U.S. life insurance: average face value of policies purchased 1997-2023

In 2023, the average face amount of individual life insurance policies purchased in the United States was about 206 thousand U.S. dollars, the highest value recorded in the analyzed timeline.  

Life Insurance in the United States

The economic and social purpose of life insurance is directed at handling financial guarantees to individuals and families. It provides a safety net to families in case of an unforeseen death of a bread-winning family member. It covers the financial loss that the surviving family will face. Additionally, it provides financial help in case they outlive other forms of income such as a retirement fund. There are three different forms of life insurance products: whole-life, term life, and annuities. If a life insurance company were to go under, there are state guaranty associations that exist to make sure that will fulfill the benefit claims of policy holders. The face value of life insurance policy purchase since 2000 has slightly fluctuated, but has seen a recent increase since 2016. However, the number of individual life insurance policy purchases has remained somewhat steady since 2009. California, the state with the biggest population and third largest in total area, saw the highest amount of payments to life insurance beneficiaries in 2017.