A blunt, three-minute walkthrough of US life cover. What you actually need, what to ignore, and a real monthly figure — no email required to see the price.
01 · What moves the number
01
The single biggest lever. Every year you delay adds roughly 8–12% to your premium. Non-smokers pay about half of what smokers do.
02
The lazy rule is 10× salary. The real answer: mortgage balance + (dependants' yearly costs × years until independent) + funeral. Term length should match your youngest child's age to 21.
03
Level term (fixed payout), decreasing term (matches a repayment mortgage), or whole-of-life (pays out whenever). One is cheap and finite. One is not.
02 · What people actually pay
| Age | $150k / 20yr non-smoker | $250k / 25yr non-smoker | $250k / 25yr smoker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | $7.20 | $11.40 | $24.80 |
| 35 | $8.80 | $14.20 | $31.60 |
| 40 | $12.60 | $20.80 | $46.10 |
| 50 | $28.40 | $47.20 | $108.30 |
Illustrative level-term premiums across 40+ US insurers. Health, occupation, and lifestyle questions will move your real quote up or down.
03 · The obvious questions