A 40-year life insurance policy offers decades of protection for your loved ones, but is it right for your needs and budget?
Get everything you need here to make an informed decision about your life insurance.
- Why Choose a 40-Year Term Life Insurance Policy?
- Where Can You Get 40-Year Term Life Insurance?
- Top Companies for 40-Year Term Life Insurance
- Are There Downsides to 40-Year Term Life Insurance?
- What Does 40-Year Term Life Insurance Cost?
- 40-year term vs. 30-year term: A Cost Comparison
- Your 40-Year Term Life Insurance Questions Answered
- Final Words
Why Choose a 40-Year Term Life Insurance Policy?
Here are just a few of the many advantages of 40-year term life insurance:
In the past, if you needed coverage for 40 years, your only option was a universal or whole-life policy.
But now you can choose a term policy with a 40-year guarantee, which may be a great idea for:
- Retirement – This policy may cover you and your spouse until retirement.
- Real Estate – Coverage for mortgages & home equity loans.
- College Loans – Will you have debt after the kids graduate?
- Weddings – If you borrowed money, you’re still covered.
- Permanent Insurance Alternative – Compare to whole or universal life.
- One and Done – This may be the last policy you ever buy!
- Business – For key person life insurance.
- New York – Both companies are available in New York.
It’s a great alternative to group life insurance through work.
So whether you’re a police officer or a CPA, this may be the last policy you need to buy.
Another advantage of Banner Life is their accelerated underwriting which offers up to $2 million life insurance with no medical exam.
In some cases, it’s possible to get instant life insurance approval. Banner uses Human API and MIB record reviews to accelerate this process.
Where Can You Get 40-Year Term Life Insurance?
The 40-year term life insurance market is still developing, but a few key players have emerged:
- Banner Life – The first to market with a 40-year term.
- Protective Life – Quickly followed suit with its 40-year term duration.
- Kansas City Life – Offers a term to 85 with a 40+ year guarantee.
Banner Life and Protective Life are the only life insurance companies that offer this type of life insurance.
Kansas City’s product guarantees the term to age 85 and offers the potential for a cash value term life insurance policy. So while it’s similar to a 40-year term, it is also very different.
Previously, a 30-year or 35-year term policy was the longest duration available.
Top Companies for 40-Year Term Life Insurance
| Description | Banner Life | Protective Life | Kansas City Life |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issue Ages: | 20 – 45 (40 – tobacco) | 18 – 45 (40 – tobacco) | 18-45 |
| Minimum Face Amount | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 |
| Riders(1) | Accel. Death | Accel. Death | Terminal Illness |
| Child Rider | Child Rider | Child Rider | |
| Waiver of Premium | Waiver of Premium | Waiver of Premium | |
| Term Riders | N/A | Spouse Term | |
| N/A | Income Provider Option | Income Assured Option | |
| N/A | Accidental Death | Accidental Death | |
| Underwriting Classes | Preferred Plus | Select Preferred | Preferred Elite |
| Preferred | Preferred | Preferred | |
| Standard Plus | N/A | Standard Select | |
| Standard | Standard | Standard | |
| Preferred Tobacco | N/A | Preferred Tobacco | |
| Standard Tobacco | Tobacco | Standard Tobacco |
Conversion Privilege for 40-Year Term
You may convert the policy to permanent life insurance based on each company’s rules:
- Banner Life – Conversion to age 70 or until the end of the level term period, whichever comes first.
- Protective – Conversion privilege lasts up to 18 years.
- Kansas City Life – Conversion available to age 65 for insureds who took out their policy between 18-60. No conversion for issue ages 61 or older.
Are There Downsides to 40-Year Term Life Insurance?
The disadvantages of a 40-year term are few but are important to consider:
- Price – Coverage is more expensive than a 20-year- or 30-year term.
- Competitors – Only a few companies offer this term length.
- Commitment – Do you need a term life of 40 years?
