Yes you can get a $ 1 million policy…obviously, it costs more than say a $ 100,000 policy. As long as you are healthy (many policies require a physical), it should pay for almost any death (many don’t pay for suicide since that is not an accident).

There is no max.
A person can get a million dollars. I do not know if you personally have enough money to do so.
It is like eggs, milk, cars, houses, or anything else: The most you can get is however much you can afford to purchase.

“Life” insurance covers getting old and dieing, freak deaths, and all other deaths, except some suicides.
“Accidental death” insurance does not. (Some of the deaths it covers are freak deaths, but most are fatal car accidents.)

You cannot buy as much as you can afford. It’s like your car. If it’s only worth $ 50,000, you can’t insure it for $ 1,000,000. Likewise, if you only make $ 20,000 per year then they won’t let you buy $ 10,000,000 of life insurance. But, if you make $ 1,000,000 per year they would.

Generally, insurance company will let you buy 20-30 times your income. They take debts into consideration, but having a $ 1,000,000 mortgage is NOT enough justification for a $ 1,000,000 life insurance. You do need the income to back it up.

Hi Amber,

As a life insurance agent myself, we use D.I.M.E acronym. debt, income, mortgage, education.

Example) Let’s say your married and your in your 30s and you have 2 kids, to calculate the amount of death benefit you would need would go something like this ….

Debt = $ 10,000 owe in car pmt
Income = makes $ 40k, so let’s say you want to cover for the next 30 years, you would do $ 40k * 30 years = $ 1,200,000
Mortgage = $ 200,000 balance on home mortgage
Education = two kids so let’s just say $ 25,000 each for college tuition = total $ 50,000
Grand total = $ 10,000 + 1.2 million + $ 200,000 + $ 50,000 = $ 1,460,000 death benefit

$ 1,460,000 death benefit this example can get.

This amount is if you go by the books. This example person can get lower death benefit amount but if the client wants more death benefit, I as an agent have to explain on behalf of my client to my insurance company why that person will need more.

There’s no LEGAL maximum – as much as you can convince an underwriter, that you’re worth, when you’re dead. Many, many people get million dollar life insurance policies. But you have to realize, it costs a WAY lot more, than $ 100,000 of life insurance.

Standard life insurance covers you, when you die, during the policy period, no matter how you die – freak deaths, or natural deaths. HOWEVER.

Some policies, only cover you for a set number of years – 10, 20, etc. Those are called “term” life insurance policies, and are much, much cheaper. If you want a policy to cover you when you die, even if you’re 92, that’s called “whole life”, and stays in force, your whole life – as long as you keep PAYING for it every year. It costs way, way more, because it doesn’t expire until you do. And sooner or later, you WILL expire.

Insurance Pickle was correct. You can only an amount of life insurance that you need. You can not get as much as you want unless you have a need for it.