What Is Basic Life Insurance & How Does It Work?

Discover what is basic life insurance and how it works. We discuss rates, and show you how to get covered in minutes.

By Licensed Agent:  Sa El  PublishedJune 1, 2025 UpdatedAugust 3, 2025

There are several different life insurance products, but you probably just want a simple life insurance policy.With all of the options and features, finding plain life coverage doesn’t have to be a complicated process.

This is where simplified issue or basic life insurance comes into play.

In this post today, I will go over what basic life insurance is, how it works, the different types, and the best company to get coverage through.

What Is Basic Life Insurance?

Basic life insurance can be seen as the purest form of a life policy, and that is a traditional term life insurance policy.  What makes it a basic policy is that it is simple in the fact that you pay for a specific amount of coverage for a certain amount of time. These policies will also have a guaranteed level premium, and your coverage amounts will not decrease due to your health.

THE SIMPLY INSURANCE WAY

Term Life Insurance made easy!

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Coverage in minutes.

You can get term life insurance coverage within minutes of getting your quotes and applying.

How Much Does Basic Life Insurance Cost? 

The average cost of basic life insurance is around $53 per month and the average term length is usually 20 years. However; keep in mind that rates will differ based on the individual.

The Different Types Of Basic Life Insurance

While a life policy should be simple, there are two primary types of life policies that you will usually have to choose from:

Fully Underwritten

A fully underwritten life plan is going to give you the most affordable rate.  However, it will require an exam and a bit of waiting before you get approved.

The underwriting process for this type of insurance policy goes like this:

  • Get a quote
  • Submit Application
  • Complete Exam
  • Medical Records Request
  • Telephone Interview
  • Underwriting Decision
  • Accept Policy
  • Make Payment

This process can take anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 months, depending on how fast you get everything completed.

No Exam

An instant no exam basic policy is going to give you still an affordable rate, but also requires no exam and speeds the approval process up immensely.

The underwriting process for this type of insurance policy goes like this:

  • Get a quote
  • Submit Application
  • Instant Underwriting Decision
  • Accept Policy
  • Make Payment

Quick Comparison

Below is a quick comparison of both products:

Fully Underwritten

  • Up To 3 Weeks For Approval
  • Medical Records Requested
  • Medical Exam Required
  • Can Have Lower Rates

No Exam

  • Instant or Next Day Approval
  • No Medical Records Requested
  • No Medical Exam Required
  • A Bit More expensive Between the two

This process can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how fast you can complete the application. As you see, the No Exam option is so much faster than the fully underwritten option and is the one I most recommend.

LIFE INSURANCE WHERE YOU LIVE

Term Life insurance by state.

With a Life Insurance policy you can take care of your family the right way.

Should anything happen to you, you'll want to leave your loved ones a financial nest egg for their wellbeing.

AlabamaALAlaskaAKArizonaAZArkansasARCaliforniaCAColoradoCOConnecticutDelawareFloridaFLGeorgiaGAIdahoIDIllinoisILIndianaINIowaIAKansasKSKentuckyKYLouisianaLAMaineMEMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMIMinnesotaMNMississippiMSMissouriMOMontanaMTNebraskaNENevadaNVNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNMNew YorkNYNorth CarolinaNCNorth DakotaNDOhioOHOklahomaOKOregonORPennsylvaniaPARhode IslandSouth CarolinaSCSouth DakotaSDTennesseeTNTexasTXUtahUTVermontVirginiaVAWAWest VirginiaWVWisconsinWIWyomingWYVermontVTNew HampshireNHMassachusettsMAConnecticutCTNew JerseyNJMarylandMDHawaiiHIRhode IslandRIDelawareDE

Basic Term Life Insurance vs Permanent Life

Outside of basic life plans, there is Permanent Life that functions entirely different from simple term life insurance.

The most known form of permanent insurance is whole life insurance and below we will discuss the primary differences between each product.

Whole Life

  • Builds Cash Value
  • Last Your Entire Life
  • Up to 30 times more expensive
  • more complicated product

Basic Life

  • Much More Affordable
  • Last For A Specific Term Length
  • Doesn't Build Cash Value
  • easy to understand

Life Insurance Coverage Made Simple

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Taking Action

Now that you know what basic life insurance is and how it should work, you should probably get some coverage in place.  There's no need to put it off any longer, you can click here or on any of the above buttons to get immediate quotes and instant coverage.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sa El

Sa El is the Co-Founder of Simply Insurance and a licensed Insurance Agent with over 16 years of experience in the industry. He specializes in Life & Health Insurance and is certified in Long Term Care Insurance in the state of Georgia. a licensed real estate agent in the state of Georgia (License #382602), an entrepreneur, insurance educator, and freelance writer.