Buying a life insurance policy can help provide financial protection for your loved ones, but choosing the right policy can be confusing. There are several types of life insurance policies available. Some, like term life insurance, last for a set number of years. Others, like permanent life insurance policies, can provide coverage that lasts a lifetime while offering additional savings or investment components.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of the top life insurance companies of 2023. We’ve also gathered information about different types of policies, how the life insurance quote process works, and how to purchase a policy once you find the right one.
Bestow offers term life insurance policies that don’t require a medical exam, though applicants must answer a health questionnaire prior to purchase. Unlike most companies in our rating, you can get a quote and apply for a policy through its website without needing to go through a separate agent. This is because Bestow is a digital life insurance agency. Its policies are issued and administered by the North American Co. for Life and Health Insurance.
Policies: Term
Coverage limits: Bestow offers policies with coverage ranging from $50,000 to $1.5 million.
Bottom Line:
Bestow may be suitable for individuals who want a quick and easy process for buying term life insurance online without a medical exam. Coverage amounts range from $50,000 to $1.5 million for terms between 10 and 30 years. However, it’s only available to adults ages 18 to 60.
Pros.
Cons:.
Similar to Bestow, Haven Life offers term life policies and an online application process. Unlike Bestow, Haven offers one complimentary add-on, an accelerated death benefit that is included in both the Haven Term and Haven Simple policies. There aren’t any optional riders to customize your policy.Haven Life is considered an insurance agency. The policies it sells are issued by MassMutual and C.M. Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of MassMutual.
Policies: Term
Coverage limits: Haven Life offers coverage ranging from $25,000 to $3 million.
Pros.
Cons:.
State Farm is the highest-rated company in our study to offer both term and permanent life insurance policies. It also offers several optional riders, such as waiver of premium for disability and a children’s term rider. There are also two policies that don’t require a medical exam: Instant Answer Term and Guaranteed Issue Final Expense. You will need to work with an agent to purchase a policy.
Policies: Term, whole life, final expense, universal, survivorship universal, and joint universal
Coverage limits: Coverage starts at $10,000 for its Final Expense policy and goes up from there. Its term life policies provide coverage starting at $50,000. You’ll need to speak to a State Farm agent about what the upper coverage limits for any individual policy are
Pros.
Cons:.
Most of USAA’s policies, such as car or homeowners insurance, are available only to members of the military, veterans, and immediate family, but all U.S. citizens and permanent residents can apply for its life insurance policies. USAA life insurance policies have some features that benefit members of the military, such as expediting your application if you’re getting ready to be deployed and providing coverage if the insured person dies during war or because of an act of terrorism.
USAA's universal life policy is issued by John Hancock and isn’t available in New York. Its guaranteed whole life policy is underwritten by Mutual of Omaha and isn’t available in Montana.
Policies: Term, universal, and whole life
Coverage limits: USAA’s term policies start at $100,000 and go up to $10 million for the Level Term V policy. Its whole policies start at $2,000 and go up to $10 million, while its universal policy can also provide coverage up to $10 million.
Pros.
Cons:.
Nationwide has both term life insurance and several whole and universal life policies. There are riders available to customize your policies, including long-term care, accidental death benefit, accelerated death benefit, and conditional return of premium. While you can get a quote and apply for its term policy online, you’ll need to work with a Nationwide agent to get quotes or apply for its permanent policies.
Policies: Term, whole, universal, variable universal, indexed universal, and survivorship indexed universal
Coverage limits:Nationwide’s policies have coverage starting at $10,000 and going up from there. To learn the maximum amount of coverage available for a policy, contact a Nationwide insurance agent.
Pros.
Cons:.
MassMutual has a wide variety of available policies. If you purchase its term policy through a MassMutual agent, it can be converted to a permanent policy. There is also the option to purchase a term policy online, but it will be through Haven Life, a MassMutual subsidiary, and cannot be converted. You can also start the process of filing a claim online.
Policies: Term, whole, universal, variable universal, and survivorship universal
Coverage limits:Coverage limits will depend on the type of policy. The upper limit for many of its policies will be dependent on the results of the underwriting process. The set maximum amount of coverage for a term policy purchased through an agent is $10 million
Pros.
Cons:.
Lincoln National Life Insurance Company was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1905. The company was named after Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln’s son Robert Todd Lincoln gave the company permission to use the name and Abraham Lincoln’s likeness, which remains part of the company logo. Today, Lincoln Financial Group offers insurance and financial planning solutions to individuals and employers.
Policies:There are two types of term life policies and 10 types of universal life policies available. Some of these also include long-term care insurance and variable and indexed universal life policies.
Coverage limits: Term life policies start at $100,000 or $250,000 depending on the policy you choose. For its universal life policies, some don’t have specific coverage maximums (it’s best to consult one of its agents), while some have minimum coverage amounts starting at $100,000 or maximum amounts of $500,000.
Coverage Restrictions: Term life policies are offered at 10,15, 20, or 30 years. Many of its universal policies cap the initial issue age of the applicant at 80.
Pros.
Cons:.
Lincoln National Life Insurance Company was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1905. The company was named after Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln’s son Robert Todd Lincoln gave the company permission to use the name and Abraham Lincoln’s likeness, which remains part of the company logo. Today, Lincoln Financial Group offers insurance and financial planning solutions to individuals and employers.
Policies:There are two types of term life policies and 10 types of universal life policies available. Some of these also include long-term care insurance and variable and indexed universal life policies.
