Best term life insurance companies

Term life insurance is the simplest form of coverage, but Prudential caters to its customers’ unique needs by offering six different policies. Along with standard term life plans, it has a return of premium policy that reimburses you for any premiums paid if you outlive your term. It also sells annual renewable term life coverage, and a PruTerm WorkLife policy to help policyholders to prepare for retirement.

New York Life allows policyholders to customize their term length to suit specific needs. Along with offering standard terms, the insurer lets you choose any term length between 10 and 20 years. For example, you could take out a 12-year policy that lasts until your spouse reaches retirement and starts receiving Social Security benefits, or 17-year policy that carries your youngest kid through college.

Most insurers require you to purchase a policy worth at least $100,000. But with Transamerica, you can buy as little as $25,000 in coverage. This lower entry point makes it one of the more affordable options for term life insurance.

Transamerica’s term life plans are convertible and available in terms of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years. This is rare — many insurance companies cap their term life insurance policies at 20 years. Finally, Transamerica offers flexible death benefit options: Choose between a level, increasing or decreasing term.

If you need a larger policy but want to skip the medical exam, Lincoln Financial is one of the more generous insurers. It issues up to $1 million in term life insurance without a medical exam, and allows policyholder to convert their coverage to a permanent policy later down the track. The insurer offers coverage in 10-, 15-, 20- and 30-year term lengths.

Amica made waves in the term life insurance market with its Cost of Living Adjustment rider. Usually only available with permanent policies, the rider continually adjusts your policy’s death benefit to align with inflation.

While you pay the same premium each month or year, the face value of your policy rises. If you die during the term, your beneficiaries receive a payout that mirrors the current market conditions.

While all of the policies on this list come with a convertibility feature, you could potentially boost your earnings even more by choosing MassMutual. It’s a mutual company, and has paid out dividends to its permanent policyholders every year since the 1860s.

In 2019, it approved an estimated $1.72 billion payout — a record number. Since dividends aren’t guaranteed, this is an impressive achievement — and one you might benefit from in the future.