46-Year-Old Term Life Insurance Rates

It depends on how much coverage you want, the term length, and your health. A realistic benchmark at 46: about $106.18/mo for a healthy man or $79.24/mo for a healthy woman buys $1,000,000 of 20-year coverage at preferred (best) rates. Less coverage or a shorter term costs less; the tables on this page show every combination for your age.

At 46, a healthy non-smoking man pays about $56.53/mo for a $500,000 20-year term policy at the best (preferred) rates, or about $90.42/mo at standard rates. A 25-year term runs about $82.22/mo; a shorter term costs less. Smoking is the biggest swing — the same policy is about $268.89/mo at smoker rates. See the table on this page for every coverage and term at 46.

At 46, a $1,000,000 20-year term policy costs about $106.18/mo for a healthy non-smoking man and about $79.24/mo for a healthy non-smoking woman, at preferred rates. Carriers will issue $1M of term at 46 when your income supports it — underwriting at this age generally allows up to about 25× annual income, so roughly $40,000+ of annual income justifies it. A shorter term costs less, a longer term more.

A lot — often two to three times the non-smoking rate, though the gap narrows at older ages. At 46, $1,000,000 of 20-year coverage runs about $165.07/mo at a standard non-smoking rate versus about $513.61/mo at smoker rates — roughly 3.1× more. Carriers treat smoking as one of the single biggest rating factors, because the mortality difference is large.

For most people, yes — term life is the most affordable way to cover a time-bound need, such as a mortgage, a business loan, or income for the people who depend on you: at 46, about $106.18/mo for a healthy man or $79.24/mo for a healthy woman covers $1,000,000 on a 20-year term. You're buying coverage for a set period rather than forever, which fits a need that has an end date. If your need is lifelong — final expenses or estate planning — permanent insurance is the better fit.

Many things can disqualify you from life insurance, including drug use, lack of income, medical issues, multiple DUIs, and more. The diseases that can lead to an outright decline are the ones with high near-term mortality: active or recently-treated cancer, advanced heart disease (a recent heart attack, moderate-to-severe cardiomyopathy, or coronary artery disease with complications), a recent stroke or any stroke under age 50, cirrhosis, COPD that requires oxygen, kidney failure on dialysis, HIV, an organ transplant, diabetes with significant complications, and dementia. Most chronic conditions that are diagnosed and managed — type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, a past cancer in remission, hepatitis C, thyroid conditions — do not disqualify you; carriers underwrite them every day.

Yes — and it may not even raise your rate. Underwriters care whether your blood pressure is controlled, not whether you take medication to control it. Treated, well-controlled blood pressure is one of the situations carriers specifically allow into their best rate classes: as a rule of thumb, average readings under about 135/85 can reach preferred rates.

Yes, if it's extremely high or uncontrolled. Controlled high blood pressure — even if it takes one or more medications — is one of the conditions carriers actively welcome, often at preferred rates. Underwriters look at your average readings over the past two years; well-managed numbers (broadly, under the mid-150s/90s) are accepted, and under 140/90 can still earn preferred pricing. A denial for blood pressure alone happens when readings are high and not under control, which signals untreated cardiovascular risk.

Yes, after a waiting period. Most carriers postpone an application for about six months following a heart attack, then will consider you once you've recovered and your cardiologist has documented stable follow-up. The rate depends on the details — your age at the event, heart function, and how well any underlying coronary disease is managed — and usually lands in a 'rated' class rather than preferred. Coronary artery disease is one of the impairments carriers work to place rather than decline. A heart attack within the last six months is the main scenario that's temporarily off the table.

Rarely. Type 2 diabetes is one of the conditions carriers are most experienced at insuring. A decline generally happens only when diabetes comes with significant complications (kidney, eye, or nerve damage, or related heart disease) or when blood sugar is very poorly controlled. Well-controlled diabetes — especially adult-onset — can qualify for standard or even better-than-standard rates. So the diagnosis itself doesn't deny you; uncontrolled diabetes with complications does.

Usually not. Carriers use a height-and-weight ('build') chart, and the allowances are more generous than people expect — someone 5'10", for instance, can weigh into the 260s and still qualify for a standard rate, and into the 280s and still be insurable. Higher weights don't trigger an automatic decline; they move you to a 'rated' class that's individually priced. Build is also a spot where carriers grant a one-inch height credit to nudge you into a better class. So weight affects your rate far more often than whether you can get covered at all.

Usually yes. A single DUI, especially a few years back, does not stop you from getting life insurance — though it can affect your rate class. Carriers look at how recent it was and whether there's a pattern: the top 'preferred' rates generally require no DUI in the last three to five years, while a more recent single DUI typically means standard or a 'rated' class. Multiple DUIs, or a recent one combined with other violations, are what cause real problems. As the event ages and your record stays clean, your options improve.

If you have a mortgage, children who aren’t yet financially independent, or a spouse who depends on your income, then yes—coverage is important regardless of cost. Rates at 46 are higher than they were a decade ago, but term life is still far more affordable than most people assume. Our data shows rates starting at $12.15/mo for a $100K 10-year term with Preferred health.

Think about what would happen financially if you died tomorrow. Would your spouse need income replacement? Is the mortgage paid off? Will your kids need help with college? For most families with teenagers, there’s still a 5–10 year window where a surviving spouse would face significant financial strain. A 10- or 15-year term can bridge this critical period at a reasonable cost.

The gap widens as you age. At 46, a 20-year term typically costs 50–80% more than a 10-year term for the same coverage. The 10-year term expires when you’re 56, while the 20-year covers you to 66. If you’re unsure, compare both columns in the tables above and weigh the cost against how long you’ll need protection.