Updated: May 26, 2025
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Nationwide is the best overall provider for family life insurance, earning a MoneyGeek score of 97, with affordable premiums averaging $16 per month for a $250,000, 10-year term policy.
Allstate ranks highest for affordability, offering family life insurance policies at just $12 per month on average, with flexible term lengths from 10 to 40 years and coverage options up to $50 million.
State Farm leads in whole life and no-medical-exam policies for families, offering options like Limited Pay Whole Life for lifelong coverage without ongoing premiums in retirement.
Nationwide is the overall best life insurance provider for families, but the right insurer for you depends on your circumstances and needs. Companies excel in different areas. Some offer lower rates, and others focus on providing excellent customer service. Below are the top family life insurance providers by category to help you find the right fit.
Company | Best For | MoneyGeek Score | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Best Overall | 97 | $16 | |
Best for Whole Life and No-Medical-Exam Insurance | 99 | N/A | |
Best Cheap | 97 | $12 | |
Best for Customer Satisfaction | 96 | $13 |
Nationwide tops the list with an overall MoneyGeek score of 97. With an average monthly cost of $16 for a 10-year term policy with a $250,000 coverage amount, it offers a balanced blend of affordability and comprehensive coverage, making it an excellent choice for families.
Nationwide is MoneyGeek's overall top pick for family life insurance, securing a MoneyGeek score of 97. With 97 years in the industry, the company offers various life insurance policies, from term to whole and universal, catering to diverse family needs. Monthly premiums are competitively priced at $16 for a $250,000, 10-year term policy. This blend of affordability, extensive coverage options and customer satisfaction makes Nationwide a top-tier choice for families seeking quality and value in life insurance.
The company is also our top pick for those seeking high coverage amounts. On average, the monthly premium for a Nationwide 10-year term policy with a $1 million coverage amount is $33.
State Farm ranks first for whole life insurance and no-medical-exam policies for families, boasting a MoneyGeek score of 99 in both categories. State Farm offers stability and versatility with an A++ AM Best rating and a broad range of life insurance products.
State Farm excels as MoneyGeek's top pick for both whole and no-exam family life insurance., securing a score of 99 in each category. With 101 years of industry experience and an A++ AM Best rating, the company offers a diverse range of products, including Limited Pay Whole Life. This policy allows you to completely pay for coverage in 10, 15 or 20 years, making it a good option for those who want to secure lifelong coverage for a child without the burden of premiums during retirement. It also offers no-exam policies in both term life and guaranteed issue final expense insurance, making it a convenient choice for families.
Allstate ranks first in affordability for families, earning an overall MoneyGeek score of 97. The company offers an average monthly cost of $12 for a 10-year term policy with a $250,000 coverage amount, making it an ideal choice for budget-conscious families.
Allstate is MoneyGeek's pick for the most affordable life insurance, particularly appealing to budget-conscious families. With an average monthly cost of just $12, the company makes life insurance accessible without compromising on financial stability. The company provides a wide range of term coverage amounts through its partners, from $100,000 to an impressive $50 million, and term lengths between 10 and 40 years. Allstate has been in the insurance business for 92 years and holds an A+ AM Best rating. Despite these advantages, the company has a higher-than-average rate of customer complaints.
GEICO came out on top in terms of customer satisfaction, earning a MoneyGeek score of 96. A policy costs an average of $13 per month. For this category, GEICO tied with Progressive since both received perfect customer satisfaction scores. However, GEICO is the top pick due to its higher overall MoneyGeek score.
GEICO stands out as MoneyGeek's premier choice when it comes to customer satisfaction. Although GEICO's policies are issued through its partners, including Ladder, the company maintains an A++ AM Best rating, indicating robust financial stability. Customer satisfaction is a strong suit, as evidenced by low complaint rates. GEICO offers term life insurance with a highly affordable monthly cost of $13 for a $250,000, 10-year term policy, and coverage amounts ranging from $100,000 to $8 million. With 87 years in the business and a user-friendly mobile app, GEICO makes life insurance accessible and reliable for families.
Below, we break down what you need to know about family life insurance, including whether it’s the right choice for your household, how much it typically costs and which policy types may best fit your family's needs.
Whether you should get life insurance for your family depends on your circumstances. Coverage for the breadwinner could be sufficient, although it may benefit both parents to have coverage for a family that depends on both incomes.
There are several reasons why you may want to buy life insurance for your family.
If your family couldn’t afford its lifestyle without your income, life insurance is worth it. You can purchase life insurance as income replacement for as many years of your income as you want. If you die, your spouse can use the life insurance death benefit so you can continue to care for your family even after death.
Most Americans have several thousand dollars or more in debt. Family life insurance can pay off debt, including your mortgage, so your partner won’t have to worry about making more money to meet debt payments. Mortgage payments can also keep your family in their home once you’re gone.
If your kids plan to go to college, a parent’s untimely death could derail their goals. If you buy enough life insurance, your partner can set aside the funds your kids will need for college, so when they’re ready, they can focus on their education and not have to worry about student loan debt when they graduate.
You never know what the future holds; one illness could jeopardize your family’s insurability. Whether you buy a joint life policy or a family policy with riders, your spouse and children can use the coverage to prove insurability and get more coverage, regardless of their health status.
Buying life insurance for your children is a personal choice. However, it often isn’t worth it unless there are family health concerns that could affect their insurability when they get older. A rider may be a better and more cost-effective option than buying a separate life insurance policy for a child.
Various factors affect life insurance quotes. Insurers also weigh these factors differently, resulting in different premium rates. Compare quotes from multiple providers to find the best and cheapest life insurance. You can also use our life insurance rate estimator below to get personalized quotes in minutes.
