Check what you already have first: group life through work, SGLI for service members or FEGLI for federal employees. For an individual policy, Fabric by Gerber Life is our top pick for $100,000 to $5 million of 10 to 30 year coverage with no exam for qualified applicants, Prudential suits policies up to $65 million, and Banner Life offers terms up to 40 years. Choose a term that matches your longest obligation, an insurer rated A or better by AM Best, and compare quotes for the same amount from at least three insurers.
This guide is for people buying term life insurance on their own. We compared Fabric by Gerber Life, Prudential, Banner Life (formerly Legal & General America), SBLI, Mutual of Omaha and Amica Life, plus two agencies that compare insurers, SelectQuote and AccuQuote.
Term life pays your beneficiaries if you die during the term and costs much less than permanent coverage. The differences that matter are the insurer's financial strength, the term lengths and coverage it offers, and whether you can skip the medical exam.
Below you will find coverage to check before you buy, each pick's published terms and weak spots, and how complaint records and state guaranty associations protect you.
Coverage to check before you buy
You may already have some life insurance, or access to low-cost group coverage:
- Through work. Many employers include group life coverage. It usually ends or must be converted if you leave the job, so treat it as a base, not your whole plan.
- Service members. SGLI offers up to $500,000 in $50,000 steps; the maximum costs $26 a month including traumatic injury coverage. After you leave the military you can convert to VGLI within 1 year and 120 days, or to an individual policy within 120 days, without a health exam.
- Federal employees. FEGLI Basic coverage is automatic for most new federal workers. You pay two-thirds of the cost of Basic, the government pays one-third, and your age does not affect the Basic price.
Compare what you already have with how much your family would need, then buy individual term coverage for the gap.
How much term life insurance costs
Few insurers publish prices. As listed October 2026, Fabric shows coverage from $7.85 a month for a 25-year-old woman buying $100,000, and Banner Life advertises term from $8 a month. Prudential, Mutual of Omaha and Amica quote only after you answer questions.
Your price depends on age, health, tobacco use, coverage amount and term length. Term prices are level for the term at all of these insurers, so locking in younger costs less. Return-of-premium versions, like Mutual of Omaha’s, cost more because they refund premiums if you outlive the policy.
How to choose a term life insurance company
- Match the term to your longest need. A 30-year mortgage or young children may call for 25 to 30 years. Banner Life goes to 40 years.
- Check financial strength. AM Best rates insurers on their ability to pay claims. Fabric’s insurers, Prudential, Mutual of Omaha and Amica are rated A+ (Superior); Banner Life and SBLI are rated A (Excellent).
- Ask about the medical exam. Fabric, Prudential SimplyTerm and Amica offer no-exam paths for qualified applicants; larger amounts often need an exam.
- Look for conversion rights. Prudential and Amica let you convert to permanent coverage without a new exam within set limits.
- Check complaints and your state’s guaranty association. See the sections below.
Term life or another type of policy
Term life covers a set number of years and has no cash value, which is why it costs far less than whole or universal life for the same death benefit. It fits most families who need coverage while children are young or a mortgage is unpaid.
If you want lifelong coverage, cash value or a policy for estate planning, compare whole and universal life in our best life insurance companies guide, which covers term and permanent options from several of the same insurers.
Complaint records and state guaranty associations
Complaints. Use the NAIC’s Consumer Insurance Search to find the exact insurer named on your policy, such as United of Omaha Life Insurance Company or Pruco Life Insurance Company, then review its complaint record there or with your state insurance department. Check the issuing insurer, not the agency or app you bought through.
Guaranty associations. If a life insurer fails, your state’s life and health insurance guaranty association steps in to continue coverage and pay claims. Under the NAIC model law, protection is typically up to $300,000 in death benefits and $100,000 in cash surrender value per insured, but limits vary by state, so check with your state’s association. Keeping coverage within those limits at any one insurer is one way to limit risk on very large policies.
Red flags before you sign
- An agent pushing permanent coverage when your need ends in 20 or 30 years.
- A quote site that will not name the insurer before you share contact details.
- Leaving health or tobacco details off an application, which can lead to a denied claim.
- Dropping an existing policy before the new one is approved and in force.
- An insurer you cannot find in the NAIC Consumer Insurance Search.
Terms to know
- Term life insurance
- A policy that pays a death benefit if you die within a set number of years and has no cash value.
- Level term
- A term policy whose premium and death benefit stay the same for the whole term.
- AM Best rating
- An independent grade of an insurer's financial strength and ability to pay claims.
- Accelerated underwriting
- An approval process that uses health questions and data instead of a medical exam.
- Conversion option
- The right to switch a term policy to permanent coverage without a new medical exam.
- Return of premium
- A term policy that refunds premiums if you outlive the term, at a higher price.
- Guaranty association
- A state organization that continues coverage and pays claims, up to limits, if an insurer fails.
