If you've been searching all over the internet for a whole life insurance calculator, you've landed in the right spot. Check out our calculator below to see actual pricing for various levels of whole life insurance.

Also, the results page will show you what your cash value could be when you reach retirement age and what sort of income you might be able to generate as a result. In the past, life insurance companies have made it difficult to find quotes for whole life insurance without first talking to an agent. There is some logic to that process as whole life insurance is a product that can be designed in many different ways.

However, a lot of people just want an idea as to how much it costs, what sort of cash value will it build, and how much retirement income could it potentially provide. We designed our whole life insurance calculator to help you answer those questions. Please keep in mind that this is only from one company and is only meant to provide you with a general idea of what you can expect.

There are many ways to adjust what you are seeing here but the goal of the whole life insurance calculator is to give you real-world numbers from an actual policy. If you like what you see here, you will need help to build a policy that fits your individual situation more precisely. We can help you do that, just click here.

What is the Average Cost for Whole Life Insurance? 

The average cost for whole life insurance depends on your age and what amount of death benefit or face amount that you are looking to purchase. A good rule of thumb is that a whole life policy for a 40-year old male a $500,000 death benefit will cost you about $500 per month. That is a very general estimate but in over three decades of selling life insurance, we know that's a pretty accurate number.

If you are a 40-year old male looking to purchase a $1,000,000 whole life insurance policy, that number goes up to about $1,000 per month. Yes, looking at that pricing you would assume that the cost of whole life is basically linear. But that is not always the case as there are so many other factors to consider:

• Are you going to use a paid-up additions rider? If so, how much would you like to pay toward that rider each month or year?
• Would you consider adding a term insurance rider to blend your policy?
• Is your goal to accumulate a maximum amount of cash? If yes, are you willing to lower the death benefit amount?
• Will you qualify for the top rate class (preferred plus in most cases) or will you get a standard rating due to less than perfect health or lifestyle choices?
• How long would you like to pay for your whole life insurance policy? You can pay indefinitely or you can have a limited pay policy that is fully paid-up after 10 years for example.

As you can see, there are a great many things that go into how affordable whole life insurance can be. And none of the things listed above addresses your budget but that is a major consideration for most people. 

If you're in your mid-30s with a non-working spouse and you have children, you may not have the budget to adequately fund whole life. Instead, you may be better off considering a term life insurance policy. Remember, first and foremost, you need to be certain that you have enough coverage to take care of your obligations if you die. That's always the primary purpose of life insurance whether it's a term policy, a universal life policy, or a whole life policy. 

How Many Years Do You Pay for Whole Life Insurance? 

You can pay for whole life insurance from now until you die and then the death benefit for your policy will be paid out to your beneficiary. Or you could purchase a 10-pay policy and have a permanent death benefit that you pay for in 10 years. Obviously, if you choose the 10-pay option, your annual premium will be a lot more than if you pay from now until you die.

But remember whole life is an extremely versatile product that allows you to pay premiums in different ways. For example, you could use policy to dividends to offset the annual premium. Your dividend may be enough to cover the entire annual premium or it may only partially pay your premium, that will depend on how long you've had the policy and the amount of your whole life policy dividend.

The right answer for how many years you pay for your whole life is to know how long you want to pay (to the best of your ability) before you start. In helping hundreds of clients design and set up their own whole life policies over three decades, the clients who are the most pleased knew exactly how long they were going to fund the policy before they started. And they followed through on that plan to fund it.

Why does that make a difference? The major reason is that it allows us to design the policy for maximum efficiency–to find the perfect balance between the premium amount, the death benefit they need, and the cash value accumulation they want. Your goal should be to strike the balance there as best as you can for yourself.

In general, you need to plan to pay your policy for 5-7 years if you are looking to achieve something close to the perfect balance between all three of those factors. There are exceptions to that based on your age, health, and budget but we have found that timeframe to be ideal for most.  

On the other hand, for our clients that are looking to maximize their ability to take a retirement income from their policy, they plan to pay their premiums until they are at least 65. Some will pay longer and others not that long but again, it's always better to start your whole life policy with the end in mind. Your agent will have a better shot at designing the best policy for you and you will have a better chance at being happy with it.

What Should You Do Next?

You should use our whole life insurance calculator as much as you would like. Run different combinations to see if you think that it's worth it for your financial goals. If it seems at all interesting, please use the form here to reach out and one of our agents will be happy to work with you to find the right policy.