Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.
How much does life insurance cost in Australia?
Life insurance can cost less than $25 a month for a healthy 40-year-old. People between the age of 30 and 40 pay much less on average than a 50- or 60-year-old.
These products offer great value, with a good score across both features and price.
7+
Great
These are competitive products, though they didn't quite get top scores.
5+
Standard
These products might offer less value or command a higher premium than others in the market.
0+
Basic
These products might only offer a basic set of features or aren't very competitive on price.
We gathered over 100 life insurance quotes to get our average costs, looking at 4 different age groups between 30 and 60 with $500,000 of life insurance cover.
A healthy male at age 40 can expect to pay around $19 per week for a $500,000 life insurance policy in Australia. It's also generally cheaper for women, who might expect to pay around $14 per week for the same level of cover.
Life insurance costs vary from person to person. While we've done our best to give you an idea of the price of life insurance, however, your own circumstances will impact the cost of your cover.
Why you can trust our research
100+
quotes gathered
10+
policies analysed
4
age groups
What is the average life insurance cost per week in Australia?
What is the average life insurance cost for men and women?
Finder sourced quotes from 10 Australian life insurance brands. Below are the average weekly costs for a non-smoker with no medical conditions earning an annual income of $80,000. These quotes were correct as of February 2023.
Average life insurance rates for women
Amount Insured
30-year-old
40-year-old
50-year-old
60-year-old
$500,000
$6.93
$11.1
$26.33
$76.3
Average life insurance rates for men
Amount Insured
30-year-old
40-year-old
50-year-old
60-year-old
$500,000
$10.02
$15.28
$39.48
$137.35
Finder survey: How many Australians have life insurance?
Response
Life insurance
32.52%
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1110 Australians, December 2023
How much is life insurance per month in Australia?
Gender. Males and females are assessed differently by insurers, with females generally seen as lower risk than males.
Occupation. What you do for a living can affect how much you pay for life insurance. If you are an underground miner for instance, you are considered to be in a high risk occupation.
Lifestyle. The things you do in your spare time can also have an influence on your risk rating. If you pursue risky pastimes such as rock climbing or driving fast cars, then your premiums may be higher.
Current medical condition. If a policy covers your medical condition they may increase your premium in some cases.
Past medical history. Any pre-existing medical conditions you have or have had in the past can affect your premiums.
Amount and period of cover required. The greater the amount and the longer the period, the higher your premiums will be.
Smoking status. If you are a smoker, you are seen as high risk and will pay more for your premiums. Some brands will reduce your premiums if you give up smoking for at least 12 months.
Get a quote to see how much life insurance will cost you
1 - 7 of 12
Finder Score - Life Insurance
Life Insurance is a little complicated and a lot overwhelming. That's why we made the Finder Score, to make it easier to compare Life Insurance products against each other. Our experts analysed over 20 products and gave each one a score between 1 and 10.
But a higher score doesn't always mean a product is better for you. Your situation is unique, so your policy choice will be too. Don't think of Finder Score as the final word, but as a good place to start your life insurance comparison.
Speak with an expert about your life insurance needs
Frequently asked questions
A: It is insurance that provides your beneficiaries with a lump sum benefit should you pass away or be diagnosed with a terminal illness and have less than 12 months to live.
A: Because it helps to secure your family's financial future if you are no longer there to provide for them.
A: Because as premiums are based on age and health, the longer you wait to get it, the more expensive it will become. It's generally easier to get cover when you're young and healthy before any medical conditions arise with aging.
A: Yes. You can claim your full benefit amount if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness and have less than 12 months to live.
A: Premium amounts are automatically increased by around 5% or a rate equivalent to CPI on each policy anniversary to keep pace with the cost of living.
A: If you cancel your life insurance during the 30 day cooling off period, you will get a a pro-rata (partial) refund of any premiums you have paid.
A: It will depend on the insurer and on factors such as your age, height to weight ratio and previous medical history, or the amount of cover you apply for (larger lump sums often have additional medical requirements).
A: Yes, your occupation is a factor that's taken into account when an insurer sets your premium. What you do for a living can affect how much you pay for life insurance. Generally speaking, those in 'white collar' jobs (such as office workers) pay less than those working in 'blue collar' industries (such as mechanics or truck drivers).
Was this content helpful to you?
Thank you for your feedback!
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been reviewed by Karen Eley, a member of Finder's Editorial Review Board.
James Martin was the insurance editor at Finder. He has written on a range of insurance and finance topics for over 7 years. James often shares his insurance expertise as a media spokesperson and has appeared on Prime 7 News, WIN News, Insurance News, 7NEWS and The Guardian. He holds a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification, both of which meet the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio
James's expertise
James has written 240 Finder guides across topics including:
While it's possible to have multiple life insurance policies, can you receive payment from more than one if you claim? Read on to find out.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stands by our editorial principles
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product. You can learn more about how we make money.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.