Personal lines · independent broker
Term life insurance.
Income replacement for the years your family depends on you. Level premium for 10, 20, or 30 years. The most affordable way to cover a real need at a known cost.
What it is.
Term life is the cleanest, cheapest way to cover a defined need over a defined window. Pick a term that matches the years your family depends on your income — typically until kids are independent or the mortgage is paid — and a face amount that replaces 8–12× annual income net of existing coverage and savings.
The lines in your policy.
Each one is its own knob. The carrier's default rarely fits a real life.
What a claim looks like.
Three anonymized files. Numbers are illustrative.
Healthy 35-year-old, non-smoker, $1M of 20-year term — premium runs roughly $400–$700/yr depending on carrier and underwriting class (illustrative; real rates are case-by-case). If they pass in year 12, the $1M death benefit pays to the beneficiary tax-free, typically within 30–60 days of claim. If they outlive the term, the policy expires — premiums paid stay with the carrier, no refund.
How to read a term policy.
The four things worth looking for on the dec page, in the order we read them.
The first page tells you who's actually covered, on what address, and under whose legal entity. A surprising number of policies have the wrong name, the wrong address, or a missing additional insured, and you don't find out until you file a claim. Cross-check it against your driver's license, your title or lease, and any contract that requires you to be insured.
Policy limits are abstract until you stack them against the assets they protect. A $300k liability limit feels generous in isolation; against a $1.2M home and a college fund, it isn't. Walk down each numbered line on your dec page and ask: if this were the cap on the worst day, would I be okay?
Page one shows you the base form. Pages four through twelve show you what the endorsements added, and, more importantly, what they took away. Water-damage exclusions, roof-payment schedules, named-storm deductibles, scheduled-valuables caps. These small numbered forms decide more claims than the headline limits do.
Carriers re-rate, re-form, and re-endorse policies at every renewal. If you keep last year's dec page, a side-by-side read takes ten minutes and tells you which limits drifted, which sublimits got cut, and which endorsements quietly disappeared. It's the single most useful habit in personal insurance.
Frequently asked questions.
How long should the term be?
Match it to the need. 20-year terms are the most common — long enough to cover kids reaching independence and the bulk of a mortgage, short enough that the premium stays cheap. 30-year terms make sense for younger buyers with longer-runway needs.
What happens at the end of the term?
The policy expires. Renewing past the original term is usually possible but at dramatically higher rates (annual renewable term pricing). The smart play is to reassess the need 5–10 years before expiration — if the need persists, convert to permanent or buy a new term while still healthy.
Why do healthier buyers get such different rates?
Underwriting class matters more than face amount. A healthy non-smoker can pay 1/3 what a smoker pays for the same coverage. Lock it in young and healthy — rates are based on age and health at issue, not at claim.
What's a conversion option and why does it matter?
Most term policies let you convert to permanent (whole or universal) without re-underwriting before a deadline (often the earlier of age 65 or 10 years into the policy). If your health changes during the term, conversion is the only way to keep coverage at the original rate class.
Are waiver of premium and accelerated benefit riders worth adding?
Usually yes — they're inexpensive add-ons. Waiver of premium covers your premium if you become disabled. Accelerated benefit lets you draw against the death benefit if terminally ill. Both pay off in scenarios that aren't rare.
Should I buy from my employer or independently?
Employer group life is convenient and often cheap — but it's typically tied to your job (non-portable) and capped at 1–2× salary. For most working-age adults that's not enough. Independent term layered on top of group life is the standard play.
Want a second read on your term policy?
Send us your declarations page. You'll get it back marked up, in plain language, with the gaps and the over-coverage flagged, yours to keep, no obligation to switch.
or phone (913) 408-7280
We're an independent broker. We represent you, not the carrier , paid by the carrier we ultimately place with, but accountable only to the person whose name is on the policy. Read more about how we work.