Compare Life Insurance Quotes & Companies

Life Insurers provide instant online quotes with basic, but specific information. You don't need comprehensive health records or financial statements for initial rate comparisons.

Have this information ready:

• Birth date and current health status
• Height, weight and smoking history (including when you quit)
• Family medical history (parents' and siblings' major health issues)
• Current medications and dosages
• Smoking status

Providing accurate health information upfront helps insurers quote your actual rate class. A 45-year-old who mentions controlled high blood pressure initially receives quotes 25% higher than someone who doesn't disclose it until the medical exam, avoiding the surprise of rate increases later.

Before requesting quotes, determine how much life insurance you need.  Add up expenses you want covered including: mortgage payments, children's college costs, final expenses and income replacement for your family.

For example, a 35-year-old parent earning $75,000 annually will need $1,000,000 in coverage to replace 10 years of income plus pay off a $200,000 mortgage. Your coverage amount is the biggest factor in the cost of your quote.
Your coverage amount and term directly determine your premium, so decide these before comparing quotes.

You will need to compare the features of a term policy versus a permanent policy.

A term life insurance policy is the most popular and least expensive and it offers coverage for a specified term, usually anywhere from one to 30 years, with a few companies offering a 40-year term policy. Once the term policy expires, you can either renew it, convert it to a permanent policy, or allow it to terminate.

If you prefer lifelong coverage, a permanent policy may be right for you. This type of policy also offers a cash value benefit, which you can access while you're alive. Permanent life insurance, such as whole life insurance and universal life insurance, cost more than term life.

Some insurers offer no medical exam life insurance that approves coverage based on your application and health questionnaire alone. This option speeds up the process from weeks to days but affects your quote comparisons.

No medical exam policies work well for healthy applicants under 40 who want coverage quickly. Older applicants or those with health concerns often pay 20% to 30% more without a medical exam because insurers price in additional risk.

To get started, use online life insurance calculators and tools to estimate premiums tailored to your age, health status, and insurance requirements to find the most affordable options.  
The next step is to request quoes from multiple life insurance quotes. Insurance quotes are only comparable when you provide identical information to each company. Keep these details consistent across all applications: exact coverage amount and term length, same beneficiary arrangements and rider selections, identical answers to health and lifestyle questions, and same preferred payment method. Small differences in how you answer application questions will impact the cost of your quote.

Create a simple document with your standard answers before starting the quote process. This prevents accidentally describing your health differently to different insurers, which creates misleading rate comparisons.

When multiple insurers quote similar rates for your coverage, company reputation becomes the deciding factor. Check each insurer's AM Best rating (A- or higher) and review MoneyGeek's life insurance company ratings for customer satisfaction and claims experience.

After selecting your preferred insurer based on competitive quotes and strong ratings, confirm your payment options and verify your final rate before completing your application. Your quote typically remains valid for 30 to 60 days.

Life insurers offer annual payment options that save eight to 12% compared to monthly billing by avoiding processing fees.

Confirm that your quote includes any riders, such as disability waiver of premium or accidental death coverage, and verify the premium class you're quoted for (preferred plus, preferred, standard plus, or standard). Your final rate depends on your medical exam results unless you opted for a no medical exam policy.