Editorial Standards

This page lays out where the premium figures on this site come from, how often we look at them again, and what happens when a reader flags something that looks wrong.

Where the figures come from

The base monthly ranges shown on the homepage, the guide, and the calculator are built from insurer rate filings that are public record, along with industry pricing surveys covering final expense, term, and whole life products for buyers over 60. We do not invent a number to fill a gap. If a figure cannot be traced back to a filing or a survey we trust, it does not go on the site.

How the calculator's multipliers work

Age band, policy type, health tier, and ZIP code each apply a multiplier to a base rate, and those multipliers are set from the same source data described above. The ZIP adjustment groups codes into rough cost tiers rather than pricing each one individually, since carrier rate filings themselves are usually organized by state or region, not by ZIP code.

Update cadence

We review the pricing tables and the calculator's multipliers on a quarterly cycle, or sooner if a major carrier rate change becomes public. The date at the bottom of each page reflects the last time that page's figures were checked, even if the wording around them was not touched.

Corrections

If a reader points out a figure that is out of date or a state adjustment that no longer matches filed rates, we verify it against the source and correct the page, usually within a few business days. Minor wording fixes do not get a formal correction note; a figure that materially changes does. Send anything you spot through the contact page.

Who works on this

See the authors page for who writes the guides and who publishes the site.