Term Life Insurance Rates by Age

Term life insurance rates by age play a major role in deciding how much you pay for your policy each year. In most cases, the younger you are when you buy a term plan, the lower your premium will be. This is because insurers assess risk while pricing term insurance, and age is the most significant risk factor in life insurance underwriting. Women often benefit from lower premiums, sometimes up to 15%, due to higher life expectancy and lower mortality rates.

This article explains how term life insurance rates by age work, why premiums rise as you get older, and how to secure the best rates without overpaying.

Term Life Insurance Rates By Age Chart

Here’s an illustrative term life insurance rates by age chart based on estimates for HDFC Life Click 2 Protect Supreme. These figures are indicative averages for a ₹1 crore sum assured, non-smoking, healthy individual, with a policy term up to age 65. Actual premiums can vary based on age, health, smoking status, tenure, and underwriting.

Note: The chart shows that premiums rise at every five-year age interval, reflecting increasing mortality risk. The increase becomes much sharper after age 35, leading to a significantly higher cost for those who delay buying.

Even for the same sum assured, entering at a later age can substantially raise your annual premium. This pricing pattern is consistent with how insurers, including HDFC Life, charge lower premiums to younger buyers, which is why buying early costs less over the policy term.

Term Life Insurance Rates Chart By Age and Maturity

Policy tenure influences term insurance premiums almost as much as your entry age. While age determines when you start paying, the maturity age decides how long the insurer remains on the line for the mortality risk, which directly impacts pricing.

As the maturity age increases, premiums rise because the likelihood of a claim becomes higher in later years. This effect becomes more pronounced when coverage extends into older age brackets.

Note: The table highlights two clear trends of HDFC Life. First, for the same entry age, premiums increase steadily as the maturity age rises. Second, the jump in premiums becomes significantly sharper once coverage extends beyond age 70.

Policies with maturity till age 70 are usually cost-efficient for most buyers. Beyond this point, premiums rise sharply because insurers factor in much higher mortality risk in advanced ages, making longer tenures disproportionately expensive.

Why are Term Life Insurance Rates are Lower for Younger People?

01

Lower Health Risk

Younger individuals are statistically less likely to suffer from lifestyle-related conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or heart disease. Since insurers assess medical risk before pricing a policy, lower health risk directly translates into lower premiums.

02

Longer Premium-Paying Period

When you buy term insurance early, insurers receive premiums over a longer duration before mortality risk increases. This extended premium-paying runway helps insurers price policies more efficiently and keeps premiums lower.

03

Fewer Exclusions And Loadings

Older applicants are more likely to face high-level medical tests, premium loadings, or policy cover/term restrictions due to existing health concerns. Younger buyers typically avoid these hurdles and qualify for standard rates.

How to Get the Best Term Life Insurance Rates?

• Buy Early, Not Only When You “Need” It: Many people postpone buying term insurance until marriage or children. From a pricing perspective, this delay is costly. Buying in your 20s or early 30s helps you lock in significantly lower premiums for the entire policy term.
• Choose a Sensible Maturity Age: For most individuals, coverage till age 70 is adequate. Extending the policy beyond this age increases premiums sharply without offering proportionate benefits.
• Avoid Over-Insuring at a Later Age: Purchasing very high coverage after 40 can substantially inflate premiums. Where possible, it is more cost-effective to secure higher coverage earlier and adjust gradually.
• Be Completely Honest About Your Health: Non-disclosure of medical details can lead to premium loadings later or, in the worst cases, claim rejection. Accurate disclosures at the time of purchase usually result in better long-term pricing.
  
  For example, smokers pay 50% to 100% higher premiums than non-smokers for the same cover, depending on age and underwriting, which makes truthful disclosure even more important.
• Compare Policy Structure, Not Just Price: Some term plans appear cheaper but compromise on payout flexibility, coverage duration, or claim servicing quality.

Why Choose Ditto for Term Insurance?

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Ditto’s Take

Term life insurance rates by age increase in a predictable but steep manner. The difference between buying a policy at 30 versus 40 is not marginal and can mean paying nearly double for the same level of coverage.

Entry age, policy tenure, and timing work together to determine what you pay. Buying early and choosing a sensible maturity age helps lock in affordable premiums for decades, while delaying the decision results in a permanent cost disadvantage. Understanding how term life insurance rates by age work upfront can help you save several lakhs over the lifetime of your policy.