Coverage limits: Term life policies start at $100,000 or $250,000 depending on the policy you choose. For its universal life policies, some don’t have specific coverage maximums (it’s best to consult one of its agents), while some have minimum coverage amounts starting at $100,000 or maximum amounts of $500,000.
Coverage Restrictions: Term life policies are offered at 10,15, 20, or 30 years. Many of its universal policies cap the initial issue age of the applicant at 80.
Pros.
Cons:.
Lincoln National Life Insurance Company was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1905. The company was named after Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln’s son Robert Todd Lincoln gave the company permission to use the name and Abraham Lincoln’s likeness, which remains part of the company logo. Today, Lincoln Financial Group offers insurance and financial planning solutions to individuals and employers.
Policies:The company’s offerings include term policies, which expire after a set number of years, and permanent insurance, which stays with you for your lifetime or as long as you continue to pay your premiums. It has two types of permanent policy: whole life and universal life. Universal life policies offer flexibility while whole life gives you a stable premium and death benefit. There is a fee if you wish to convert your term policy to permanent.
Coverage limits:Coverage limits vary with the type of policy. The Protection Up to Age 90 policy, for example, starts at $1 million. But, for most policies, you will need to talk to an agent to know what coverage options are available.
Coverage Restrictions: Policies are available in all fifty states and there are no age limits listed, so that might be something to discuss with your agent.
Pros.
Cons:.
People with families, business owners, and those with extensive financial portfolios could benefit from having life insurance. New York Life is one provider people can turn to for insurance policies.
New York Life was founded over 175 years ago. Today, it operates as a mutual company, has paid dividends to policyholders for over 160 consecutive years, and is headquartered in New York City.
One of the largest life insurance companies, New York Life offers customizable policies throughout the U.S. Most include a tax-free death benefit paid to your beneficiaries when you pass. To purchase a New York Life policy, you’ll need to talk to an agent. There is no option on the company’s website to request a quote or to apply for insurance.
Policies:There are two types of term life policies and 10 types of universal life policies available. Some of these also include long-term care insurance and variable and indexed universal life policies.
Coverage limits: Term life policies start at $100,000 or $250,000 depending on the policy you choose. For its universal life policies, some don’t have specific coverage maximums (it’s best to consult one of its agents), while some have minimum coverage amounts starting at $100,000 or maximum amounts of $500,000.
Coverage Restrictions: Term life policies are offered at 10,15, 20, or 30 years. Many of its universal policies cap the initial issue age of the applicant at 80.
Pros.
Cons:.
|
Company |
AGE 35 FEMALE |
AGE 45 FEMALE |
AGE 55 FEMALE |
AGE 65 FEMALE |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bestow » | $56.00 | $135.99 | N/A | N/A | |
| Haven Life » | $81.16 | $154.36 | $368.21 | N/A | |
| State Farm » | $54.79 | $119.19 | $269.69 | $854.39 | |
| USAA » | $75.82 | $139.15 | $311.64 | N/A | |
| Nationwide » | $59.94 | $123.81 | $283.94 | $948.94 | |
| MassMutual » | $67.43 | $144.86 | $339.73 | $1,021.81 | |
| Lincoln Financial » | $57.09 | $124.66 | $290.80 | $896.07 | |
| New York Life » | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Northwestern Mutual » | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Guardian Life » | $57.00 | $119.00 | $259.00 | $375.00 |
Life insurance is a type of insurance that provides money to your chosen beneficiary when you die. You choose a life insurance company that offers a type of policy and death benefits that you want, apply, and if you are accepted the insurance company promises to provide the specified amount of money to your beneficiary (this can be a relative, loved one, or even an organization) when you die, as long as you paid the required premiums.
This money is often used to cover burial expenses and replace lost income. For example, if the primary wage earner in a family dies the money would help the remaining family members pay their bills.
Term life insurance is a kind of temporary life insurance. A term life insurance policy is defined by how long it remains active, or its term. A term can generally be as short as a year or may last 30 years. Term policies may also provide the option of being converted to a permanent life insurance policy or renewed for another term.
A permanent life insurance policy is designed to be a life insurance policy for the long haul. These policies generally contain two parts: the death benefit and the cash value. The cash value can work as a kind of savings component or type of investment, depending on the exact policy. Examples of permanent life insurance include whole and universal life policies.
A whole life policy is a type of permanent life insurance that contains both a death benefit and cash value. The cash value can grow if the company you buy insurance from pays dividends into it. Mutual life insurance policies and some policies sold by stock insurers frequently contain dividend options. Dividends can be based on things like the financial performance of the company.
Universal life insurance is another example of permanent life insurance. One of the key differences between whole and universal life insurance is in the policy’s flexibility. With many universal policies, you can adjust your premiums and the death benefit while the policy is active. There are also several different types of universal life policies, including indexed universal life (IUL), variable universal life (VUL), and guaranteed universal life insurance.
The cost of a life insurance policy can vary widely, even among policies for people in the same demographic. Some of the factors that go into determining the cost of premiums for a life insurance policy include the life insurer, age, gender, health, and policy add-ons (also called riders).
If you look at a person’s gender, the cost for a 35-year-old female in the Standard Plus risk class with a $1 million 20-year term life policy from Guardian Life is $57 per month. For a male in the same risk class with the same policy, the premium is $65 per month, a difference of over $10 per month.
Age is another important factor. The difference in cost between a 35-year-old female in the Standard Plus risk class and 65-year-old woman in the same class with the same $1 million 20-year term policy from Nationwide is almost $890 per month.
© Insurance Life Plan. All Rights Reserved.
