Term life insurance provides inexpensive death protection and pays a benefit to your beneficiary if you die within the given term period. It is commonly referred to as “temporary insurance” or “renter’s insurance” because most people keep term insurance for a short period of time and then drop the coverage when it is no longer needed. Term is extremely popular because you can buy very large amounts of life insurance coverage without paying an excessive premium.
Term life is the simplest type of life insurance. It is designed to cover short term needs and doesn’t build cash value. Rates for term insurance are calculated based on your age, gender, health history and tobacco use. The younger you are and the better health you are in, the lower your rate. However, as you get older, the cost for term insurance increases and at some point can become cost prohibitive
Because term life premiums eventually increase in the future, most people drop their policies long before their ultimate life expectancy. For this reason, insurance companies generally have very favorable claims experience with term life making it a very profitable part of their overall business. This explains why term insurance is so cheap and as a result is one of the most popular types of life insurance you can buy.