If you’re interested in cryopreservation, don’t let the price tag scare you away. Although it may seem like a lot, (about €200.000) there are several wealth management strategies that can help you cover the costs. Plus, you don’t need to pay such a high amount when you sign up. Unless you decide to pay in full (which almost no one does), you can choose from several funding options to help cover the costs of cryonics. Two of the most popular are term life insurance and whole life insurance - or a combination of the two. These are great tools to help you cover the cost via monthly fees.

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And, in the future, we expect costs to come down considerably. With rising interest in the cryonics industry, a rapidly growing community, and advanced research methods, prices could be as low as €10.000 – 20.000 in a few decades. However, this can not be guaranteed. Of course, even if you sign up now you would benefit from any potential reduction in price in the future, so it’s still recommended to sign up now and fund your cryopreservation with a combination of term and whole life insurance policies. 

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Understanding Term Life Insurance

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Term life insurance is a type of death benefit that pays the beneficiaries of the policy throughout a specific period of time [1]. What does this mean, exactly? It means that as soon as you get a policy, coverage begins. So, if you were to unexpectedly die, your beneficiary (your cryonics provider) would get the full coverage amount, regardless of if you had the policy for one day or 1,000 days. The coverage lasts for a fixed period of time and terms are usually up to 65 years. 

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Should you want to, you're able to extend the policy until you’re up to 85 years old, but the premiums will increase substantially. In some cases, for example if you develop a chronic condition or disease, the insurance company may deny the extension. Cash cannot be withdrawn from term life insurance policies—their value is only in the guaranteed death benefit. This means they don’t carry any “savings” components with them. 

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The cost of your premium will depend on a few different factors. Usually it is calculated based on the payout amount (€200.000 for cryopreservation), your age, gender, and health. You will have to fill out a questionnaire about your medical history. You can find more about how to sign up with Tomorrow Bio here. In many circumstances, term life insurance providers don’t cover people with certain pre-existing conditions (e.g. certain cancers) and premiums get much higher as you age. The earlier you sign up for a policy, the more affordable it will be. Monthly premium rates stay the same throughout the duration of your fixed contract. 

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How Can Term Life Insurance Help Fund Cryonics?

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Term life insurance is the most common (and easiest) way to cover the monthly costs of funding cryopreservation. The sooner you sign up, the more affordable it will be. For example, if you were to sign up as a healthy, 25 year old, you’ll likely pay about €20-30/month for the term life insurance and €25/month for the membership fee. However, if you wait to take out a term life insurance policy until you’re 45 years old, the costs rise to €65/month. The Tomorrow Bio membership fee is still €25/month, but the term life insurance policy becomes over two times more expensive! Plus, if you have any health conditions at 45, these costs can be even higher. Signing up for cryopreservation when you're young and funding it through term life insurance is the best way to make it affordable over time.

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When signing up with Tomorrow Bio, you can decide if you will use our partner term life insurance or your own. If you choose your own, make sure you designate your cryonics provider (i.e. Tomorrow Bio) as your beneficiary. This ensures that we receive the funding for your biostasis if you were to die during the coverage term. Once you do this, you’ll have guaranteed funding for everything involved in cryonics (standby teams for cryoprotection, transportation, indefinite long-term storage) throughout the period of your contract.

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However, since term life insurance doesn’t have a savings component, you’ll still want to take the appropriate measures to make sure you have enough money for biostasis after the policy expires. Wealth management strategies (whole life insurance, investments, etc.) can help with this. 

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Understanding Whole Life Insurance

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Whole life insurance is a permanent policy that provides death benefit coverage for the life of the insured (you) [2]. This is also commonly referred to as traditional life insurance. The death benefit will be paid out to your beneficiary in the event of your legal death. There’s also a savings component to whole life insurance, making it a good addition if you’re looking for more ways to fund cryopreservation. 

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Over the years, the cash savings component of your whole life insurance continues to accumulate based on a fixed rate (usually between 1% and 3%). The premiums continue to stay consistent, but the interest grows. So, the longer you have a whole life insurance policy, the more your cash value becomes. However, this investment doesn’t have very high returns, so it shouldn’t be your primary source of savings. Additional wealth management strategies (i.e. stocks and bonds) might be a good choice alongside a comprehensive whole life insurance policy. 

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How Can Whole Life Insurance Help Fund Cryopreservation?

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Whole life insurance works a little differently, so it’s recommended to get it in addition to term life insurance not in lieu of it. You’ll need to contribute to a whole life insurance policy for several years before enough funds are available for cryonics. So, if you were to get a whole life insurance policy today and you die unexpectedly tomorrow (and don’t have term), the whole life insurance payout would not cover the cost of your cryopreservation. If you had both policies, you’d be fine. 

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However, that’s not to say whole life insurance should be avoided. It’s a great way to ensure funds after term life insurance ends. Interest accrues based on your fixed rate with whole life insurance policies, so you can actually withdraw cash once it begins to accumulate. Plus, the policy is open-ended—it lasts until the end of your life. Therefore, if you don’t die during the fixed period of your term life insurance, the cash value for your whole life insurance will help you fund biostasis later. 

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Finally, some investments can be a good addition to your portfolio, as the rate of return for whole life insurance is relatively low. But through diversification of your wealth management strategies, cryopreservation becomes attainable for most. 

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Conclusion

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Thinking about how to fund cryonics doesn’t have to be stressful. There are several ways you can set yourself up for financial success and ensure you have coverage to pay for biostasis. Funding cryopreservation through term life insurance is the easiest option and provides you with coverage immediately, but whole life insurance helps you plan for the future.

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As interest in the cryonics industry continues to rise and more people sign up for cryopreservation, the cost will decrease. So, by the time your term life insurance policy ends, costs may have significantly decreased making direct funding much more attainable. 

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To lock in the lowest monthly premiums, sign up for biostasis now. If you’re still thinking it over, become a Tomorrow Fellow instead to start your savings plan early.

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All About Cryonics Funding

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