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Term and whole life premiums vary sharply by age and policy type
Policygenius data show a $500,000 20-year term policy averaged $23.1 per month for a healthy nonsmoking 30-year-old woman, versus $408 per month for a whole life policy with the same death benefit.
Life insurance costs can range widely depending on the applicant, coverage amount, and whether the policy is term insurance or whole life, according to data cited by Yahoo Finance using the Policygenius Life Insurance Price Index.
Policygenius estimated that a healthy nonsmoking 30-year-old woman paid an average of $23.10 per month for $500,000 of coverage under a 20-year term policy in October 2025, while a 30-year-old man with the same health classification and coverage paid $29.56 per month.
The same analysis found whole life coverage is substantially more expensive, with Policygenius estimating an average cost of $408 per month for a $500,000 whole life policy for a 30-year-old woman, nearly 18 times the cost of the comparable 20-year term policy.
Age also drives pricing, with Yahoo Finance noting that the average monthly premium for a 60-year-old man was almost nine times higher than for a 30-year-old man when the policy term and death benefit were identical, based on U.S. monthly averages as of Oct. 1, 2025.