Life Insurance Statistics

US life insurance statistics

The following statistics were taken from reports conducted by the Insurance Information Institute, Best Life Rates, and Statistica. 

• MetLife Inc. leads with 13% of the insurance company market and writes more life/annuity insurance than any other company in the U.S. 
• In 2019, annuities were the largest life product line as measured by direct premiums written. This accounts for 48% of direct premiums written by life insurers.
• 30% of Americans who have life insurance are only insured through a group.
• 20% of Americans with life insurance believe they do not have enough coverage.
• 83% of Americans would consider life insurance as a purchase if it was easier to understand.
• 51% of Americans would purchase life insurance from a person.
• 52% of Americans think life insurance is too expensive.

Millennial life insurance statistics

These statistics and more can be found at the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association, New York Life Insurance, and Legal & General.

• Only 10% of millennials report that they have life insurance coverage they need.
• 44% of millennials are not financially ready to deal with the unexpected death of the family breadwinner. 
• Half of the millennials overestimate the cost of coverage. 
• 52% of millennials own life insurance, even though 80% recognize they need it.
• 9 in 10 overestimated the cost of a life insurance policy for a 30-year-old.
• 36% of millennials with joint mortgages without life insurance reported that in the event of their death, their partner couldn’t afford mortgage payments with their income alone.

World life insurance statistics

For more details on the following statistics, view the full reports at the Swiss Re Institute, Market Research.com, Statistica, GlobalData, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, and Legal & General. 

• In 2012, life insurance represented 61.1% of the insurance industry in Malaysia, making it the largest segment in the Malaysian insurance industry.
• In 2015, The Philippine life insurance was monitored by five leading companies that accounted for 62.2% of the total premium income.
• In 2019, global life insurance premiums grew 2.2%, faster than the 1.5% rise in 2009 to 2018.
• In 2019, life premiums in South Africa amounted to over 37.7 billion U.S. dollars.
• In 2020, the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India issued around 21.9 million new individual policies.
• In 2021 in Australia, the market size of the Life Insurance industry is $32.2 billion dollars. 
• An estimated 3.7 million millennials in the UK have life insurance that isn’t an employee benefit.

Should you buy whole life insurance?

Whole life insurance is the most common type of life insurance policy. Whole life insurance has a number of benefits, including the ability to build cash value over time. However, as monthly premiums can run substantially higher than the average term life policy, whole life insurance may not be right for everyone. Read on to find out more about the perk

Whole life insurance statistics

Whole life insurance is important to consider when looking for a new life insurance policy. The following statistics shed some light on the value and interest in whole life across multiple generations and years. For more data, consider the reports from Policy Genius and Statistica. 

• The cost for a life insurance policy policy that accrues cash value and has a guaranteed death benefit is on average 8 times higher than a term life policy with similar coverage.
• Whole life policies will cost more than other life insurance policies at about $3,000 to $5,000 or more annually depending on the age and health of the insured.
• 70% of whole life insurance policies are bought by millennials and the boomer generation.
• 46% of millennials who purchased permanent products purchased a whole life policy, followed by a universal life policy (25%).
• In 2017, whole life was the most common type of permanent life insurance purchased. 

What is term life insurance?

Term life insurance is a type of temporary, short-term life insurance that pays a death benefit to your beneficiaries should you pass away while the policy is in effect. A death benefit is a monetary sum that can provide a safety net to your family and loved ones in the form of some financial security upon your passing.

The most common term life insurance policy duration is 10 years. If the insured lives beyond the specified period in which the policy is active, the policy simply expires and the insured would need to renew or enroll in another life insurance policy.

Term life insurance payout statistics

Term life is another option to consider when purchasing a life insurance policy. Here are some statistics to remember before moving forward. To follow up on this data, find the full reports at Penn State University and Consumer Reports. 

• 99% of all term policies never pay out a claim. This is due to most people letting their policies lapse.
• If you buy a $250,000, 20-year term policy, and inflation is about 4% a year, your policy will lose 56% of its value over the next 20 years. 
• In 2015, the average life insurance policy in the U.S. carried a face value of $160,000. 
• The average unclaimed life insurance benefit is $2,000, but other payouts can yield $300,000.

Life insurance agent statistics

The following statistics are taken from major data sources, such as Statistica, Insurance Information Institute, the 2020 Insurance Barometer study, Zippia, and Best Life Rates. 

• In 2018, there were 1.2 million insurance brokers, agents, and employees in the United States.
• From 2010 to 2019 independent insurance agents’ share of the individual life insurance market lifted from 48% to 54%.
• 27% of respondents said they rely on the first life insurance company that appears on their search result to purchase their policy.
• 26% of people use Facebook, 11% use Instagram, and 9% use Twitter to verify the validity of an insurer, website, financial advisor, or life insurance agent before doing business with them. 
• In 2018, over half (51%) of all life insurance policies were written by independent agents.
• The average employee age for life insurance agents is 44 years. 
• 44.9% of life insurance agents are women and 50.3% are men.
• 71% of life insurance agents identify as White, while 14.8% identify as Hispanic or Latino and only 7.9% identify as Black or African American.

What do you need to know about life insurance?

Most causes of death are covered by life insurance, including natural causes, accidents, and illness. There may be stipulations around suicide, however, and life insurance may consider it exempt from coverage within the first number of years of having the policy. 

Another factor to consider — aside from how much insurance you need — is what type of life insurance is best for you and your family members. There are three kinds of life insurance policies to choose from: term life, whole life, and universal life. 

Lastly, it’s time to consider if life insurance is a good purchase for you right now. Life insurance could be a smart long-term investment for those who are:

• The sole financial provider in a household
• Parents, including stay-at-home partners, divorced or single parents, and parents of a special-needs child
• Homeowners with a mortgage
• Business owners
• High net-worth individuals
• Those paying off debt
• Those concerned about funeral costs
• Those looking to provide an inheritance

Frequently Asked Questions: Life insurance