New York, men pay an average of $15.54 per month for a policy with $250,000 as the coverage amount. Women pay about $15.39 for the same amount.

For MoneyGeek’s recommended coverage amount of $966,000, male buyers pay $43.58 per month while female buyers pay $37.13 monthly, on average.

One consideration to make when buying life insurance from a company is its market share, which is the number of policies it has written compared with the total number of policies written by the state. Companies with large market shares tend to be more stable financially, and will quickly and fairly pay claims.

From MoneyGeek’s analysis, the seven most popular life insurance companies in New York collectively cover 53.99% of the market share. MassMutual has the highest percentage, at 10.79%.

Most Popular Life Insurance Companies in New York

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• Company
  Market Share
• MassMutual
  10.79%
• New York Life
  9.64%
• Guardian
  8.12%
• Northwestern Mutual
  7.89%
• MetLife
  7.57%
• Prudential Financial Inc.
  5.65%
• Lincoln Financial
  4.33%

Life insurance market share data for New York is based on total premiums written in the state and was sourced from 2020 S&P Global Data reports.

If you are young, you will pay less for life insurance in New York because insurers consider you less risky to insure.

The life insurance companies in New York with the lowest rates for young people are, on average:

• MassMutual: $19.42 per month
• Mutual of Omaha: $19.43 per month

Best Life Insurance Companies for Young People in New York

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• Company
  Monthly Cost
• MassMutual
  $19.42
• Mutual of Omaha
  $19.43
• Progressive Life
  $20.35
• State Farm
  $23.95
• Prudential
  $24.92
• Nationwide
  $31.41

Rates were determined by analyzing quotes for a 25-year-old male non-smoker in New York who is 5 ft 10 inches and 156 pounds that purchases a 20-year term contract at the average coverage need of $380,000. We chose a 20-year term to provide a longer coverage period for a younger buyer.

Life insurance companies in New York charge higher policy premiums for seniors than young buyers, although you can still find affordable options if you shop around.

Seniors usually don’t need as much coverage as younger buyers because seniors usually don’t have dependent children. Therefore, they can often get by with around $100,000 in life insurance coverage.

Based on MoneyGeek’s findings, the most affordable insurance companies for seniors in New York are, on average:

• State Farm: $46.21 per month
• Mutual of Omaha: $48.43 per month

Best Life Insurance Companies for Seniors in New York

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• Company
  Monthly Cost
• State Farm
  $46.21
• Mutual of Omaha
  $48.43
• Nationwide
  $56.44
• Progressive Life
  $66.51
• Prudential
  $87.07

Rates were determined by analyzing quotes for a 60-year-old male non-smoker in New York who is 5 ft 10 inches and 184 pounds that purchases a 10-year term contract at the average coverage need of $113,000.

If you are a smoker, your monthly premiums for life insurance will be higher than non-smokers since you are more at risk of experiencing poor health in the future. However, you can still find relatively reasonable rates if your health is otherwise average or good.

The most affordable insurers in New York for smokers are, on average:

• State Farm: $164.13 per month
• Mutual of Omaha: $175.68 per month

Best Life Insurance Companies for Smokers in New York

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• Company
  Monthly Cost
• State Farm
  $164.13
• Mutual of Omaha
  $175.68
• Prudential
  $196.23
• Progressive Life
  $203.94
• Nationwide
  $219.36

Rates were determined by analyzing quotes for a 31-year-old male smoker in New York who is 5 ft 10 inches and 184 pounds that purchases a 20-year term contract at the average coverage need of $966,000. If you are a smoker, we suggest buying a longer-term (20-year) policy to provide longer coverage as rates for smokers increase dramatically as you age.

Every state has its unique set of laws when it comes to life insurance. While seeking a life insurance policy in New York, you should first familiarize yourself with the laws of the state before making your choice. Using MoneyGeek’s recommendation of the best life insurance companies in New York can also help you secure the best coverage.

Here are some of the common laws that apply across the state:

• Free look period – This refers to the duration of time given to buyers to make a decision about their policy. During this period, the buyer may decide to return the policy to the insurer and ask for a refund. In New York, the free look period is 10 days, and a maximum of 30 days for policies sent through email.

• Grace period for missed payments – For missed payments, insurers in New York will give you a grace period of up to 31 days to make the payment. However, due to COVID-19, insurers extended this to 90 days as a relief to policyholders who can demonstrate financial hardship due to the pandemic.

• Time allowable to settle a claim – In New York, life insurance providers need to pay claims to beneficiaries without unreasonable delay, up to a maximum of 30 days after receiving proof of death. If the claim takes more time, the insurer will need to pay interest to the beneficiary.

• Contestable period – Life insurance companies in New York get two years from the date of issuing a policy to contest its validity. This period allows insurers time to investigate any misrepresentation in your policy and identify errors before declaring it void.

MoneyGeek compared life insurance rates in New York by considering various factors like the average mortgage debt, per capita income from the U.S. Bureau of Economics, average personal debt and average age.

Individual life insurance buyers pay more or less than the averages outlined in this study based on their unique circumstances.