Term life insurance · Texas
Term Life Insurance in Texas
Term life insurance in Texas costs a healthy 35-year-old roughly $25–$32 a month for $500,000 of 20-year level coverage. Below are sample Texas rates by age, how laddering cuts the total cost, and which carriers underwrite Texas applicants most competitively.
Get a Texas term quoteKey takeaways
- Term is the cheapest way to cover a mortgage, income, and childcare years — 10 to 30 years of level premiums, no cash value.
- Texas premiums are set by age, health class, and tobacco use, not by your ZIP code. Rates rise about 8–10% per year of age.
- Laddering two or three policies with different level periods usually beats one flat 30-year policy on total cost.
- Texas Insurance Code §1108 shields proceeds from most creditors, and the state requires a free-look refund window.
- No-exam accelerated underwriting reaches $3M for healthy applicants under 50, often decided in 24–72 hours.
What does term life insurance cost in Texas?
Sample monthly premiums for $500,000 of level term at a preferred non-tobacco class. Actual offers depend on build, labs, prescription history, driving record, and family history — treat these as a planning range, not a quote.
| Age | Male, 20-yr | Male, 30-yr | Female, 20-yr | Female, 30-yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | $21 | $36 | $18 | $30 |
| 40 | $32 | $58 | $26 | $47 |
| 50 | $79 | $148 | $60 | $110 |
| 60 | $222 | $430 | $152 | $295 |
Tobacco use typically doubles or triples these figures. Rate classes and forms are filed with the Texas Department of Insurance.
How does a Texas term ladder work?
Your obligations shrink over time, so your death benefit should too. A ladder stacks separate policies that expire as each obligation ends — instead of paying 30-year pricing on coverage you only need for ten.
$250k · 10-year
Covers daycare, private school, and the front half of a car note.
$250k · 20-year
Covers the years until the youngest child finishes college.
$500k · 30-year
Covers the mortgage balance and long-run income replacement.
A ladder like this commonly runs 15–25% less over its lifetime than a single $1,000,000 30-year policy, while carrying the same protection during the years the family is most exposed.
Which carriers are most competitive for Texas term?
Richard Parslow is independent (NPN 20873424, Texas license 3076729) and shops 30+ carriers. Which one wins depends entirely on your health profile — there is no single "best" company.
Banner Life / Legal & General America
Aggressive pricing on $500k+ 20- and 30-year term; generous on well-controlled blood pressure.
Protective Life
Low-cost 30- and 40-year term. Competitive for Texas applicants in their 40s and 50s.
Pacific Life
Strong conversion privileges — the whole product shelf stays open through the level period.
Symetra / SBLI
Fast accelerated underwriting; frequent no-exam approvals in 24–72 hours under $1M.
Mutual of Omaha
Forgiving on build charts and diabetes; useful when a preferred class isn't realistic.
See the full ranked breakdown in best life insurance companies in Texas.
Term life questions Texans ask
- How much does term life insurance cost in Texas?
- A healthy 35-year-old Texan typically pays about $25–$32 a month for a $500,000 20-year level term policy. Rates rise roughly 8–10% for each year you wait, and tobacco use commonly doubles or triples the premium.
- How much term coverage do I need?
- A common benchmark is 10–15x household income, plus the mortgage balance and an allowance per child for college. In Texas, factor in property taxes — they continue after a death and are among the highest in the country.
- What is a term ladder?
- Instead of buying one large 30-year policy, you stack policies with different level periods — for example $250k for 10 years, $250k for 20 years, and $500k for 30 years. Coverage steps down as your mortgage and childcare obligations end, which usually costs materially less than a single flat policy.
- Can I get term life in Texas without a medical exam?
- Yes. Several carriers issue up to $3 million with accelerated underwriting for healthy applicants under 50, using prescription, MVR, and MIB data instead of a paramedical exam. Decisions often come back in 24–72 hours.
- Does Texas give me a free look on a new term policy?
- Yes. Texas requires a free-look period — at least 10 days for most individual life policies — during which you can return the policy for a full premium refund. Verify the exact window printed on your contract's first page.
- Are term life death benefits protected from creditors in Texas?
- Texas Insurance Code §1108 generally exempts life insurance proceeds and cash values from the claims of the insured's or beneficiary's creditors, with limited exceptions such as fraudulent transfers.
Keep reading
- Texas life insurance guide hub — beneficiary rules, underwriting, and coverage basics.
- Mortgage protection vs level term — why decreasing term usually pays less.
- Converting term to permanent in Texas — deadlines and product shelves.
- Return-of-premium term — when the refund is worth the markup.
Price your Texas term policy
Twenty minutes, real carrier numbers, and a written laddering recommendation. No hard sell.