- Age Limits – These products have age 45 cutoffs. Age 40 for smokers at Banner and Protective.
- Not Smoker Friendly – Rates are expensive if you smoke cigars, chew tobacco, use marijuana, or pipe smokers.
And while Protective offers a 40-year term if you buy coverage through us, you can’t get this term length through their Costco program.
You can use a 40-year term for business life insurance collateral if you like, and can always change your beneficiaries and settlement options later when you pay off your loan.
What Does 40-Year Term Life Insurance Cost?
| Description | Banner Life | Protective Life |
|---|---|---|
| Female – Age 30 | $38.48 | $38.49 |
| Male – Age 30 | $53.26 | $53.27 |
| Female – Age 35 | $51.83 | $51.84 |
| Male – Age 35 | $69.73 | $69.74 |
| Female – Age 40 | $89.86 | $89.87 |
| Male – Age 40 | $112.45 | $112.46 |
| Female – Age 45 | $145.14 | $145.15 |
| Male – Age 45 | $185.50 | $185.51 |
40-year term vs. 30-year term: A Cost Comparison
It doesn’t! You will pay 56-144% more for the extra 10 years!
Check out this chart comparing the best 40-year to 30-year products.
| Description | 30-Year | 40-Year | % Increase 30 to 40 Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female – Age 30 | $24.53 | $38.48 | 56.80% |
| Male – Age 30 | $29.12 | $53.26 | 82.90% |
| Female – Age 35 | $28.59 | $51.83 | 81.29% |
| Male – Age 35 | $34.06 | $69.73 | 104.73% |
| Female – Age 40 | $38.89 | $89.86 | 131.06% |
| Male – Age 40 | $48.93 | $112.45 | 129.82% |
| Female – Age 45 | $58.95 | $145.14 | 146.21% |
| Male – Age 45 | $76.17 | $185.50 | 143.53% |
The bottom line is 40-year term needs to make sense for your situation, otherwise, it’s not worth the price.
How to Use a Life Insurance Ladder Strategy with 40-Year Term
A ladder strategy using Banner’s 40-year term life coupled with term riders of various durations may be an option worth considering.
Laddering is simply combining multiple term lengths to achieve your objective.
It can be done by purchasing multiple policies or if using Banner Life, you can have various term lengths in one policy.
Laddering is used to lower the overall cost of your life insurance.
Term riders are available in 10, 15, and 20-year terms, and you may add multiple riders to your base policy.
Here’s an Example: $2,500,000 of coverage is needed but you don’t want to spend that much on a 40-year term.
The following example compares buying all 40-year coverage vs having multiple term lengths.
| Description | $2.5 Million 40-Year Term | $1 Million 40-Tear Term with $1.5 M Riders |
|---|---|---|
| Base Policy | $3843 | $1608 |
| 20-Yr. Rider – $500k | – | $151 |
| 15-Yr. Rider – $500k | – | $108 |
| 10-Yr. Rider – $500k | – | $105 |
| Total Annual Premium | $3843 | $1972 |
It’s a great way to dial in the amount of life insurance you need to protect your family.
While Protective doesn’t offer term riders, you can still ladder coverage by purchasing multiple policies.
If you think about the various obligations and goals you want, we can custom-tailor coverage and term lengths to meet your exact needs.
Your 40-Year Term Life Insurance Questions Answered
You have questions about 40-year term life and we have the answers.
Final Words
Banner Life and Protective Life have led the term life insurance marketplace for many years.
Their term life insurance rates are usually some of the most competitive.
And with a 40-year guarantee, you can lock up coverage for a long time and not have to worry about your family supporting themselves with a GoFundMe life insurance campaign.
Furthermore, Banner and Protective offer no-exam life insurance (for some cases) and e-application options to simplify the process.
Please take a few minutes to submit your no-pressure, no-obligation quote request today.
We’ll provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision about your life insurance.
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