Infographic: Affordable Life Insurance More Common Than Most People Think

2015 Insurance Barometer Study: The True Cost of Life Insurance. 3 out of 4 people say they have a good understanding of life insurance. But do they, really? When it comes to cost… they don’t! When asked how much the yearly cost would be for a 20-year $250,000 level term life insurance policy for a healthy 30-year old, 80% of respondents overestimated the cost. Respondents guessed an average of $400 a year. Those under 25 – people who tend to pay the least for coverage – said they estimated cost at $600 a year. And one in four respondents thought it would be $1,000 a year or more.

But the true cost for that $250,000 policy is about $160 a year. That’s a little over 40 cents a day for $13 a month. Note: Life insurance quote is from Quick Life Center, quoted in April 2015.To put it into perspective, here’s what the cost of a $250,000 policy looks like compared with what many people spend per month. Life Insurance average per month is $13. Cell phone average is $61 a month according to New Street Research, The Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2014. Cable TV monthly cost is $64 according to Report on Cable Industry Prices, Federal Communications Commission, May 16, 2014. Coffee on the way to work costs an average of $80 a month and take out lunch costs $140 a month according to Accounting Principals’ Workonomix Survey, conducted by Braun Research, 2013. Trimming just a few dollars from any of these would make getting and affording life insurance a no-brainer. Learn more at www.lifehappens.org/baramoter. Sources: All data is from the 2015 Insurance Barometer Study by Life Happens and LIMRA, unless otherwise noted previously.