What Is 20-Year Term Life Insurance?

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Life insurance is all about protecting the people you love. If you have a partner, kids, or aging parents who depend on you for financial support, it’s smart to buy life insurance to protect them.

Term life insurance happens to be the simplest and most affordable form of life insurance. And a 20-year-life insurance term happens to be PolicyMe's most popular term length (we offer 10 to 30 year terms).

What is a 20-year term life insurance policy?

Term life insurance pays out only if you die within a specified timeframe.

A 20-year term life insurance policy will pay out only if you pass away in the next 20 years. In other words, if you’re 35 today, your policy will pay out if you pass before you turn 55.

Both term and whole life insurance benefits are paid in one full lump sum when you die. However, with term life insurance being more affordable, it is better relative to the cost of life insurance in Canada.

If your policy provides $500,000 of coverage, your beneficiaries will receive $500,000 all at once, and it’ll be tax-free.

This gives your family the option to use the money however they want to. Some people use it to pay off a mortgage. Others use it to continue making rent payments.

And in many cases, people use life insurance to care for children, fund educational expenses, and cover day-to-day living costs.

Learn more about how term life insurance works in Canada. Critical illness insurance calculators can help you determine how much critical illness coverage you need.

If you want a policy for your partner as well, we suggest first to die life insurance this way you can cover your loved ones without paying for separate policies.

Life insurance for seniors over 75 in Canada can be a better investment than terms for individuals who are older.

Who needs a 20-year term life insurance policy

1. Parents with young kids

Most parents plan to financially support their kids until independence. If your youngest child is a toddler, you’ve got to cover their expenses for about 20 years until he or she graduates from university (seems like forever, doesn’t it?). A 20-year policy is likely to make a lot of sense in this case.

2. People with less than 20 years to go on their mortgage

It may seem counterintuitive to spend on life insurance when you have debts to pay off. But it’s even more important to have life insurance while you have that debt.

Protecting your family with life insurance until your mortgage is paid off is a good way to ensure they won’t be left with any crippling debt or mortgage payments if anything happens to you. And the good news is that once your mortgage is paid off, you may not need life insurance anymore. That's one of the advantages of going with term life insurance.

3. Those who are 15 or 20 years away from retirement

We strongly believe that having life insurance is much less important once you’re no longer earning an income. At this point, your kids will probably be financially independent (fingers crossed!) and your spouse may be able to live comfortably off your joint savings, so why purchase an extra lump sum for them? In this case, a 20-year term life insurance policy may be a good fit.

4. Canadians who are cash strapped

Balancing the cost of life insurance can be challenging for families on a tight budget. A term-to-65 term life insurance policy offers more protection, but the costs can be significantly higher.

In comparison, a 20-year, $500,000 term life insurance policy costs around $35/month for a healthy 30-year-old. For a lot of people, this may be the best choice based on what they can afford.

In summary: 20-year term life insurance is a popular choice in Canada

Wondering if a 20-year term life insurance policy is right for you? Use our life insurance calculator to figure out how much life insurance you need to protect the ones you love. In just 5 short minutes, we’ll assess your needs. The result? You get the protection that’s just right for your family. With so many people enjoying the benefits of 20-year term policies, it is considered one of the best life insurance policies in Canada.

If term life insurance is not for you, we recommend life insurance without a medical exam for those who have illnesses that impede affordable rates.

You can also use our life insurance quote tool to get your price now.

Laura McKay

COO & Co-Founder
About the Author

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