In this article, you’ll learn how much a $20K life policy will cost, what types of coverage you can get, the best companies, and tips for finding the most affordable rate.

How Much Does A $20,000 Life Insurance Policy Cost?

A $20,000 life insurance policy can cost as low as $15 monthly or as much as $300. The cost of final expense insurance depends on your age, policy type, gender, state of residence, tobacco habits (if any), and health conditions.

Below is a whole life insurance rate table with some monthly price estimates for $20K in coverage. If you’re looking for a term policy, refer to these AARP term life insurance rates for estimates.

AgeFemale
Non Tobacco
Male
Non Tobacco
Female
Tobacco
Male
Tobacco
40-49$29-$34$34-$43$38-$45$48-$56
50-59$34-$46$44-$61$46-$64$56-$83
60-69$47-$74$63-$98$66-$104$88-$141
70-79$78-$139$103-$188$107-$185$146-$256
80-85$145-$196$200-$266$190-$287$271-$363
86-89$245-$388$337-$510$370-$505$565-$817

 

$20,000 Life Insurance Policy Options

In most cases, if you’re looking for a $20,000 death benefit, a final expense whole life policy will be the most common option. Final expense insurance (aka funeral or burial insurance) is a simplified whole life policy with very relaxed underwriting so that seniors with pre-existing conditions can still obtain a new policy. Whole life insurance lasts forever, the premiums never increase, and they build cash value.

A few companies offer a term life policy at this coverage amount, but it’s rare.

Tip:
Whether term or whole life, you will not have to take a medical exam for a $20K policy.

For example, Globe Life offers a $20,000 term life policy. They even sell a $10,000 term life policy. Most companies that sell term insurance require you to buy more than $20,000 in coverage (typically $50,000 and more).

Whether it’s term or whole life, when you die, the insurance company will pay your beneficiaries the death benefit as a tax-free check. There are no restrictions regarding how they spend that money. That means they can use the funds for funeral costs, medical bills, or financial debts. Additionally, they get to keep any leftover money.

 

The Best Companies For A $20,000 Whole Life Insurance Policy

Insurance CompanyCoverage & New
Applicant Age Limits
Policy Type, Length
& Product name
Mutual of Omaha company logoCoverage:
$2,000-$50,000
Age Range:
45-85
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"Living Promise"- Level
(no waiting period)
Aetna company logoCoverage:
$2,000-$50,000
Age Range:
40-89
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"Accendo"- Preferred
(no waiting period)
Aflac company logoCoverage:
$5,000-$50,000
Age Range:
45-80
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"Final Expense"- Preferred
(no waiting period)
Royal Neighbors of America company logoCoverage:
$7,000-$30,000
Age Range:
50-80
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"SIWL"
(no waiting period)
Foresters Financial company logoCoverage:
$5,000-$35,000
Age Range:
50-85
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"PlanRight"- Preferred
(no waiting period)
Transamerica company logoCoverage:
$1,000-$50,000
Age Range:
45-85
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"Immediate Solution"- Preferred
(no waiting period)
Prosperity Life Group company logoCoverage:
$5,000-$35,000
Age Range:
55-80
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"New Vista"- Level
(no waiting period)
AIG company logoCoverage:
$5,000-$25,000
Age Range:
50-80
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"Guaranteed Acceptance"
(2 Yr waiting period)
Liberty Bankers Life company logoCoverage:
$3,000-$40,000
Age Range:
50-80
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"SIMPL"- Preferred
(no waiting period)
Gerber Life company logoCoverage:
$5,000-$25,000
Age Range:
50-80
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"Guaranteed Acceptance"
(2 Yr waiting period)
American Amicable company logoCoverage:
$2,500-$50,000
Age Range:
50-85
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"Senior Choice"- Immediate
(no waiting period)
Baltimore Life company logoCoverage:
$2,500-$50,000
Age Range:
45-89
Whole Life Insurance
Lasts forever once issued
"iProvide"
(no waiting period)

 

Popular, Yet Expensive Life Insurance Companies To Avoid

Just because a company is well known does not automatically mean they are a “good company” or that their products are superior.

Below are three companies that, while well known, should be avoided because their policies are much more expensive than many other life insurance companies.

 

Colonial Penn

Choice Mutual Rating
1.0

Choice Mutual’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula considers consumer experience, policy cost, underwriting criteria, the insurer’s financial strength ratings, and complaint data.

The Colonial Penn $9.95 plan appears to be a great deal. However, when you look at a Colonial Penn price chart, you see very quickly that they are very expensive because $9.95 buys such a small amount of coverage. It’s also worth noting that all Colonial Penn life insurance policies have a two-year waiting period.

Here’s an example to illustrate how terrible of a deal Colonial Penn is. With Colonial Penn, $9.95 will give a 55-year-old male a policy worth just $1,420 in coverage. To get $20,000 of life insurance coverage, he would need to buy 15 units, costing $149.25 per month. That same man would only pay $68.69 monthly for a Mutual of Omaha whole life burial policy.

 

AARP

Choice Mutual Rating
2.5

Choice Mutual’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula considers consumer experience, policy cost, underwriting criteria, the insurer’s financial strength ratings, and complaint data.

New York Life, a good company with best-in-class financial strength, backs the AARP life insurance program. However, AARP’s final expense plans are much more expensive than dozens of other companies.

For example, it would cost a 70-year-old male $81.00 monthly for a $10,000 whole life policy with AARP. At the same time, Aflac would charge that same man only $71.98 monthly.

In addition, many seniors who apply with AARP are forced into their guaranteed acceptance policy, which is very costly and has a two-year waiting period.

 

Lincoln Heritage

Choice Mutual Rating
1.0

Choice Mutual’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula considers consumer experience, policy cost, underwriting criteria, the insurer’s financial strength ratings, and complaint data.

The Lincoln Heritage Funeral Advantage program is, on average, 25-40% more expensive than most final expense insurance companies. In addition, they often offer clients a modified plan that can be as much as 300% more expensive than other providers.

For example, a 68-year-old female would pay $133.20 monthly for a $20,000 life insurance policy. If you look at a Mutual of Omaha life insurance rate chart, it shows the same woman would only pay $93.38 for an equivalent policy.

 

How Choice Mutual Can Help You Find The Best Policy

When shopping for any type of life insurance, it’s critically important to compare multiple companies before deciding which one to buy from. The best way to compare different companies to find the lowest price and coverage with no waiting period is to consult an independent agency.

Independent agencies (aka brokers) represent multiple insurance providers rather than just one. In contrast, a captive insurance company such as State Farm can only present you with one option. If you do not like their offer, they cannot recommend another company that would be a better fit.

Choice Mutual is an independent agency that partners with over 20 final expense insurance companies. We’ll objectively compare each one to find you the lowest-cost policy.

We don’t favor one company or another. All we care about is finding each customer the best possible plan. Serving the customer’s best interest is why we have thousands of five-star reviews online.

Call us at 1-800-644-2926, and one of our helpful agents will answer all your questions and help you find the best $20,000 whole life insurance policy.

Choice Mutual often cites third-party websites to provide context and verification for specific claims made in our work. We only link to authoritative websites that are known to provide accurate information. You can learn more about our editorial standards, which guides our mission of delivering factual and impartial content.

  1. Trustpilot. https://www.trustpilot.com/review/choicemutual.com