In short
- The price depends on your age, the coverage amount, the type of policy (protection only or with savings), your health and whether you smoke.
- In 2025, individual life insurance in Panama collected about B/.525 a year per insured person on average, roughly B/.44 a month, mixing protection-only and savings policies.
- Term life is the cheapest way to protect your family. Savings policies cost more because part of the premium builds up for you.
What moves the price most
- Your age. The strongest factor: the older you are, the higher the premium. The younger you buy, the cheaper it is.
- The coverage amount. What your family receives. The premium is calculated on that amount: double the coverage costs roughly double.
- The type of policy. Term, universal life or whole life, explained below.
- Your health and habits. Smoking, weight, blood pressure or diabetes change the premium or may require a medical exam.
- Your job and hobbies. Some occupations and risky sports raise the price.
- Add-ons. Accidental death, disability or critical illness riders add to the premium.
What people pay on average
According to Panama's Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance, individual life insurance brought in B/.208.3 million in premiums for 396,634 insured people in 2025. That's about B/.525 a year per person (the balboa is on par with the US dollar). The same year, insurers paid out B/.52.9 million in individual life claims.
Use that average as a market reference, not as your price: it blends small protection-only policies with high-premium savings policies. A young, healthy person buying term life can pay much less.
Source: Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama, 2025 market statistics.
Term, universal or whole life
| Type | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Term life | Covers you for a set period (for example 10, 20 or 30 years, or renewed yearly). No savings. The lowest premium per dollar of coverage. | Protecting your family while they depend on your income or while you pay off a mortgage. |
| Universal life | Lifetime protection plus a fund that earns interest. You can adjust the premium and coverage over time. | People who want to protect their family and save for the long term at the same time. |
| Whole life | Lifetime protection with a fixed premium and a guaranteed cash value. | People looking for something stable to leave an inheritance or plan their estate. |
One key question with term life: is the premium level or does it go up every year? Some policies keep the same premium for the whole term; others renew annually and rise with your age. The second looks cheaper at first and costs more later. Always ask which one you're being offered.
The cheapest premium isn't the right one: the right one is the premium you can keep paying for as long as your family needs it.
How much coverage you need
The math I do with clients is simple: your monthly income × 12 × the years your family would depend on it, plus your debts and your children's education, minus any coverage you already have. You can run it in a minute with the life insurance calculator.
If you have a mortgage, read the bank's policy or your own: your own policy can often cover the loan and still leave money for your family.
What I need to quote you
Your date of birth, whether you smoke, the amount you want to insure and whether you want protection only or savings too. With that I'll show you options from several insurers, with today's premium and how it changes over the years.
What would you pay?
I'll get quotes from several insurers and explain the difference between each option. Free, no strings attached.