How Much Does a $1 Million Term Life Insurance Policy Cost?

The short answer

There is no single price for a $1 million term life policy. The premium is built from your age, sex, term length, tobacco use, and the risk class the insurer assigns after underwriting — so two people shopping the same face amount on the same day can be quoted very different numbers. State insurance regulators describe term insurance as generally the least expensive way to buy a large death benefit for a limited period, because the premium is not also funding a cash-value account (Texas Department of Insurance).

This page explains what moves the number and how to compare quotes. It does not publish prices: rate tables change, and any dollar figure you read online is a snapshot of one insurer, one age, and one risk class.

The five inputs that do most of the work

Issue age. Mortality cost rises with age, and it rises faster at older ages. A quote gathered at 35 and the same quote gathered at 45 are not comparable.
Term length. A level premium has to average the cost of insurance across the whole level period. The longer that period, the more older-age mortality is baked into the average.
Tobacco or nicotine use. Almost every insurer prices this as a separate rate table, not a small surcharge.
Risk class. Underwriting sorts applicants into named classes — preferred plus, preferred, standard, substandard or "table" ratings. See what the tiers of life insurance actually are.
Face amount band. Insurers commonly price per $1,000 of coverage in bands set at round thresholds, so the cost per thousand often drops as the face amount crosses into a higher band. At $1 million you are usually in a favorable band.

Summary: the face amount is only one of several inputs; the risk class and term length often matter more to the final figure.

Why 10-, 20-, and 30-year terms price differently

A level term policy charges the same premium every year of the level period. Behind that flat line, the insurer's expected claim cost is rising each year, so the level premium is effectively an average.

A 10-year term averages a narrow, younger slice of mortality, so its annual premium is the lowest of the three.
A 20-year term averages a wider slice and costs more per year for the same face amount.
A 30-year term reaches furthest into older ages and carries the highest annual premium — but it also locks the rate for the longest stretch and avoids re-underwriting later.

Comparing "cheapest per year" across different term lengths is an apples-to-oranges comparison. Compare the same term length across insurers, then separately decide which term length you are pricing.

Summary: shorter terms have lower annual premiums; longer terms buy a longer rate guarantee. Both facts are structural, not a sales pitch.

What the quote sheet should show

The NAIC Life Insurance Buyer's Guide advises comparing policies of the same type and similar features before comparing price. On a term quote, look for:

Whether the premium is guaranteed level for the full term, or only projected level
What happens at the end of the level period — annually renewable rates, or expiry
Whether the policy is convertible to permanent coverage, and until what age or policy year
Whether the quote is fully underwritten or an unverified pre-qualification subject to change after labs and records
Modal premium loading: paying monthly usually costs slightly more over a year than paying annually

The California Department of Insurance guide is useful for the contract language behind these items, including free-look periods and grace periods.

Term versus whole life at the same face amount

A $1 million whole life policy costs substantially more per year than a $1 million term policy issued at the same age, because the whole life premium funds lifetime coverage plus a guaranteed cash value. That mechanism is explained in why the same face amount costs more under whole life.

Summary: price only becomes comparable once policy type, term length, face amount, and underwriting status are held constant.