If you're considering temporary life insurance coverage, you're looking at one of the most cost-effective ways to protect your family. Term life insurance offers affordable financial protection for a set time.

Ten-year term life insurance locks in your premium rate for the entire decade while guaranteeing your death benefit remains unchanged. Your coverage stays active as long as you pay premiums on time, providing predictable costs and reliable financial protection for your family's most critical years.

When the 10-year term expires, you have three options: renew coverage at higher age-based rates, convert to permanent life insurance without medical exams, or allow the policy to lapse. This flexibility makes 10-year term coverage ideal for protecting financial responsibilities that will decrease or disappear within the decade, such as mortgages, business loans or children's education expenses.

Insurance companies determine life insurance rates based on individual factors, including age, lifestyle, health, chosen coverage level and company.

Premium rates rise with age due to decreasing life expectancy. Here's how rates change based on your age and coverage amount:

Rates shown are estimates for nonsmokers with average weight and health ratings. Actual rates vary based on health, lifestyle and insurer underwriting guidelines. Get personalized quotes for accurate pricing.

A healthy lifestyle helps lower your premiums. Smokers have higher rates because of the health risks associated with smoking. Insurance companies also have health rating classifications to help determine rates. People who are overweight and those with poor health are charged slightly higher premiums.

Filter the table below to see the average 10-year term life insurance costs for smokers, overweight people and those in poor health.

Rates shown are estimates based on our survey methodology and may not reflect your actual premium.

MoneyGeek analyzed average rates from different insurers to help you find the best life insurance companies for a 10-year term policy. Lincoln Financial offers the lowest price for a policy with $100,000 coverage at $9 per month or $105 per year.

Rates are based on MoneyGeek's 2025 survey of major life insurance carriers for a 40-year-old male nonsmoker with average health and weight. These may not reflect your actual premium.

Before buying a 10-year term life insurance policy, estimate how much you might pay based on age, health and coverage amount. Use the quote calculator below to compare rates and narrow down the most cost-effective options for your needs.

A 10-year term life insurance policy offers affordable, time-limited coverage ideal for short-term financial needs like mortgage protection or income replacement.

Our research shows 10-year term policies cost less than longer-term options while providing the same death benefit protection. Rates vary depending on your age, health, lifestyle and coverage amount.

Here are the most common questions about 10-year term life insurance:

Ten-year term life insurance works well if you need temporary coverage for a specific debt or financial obligation. We analyzed rates from major insurers to help you find affordable options without paying for longer coverage periods you might not need.

We built our analysis around a 40-year-old male non-smoker at 5 feet 9 inches and 160 pounds with an average health rating; a profile that reflects someone evaluating term coverage for mortgage protection or family security during a specific financial window. This baseline captures what typical applicants pay when they don't have health complications that increase premiums.

Our quotes came from companies with broad national availability and online quoting systems, so the rates you see reflect policies you can actually access. We then adjusted age, gender, height, weight and health ratings to understand how premiums shift across different customer profiles. Insurers price 10-year terms differently from longer policies because the risk of paying a death benefit within a decade is lower, and we wanted to identify which companies recognize this with genuinely competitive rates.

We also examined multiple term lengths and coverage amounts to spot pricing patterns that reveal which insurers consistently deliver value for shorter commitments.