Facts About Life Insurance: Must-Know Statistics in 2023

The cost of life insurance varies depending on your age, medical history and the type of insurance you’re looking for. For example, term life coverage will be more affordable than whole or permanent life insurance.

No matter which type of policy you sign up for, you’ll have to pay a life insurance premium each month to keep the coverage. Look at the average life insurance rates by age chart below to get an idea of how much you may pay per month.

This data was found by Policygenius using sample premiums for non-smokers with a Preferred health rating.

According to the head of customer acquisition at Haven Life, the average life insurance payout, or policy face value, at their company is roughly $618,000.

Keep in mind that every insurance company will likely have different averages based on their location and typical customer demographic. Data from Statista shows an overall average life insurance payout in the U.S. of $168,000.

Your payout value, or face amount, is the sum of money that will be paid to your beneficiaries if you pass away, so it’s important to determine how much you’ll want to leave behind. Maybe it will only be around $168,000, or maybe you’d rather leave closer to $1 million. Whatever you decide, make sure it’s right for your family and circumstances.

There are many long-term financial benefits to having life insurance, including tax-free payouts and accumulated cash value that can supplement retirement income. So how many people have life insurance and possibly benefit from such gains?

According to LIMRA, only 54 percent of Americans had a life insurance policy in 2020, even though 70 percent said they needed such insurance. This same study found that 39 percent of people had an individual plan and only 25 percent had an insurance policy from a group plan.

While life insurance companies account for different shares of the market, the same is true for individual states. States with larger populations are more likely to have greater sums of money in the life insurance industry.

Below is a breakdown of the amount of life insurance purchased in each state in 2018, according to data from Statista. The amounts are in billions of dollars.

Life insurance claims for 2020 totaled $747 billion, a $14 billion decrease from 2019 and a $35 billion decrease from 2018, according to data from the Insurance Information Institute.

Surrender benefits and withdrawals account for the largest portion of the $747 billion at a total of $323 billion. Disability, accident and health benefits account for $137 billion, and annuity benefits account for $86 billion.

Market capitalization is the total value of a company traded on the stock market. Companies with a large capitalization (often $10 billion or more) are more established and well known.

According to Statista, the two largest life insurance companies in the U.S. based on their market cap are MetLife at $53.57 billion and Aflac at $35.5 billion.

Largest life insurance companies by world region include:

When shopping for life insurance, it’s easy to be bombarded with information. Knowing what is fact and what is not can help you make a more informed decision about your life insurance policy.

There are many benefits to having life insurance, such as peace of mind knowing your family will be taken care of. However, there are also other types of insurance you should consider to make sure you’re prepared for any emergency.

Other insurance plans include health coverage, renters or homeowners insurance, dental insurance and car insurance. If you’re 65 or older, you can benefit from government-sponsored health coverage, otherwise known as Medicare.

Purchasing a life insurance policy is one of the best ways to protect your family if something were to happen to you. It’s also an essential part of any healthy retirement plan. If, after looking through these facts about life insurance, you have additional questions about different policies, talk with a life insurance expert to learn more.