Life insurance quotes are determined using actuarial mortality tables, which lists data for life expectancy. Your life expectancy is based on a number of determining factors, including age, gender, general state of health and tobacco use — which are all taken into consideration during the underwriting of a life insurance policy. Because women in the United States generally have a longer life expectancy than men, a woman will usually pay less for life insurance than a man who is the same age, in the same health condition and shares similar risk factors. Waiting longer to buy a policy will usually cost you more because your life expectancy will most likely decrease over time, and your health may decline as well.