What is the best way to get a >500k term life insurance policy on myself

I went to my regular insurance agent who handles my homeowners and auto/boat policies. He is an actual person with an actual office (with state farm), and it was fairly straightforward, but I did need to get a minor medical exam, but they sent a nurse practitioner to my house to do this. This was for a $1 million, 20-year term life policy.

Get multiple $250k policies from different companies that total up to 1 million.

Hassle free and life insurance do not, for better or worse, really go together. That said, life insurance policies are complex contracts between you and the insurer. I'd recommend that you review any contract you're asked to sign in detail and ensure that you fully understand all the terms and conditions to which you would be subjecting yourself. If necessary retain the services of a competent attorney who can help you navigate any questions.

We went with this fellow, Ian Sumner (http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/insurance/2006/08/07/buying-insurance-directly-or-through-agents.aspx), who had been frequently recommended to us on a neighborhood listserve. He charged us no commission, very patiently explained everything to us a few times, and when we compared the rates he got us, they were the best we could find anywhere. I highly recommend him and will memail you his contact info.

I'd also recommend talking to an independent financial broker in your neighborhood. They shouldn't charge you any fee at all. 1 million shouldn't be a problem if you're willing to go through the medical underwriting. There are a lot of insurance products around and having your own broker is the best way to avoid getting someone's crappy off-the-shelf bank product.

We have recently been looking at getting more life insurance and talked with a financial advisor about how to find a policy. The advisor's suggestion was that finding a reputable, stable company is more important than getting the best deal, because you want to be relatively confident that the insurance company will still be around in 20 years. We haven't chosen a company yet, but Amica and USAA were both mentioned by our advisor as good choices.

The one problem with shopping for life insurance is that if your benefits under the policy ever become payable, you won't be around. I don't think people whose loved ones have died will be quite that forthcoming about reviewing life insurance providers, so you may have trouble doing your research.

Assuming you are located in the United States, I respectfully disagree with the suggestion that a life insurance contract needs to be reviewed by an attorney. This is because language in these contracts is monitored and approved by the state insurance departments. For the same reason, it is not necessary to take your auto or home policy to an attorney for review. Otherwise, it truly would be a nightmare for consumers. There are different characteristics from one term policy to another. The biggest thing is to ask for how many years the rate they offer is guaranteed. Most term insurance policies terminate at a specific age often 70 or 80, or they terminate after ten, twenty or thirty years after which you may be without coverage, or the rates may skyrocket. I do agree with the suggestions to work with a reputable company that is admitted to do business in your state. I like State Farm, I like Nationwide, but of course there are many good ones out there. You can get financial ratings at ambest.com, and I suggest only working with companies that are rated A+

I used AccuQuote, but they gave me a variety of prices for different companies. I paid a little bit more for a company with a better rating. The process was simple; they sent me paperwork, I filled it out, they arranged for an inhome medical appointment, and that was that. I think four $250,000 policies would be much more expensive than a single $1,000,000 because of the administrative overhead.