No! Your rate is guaranteed to stay the same during the entire term period (10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or 35 years). These are called fully guaranteed or level-term policies, and the best thing about them is the cost does not increase.

The rating class is the risk category which you qualify for during underwriting. The underwriting will take your health history and compare it with the company's guidelines. This comparison allows the underwriter to place you in a group of people with similar risk characteristics.

Common rating classes are Super Preferred,  Preferred, Standard Plus, Standard, and Substandard. The rating class determines how much you will pay for your policy.

Independent financial and credit rating agencies, such as AM Best and Standard & Poor's, provide in-depth analysis of a life insurance company's financial strength. They issue opinions on the life insurance company's ability to meet financial obligations such as paying death claims.

We display the company ratings for each company along with our quotes. We recommend you consider these ratings as one of the many important factors when choosing a life insurance company.

Most policies can be renewed annually at the end of the policy term. The policy does not expire at the end of the term, but the rate guarantee does. As a result, it will be very expensive to keep the policy beyond the initial term period.

Most people simply let the policy lapse at the end of the term and take out a new one, as long as they are still in good health and can get a new policy.

If your health has changed and you are no longer insurable, you can keep the policy in force by paying the new rate. The rate will continue to increase each year until the policy expires.

Some policies also allow for a non-underwritten change or "conversion" to a permanent life insurance policy. This is helpful if you've had a change of health or would like a simple path to securing lifetime coverage for all or a portion of your current coverage without new underwriting.

Most term life insurance policies are convertible to permanent life insurance policies. Companies usually have age limits for converting your policy. They may also have limits on the type of policy you can convert to.

If you are eligible, you can convert all our just a portion of your term life policy without proving your insurability again. This can be useful if your health has changed and you need coverage beyond the end of your term period.