We’ll give you a suggested amount of cover to buy in just 3 easy steps. — it's free, no personal information required, no spam.
Rates updated:
Jun 06, 2025
Term life insurance is usually the best type of policy to get when buying life insurance for a family. With term life, you can get the most coverage for the lowest cost. Consider the following when comparing life insurance plan types:
Term life insurance is typically easy to get, with many companies offering coverage with no medical exam for healthy applicants. It’s also the cheapest option, so you can get the most coverage and stay within an affordable budget. However, term coverage is temporary, so it shouldn’t be used for permanent needs.
Whole life insurance is more expensive but offers lifetime coverage, so it's best for permanent insurance needs, like paying for final expenses. It also has a cash value component, which helps you save money you can access while you’re alive.
Another permanent life option is universal life. This policy type is like whole life, but it offers more flexibility. You can adjust your coverage amount and premiums as long as you meet specific criteria determined by the company and policy.
You may not qualify for a medically underwritten policy if you have health issues. Simplified issue life insurance has health questions on the application, but doesn't require a medical exam to qualify. This option is best for those who can’t qualify for other life insurance options.
If you have serious health issues or are high risk, you may not qualify for simplified issue life insurance. Guaranteed acceptance life insurance is a possible last resort. While it’s the most expensive option, you’re guaranteed to be approved without health questions or medical underwriting.
While permanent life insurance is a viable option for some, we recommend term life insurance for most people. With term life, you can get affordable coverage and invest the difference you would pay for a permanent policy. Over time, your investments might perform better than the interest that accrues on the cash value in a permanent life policy.
However, everyone’s situation is different, and the benefits provided by permanent life insurance make it the best choice for some.
How much life insurance coverage you need depends on several factors. A good rule of thumb is to get at least 10 times your annual salary. However, you can determine your individual needs by adding up the following:
Then, deduct your current savings and existing life insurance coverage amount. The total you’re left with is the amount of life insurance coverage you need to meet your current and future financial obligations. If you don't consider all these factors, your family could struggle financially with expenses they can no longer afford once you're gone.
You can also use our life insurance coverage needs calculator below for a quick estimate.
The average cost of life insurance varies, but getting life insurance for each family member can be costly and unnecessary. While you can get family life insurance to cover each family member, it’s usually not worth it and could strain your budget. The best approach is to insure the person whose income the family depends on most, which could be one or both parents.
Family life insurance is a plan that includes both spouses and children in one policy with a single premium payment. It could include one spouse on the central policy with the other spouse and children insured under riders, or a joint policy for both spouses with the children insured through a rider. For this analysis, MoneyGeek collected and analyzed data for term life insurance for a single policyholder to determine the best providers of family policies. You can view the premiums as a baseline for family life insurance. Actual rates may differ as family life insurance typically includes riders for a spouse or children.
Nationwide is the overall best company, with a MoneyGeek score of 97. Its policies cost an average of $16 per month for a $250,000, 10-year term policy. Allstate ranks highest for affordability, with an average rate of $12 per month for the same coverage. Compare company offers and prices to find the best family life insurance based on your needs.
Still have questions about the best life insurance for families? Here are the answers to the frequently asked questions on the subject.
MoneyGeek found that Nationwide provides the best life insurance for families. Nationwide is also MoneyGeek's recommendation for high coverage amounts, but State Farm ranks first for whole life and no-medical-exam policies. The top pick may differ depending on your needs.
Getting life insurance for each family member doesn’t always make sense. You can consider your personal and family circumstances, the health of each family member and your coverage needs to determine if coverage for each family member is the best idea, as life insurance can be costly.
Dependent children under 18 get free life insurance under active military service members. Spouses pay affordable group rates. The spouses and children can convert their policies to individual policies.
Why Trust MoneyGeek?
We analyzed 1,488 life insurance quotes alongside customer satisfaction, financial stability reports, product offerings and more to determine the best life insurance companies for families.
Recency
Coverage costs and company information for life insurance providers were updated in 2025.
Methodology
MoneyGeek created a scoring system to compare life insurance companies across five 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.
MoneyGeek’s Scoring System
In our unique scoring system, companies can earn up to five points in each of five categories. We then use these category scores to calculate an overall MoneyGeek score out of 100. We applied the following weightings to score insurers:
MoneyGeek used the following weights to score and rank the best life insurance companies for whole life policies:
Meanwhile, we used the following weights to score and rank the best life insurance companies for no-exam policies:
We did not weigh affordability for whole life and no-exam policies, as we did not collect whole life or no-exam life insurance quotes.
MoneyGeek determined the best cheap life insurance company for families using the following weightings:
Each company’s score incorporates:
Sample Customer Profile
MoneyGeek used a standard profile to obtain life insurance quotes:
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 a variety of quotes and determine the best life insurance company for several types of customers. We collected quotes for term life insurance with varying term lengths and coverage amounts as well.
We identified trends in the data set and used those patterns to calculate projections and extend the data beyond what was originally collected.
About Mark Fitzpatrick
Mark Fitzpatrick, a Licensed Property and Casualty Insurance Producer, is MoneyGeek's resident Personal Finance Expert. With over five years of experience analyzing the insurance market, he conducts original research and creates tailored content for all types of buyers. His insights have been featured in publications like CNBC, NBC News and Mashable.
Fitzpatrick holds a master’s degree in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. He's also a five-time Jeopardy champion!
Passionate about economics and insurance, he aims to promote transparency in financial topics and empower others to make confident money decisions.
