20-year term life insurance
The default choice. Do the arithmetic before accepting it as yours.
Twenty years is the most commonly bought term length, and for many households it fits well.
It's also the length people default to without checking, which is how coverage ends up expiring with a mortgage still running and a teenager still at home.
The arithmetic
Add twenty to your current age, and to your youngest child's age, and check the year against your mortgage payoff date.
A thirty-two-year-old with a newborn and a thirty-year mortgage finds a twenty-year term ends at fifty-two, with a twenty-year-old possibly still in education and ten years of mortgage left. That's the case for going longer.
Where twenty years fits well
- Children already at primary school when you buy
- A mortgage with roughly twenty years to run
- Buying in your late thirties or forties with dependants
- A partner who'd be self-sufficient within two decades
- A twenty-year business loan or partnership obligation
Where it falls short
- A newborn and a thirty-year mortgage bought in your early thirties
- A lifelong dependant — that's a permanent need, not a term one
- Plans to fund education for a very young child
- Retirement more than twenty years away with a partner relying on your income
Twenty versus thirty
Get both quotes at the same amount before deciding. Thirty-year coverage costs more monthly and removes the risk of having to re-buy in your fifties at whatever health you then have.
If the difference is modest and the need might run long, thirty is usually the better decision.
Whichever you choose
Confirm the premium is guaranteed level for the full term, get a conversion privilege and note its expiry date, and check the renewal terms at the end of the level period.
Common questions
Add twenty to your age and your youngest child's age and check it against your mortgage payoff year. If either lands past the end of the term, you're ten years short.
Get both quotes at the same amount. Thirty costs more monthly and removes the risk of re-buying in your fifties at whatever health you then have — often the better decision if the need might run long.
You can usually reduce coverage or add a second policy later. A conversion privilege also lets you move to permanent coverage without proving your health again — note its expiry date when you buy.
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This page is general information, not advice about your specific circumstances. A licensed insurance professional can tell you what’s actually available to you.
General information only, not insurance advice. Coverage, availability, and terms vary by insurer and by state, and are subject to underwriting. Quote My Policy LLC is a licensed insurance producer. Nothing here binds coverage.