Top 10 Term Life Insurance Companies

Since term life insurance is so inexpensive, it's no surprise that term is one of the most popular life insurance products in the marketplace.

Many life insurers sell term life insurance which is good for consumers because of the competition it creates, but it can also be confusing since there are so many to choose from.

How We Rank the Insurers we Represent

Certainly, price is a major factor in your purchase decision and we get that, however, there are other criteria that insurance shoppers should take into consideration so that they can come to an informed decision. After all, price doesn't mean a whole lot if your insurance company isn't there when you need them. Here's what we look for.

• Financial Stability – Yep, you read it right. Financial stability, in our opinion, is the most important attribute to verify while shopping for life insurance. It's important to understand that a life insurance contract is simply a promise to pay a death benefit in exchange for a premium. Why do business with a company who may be struggling when you can choose a top-rated carrier and put your mind at ease? This will report will list the ratings from all the national rating companies that each company has hired to rate their company.
• Available Term Products and Riders – Term Life Insurance is a broad name for a category of products. Many companies differ on the types of policies they offer and the riders (optional coverages) they offer. For example, not every company offer the same policy terms so it's important to choose the company that meets your needs for the term you prefer. Also, not every company offers the same riders. The riders are important because they are optional coverages that you can purchase to customize your policy to meet your needs.
• Customer Service and Claims Service – Customer service is important. Have you ever bought a product only to find it didn't work as advertised and spent hours on the phone with a customer service technician who was rude and just seemed like they didn't care about helping you? Let's face it, life insurance is technical and can be confusing. When you call for help, you expect to speak with an expert who is willing to do everything possible to resolve your problem. If you're calling as the beneficiary, you're not going to be in a mood to deal with someone who doesn't seem to care that your spouse just passed away.
• Pricing – Believe it or not, pricing is the easiest part of the shopping process. You'll find that you can get an instant quote from almost every carrier online just by visiting an insurance broker's website. It's important to understand, however, that the price you get online is typically a best-case quote and can go up or down based on the underwriting process that accompanies each application. It is a great place to start but not always "etched-in-stone."

In the following sections, you will find each company we've chosen in our top ten along with the above-information you'll need to make an informed decision. We'll list each company and the reasons we choose them for our clients and prospective clients.

TOP 10 TERM INSURANCE COMPANIES

Banner Life Insurance Company

Banner Life is a subsidiary company of Legal & General which was originally formed as Legal & General Life Assurance Society in 1836. Since that time Legal & General increased its life insurance footprint across American through acquisitions and currently services millions of policyholders across the country.

Banner Life continues to exhibit strong financials and maintains very high ratings for financial stability.

Compared to many insurance carriers that excel with Term Life Insurance, Banner Life has been using liberal underwriting standards and at the same time delivering very competitive rates. While many insurers shy away from certain prevalent health conditions, Banner is willing to offer very competitive rates with the following conditions:

Asthma

Anxiety

Diabetes

Epilepsy

Overweight

Sleep Apnea

Some heart conditions

Some tobacco use

Banner's Term Life Products

Banner has established an innovative underwriting process they call APPcelerate™ that when qualified, the applicant can breeze through the underwriting process by circumventing the medical exam, labs, or attending physician statements.

Here is an example of Banner Life's OPTerm rates for a $250,000 policy with a 20-year term for a healthy male and female non-smoker:

Remember, qualified applicants can forgo medical exams, labs, and attending physician statements, which allows Banner to issue your policy in a matter of days, not weeks. Various optional riders are available so applicants can customize their policy to meet individual needs.

Lincoln Financial Group

Established nearly 100 years back, Lincoln Financial Group has grown to be a diversified insurance and financial services organization. The company offers a complete portfolio of insurance and financial services products as well as financial products for the commercial and business market.

Lincoln Financial's Financial Stability and Ratings

Lincoln Financial's Term Products

Lincoln TermAccel® Level Term Insurance – The TermAccel® product is Lincoln's flagship entry into the simple issue term insurance marketplace. The policy is a quick and simple issue term product with upper-competitive rates for applicants 60-years-old and younger who need $1 million or less in life insurance coverage.

With TermAccel® the underwriting consists of a phone interview and application that typically results in quick underwriting decisions and an issued policy in a matter of days.

Lincoln also offers their LifeElements® Level Term for applicants who are 30 years and older who require a death benefit exceeding $1 million. This product is also considered "quick issue" since applications can be taken by telephone.

Here is an example of Lincoln's TermAccel rates for a $500,000 policy with a 20-year term for a healthy male and female non-smoker:

Protective Life

Established in 1907 by Governor William Dorsey Jelks, Protective Life has grown its footprint in the life insurance industry to become a nationally recognized life insurance and financial products company by maintaining its values-driven mission.

The Protective family of companies has expanded substantially over their 100-year existence by offering quality products at competitive prices and outstanding customer service. They offer their insurance and financial products by utilizing five subsidiary companies:

Protective Life Insurance Company (the Parent Company)

Protective Life and Annuity Insurance Company (Operates in NY only)

West Coast Life Insurance Company (acquired in 1996)

MONY Life Insurance Company (acquired in 2013)

Lyndon Insurance Group, Inc. (specialty products for banks, consumer finance companies, and automobile dealers)

Protective's Financial Ratings and Consumer Scores

Protective Life Underwriting

Maintaining the company mission of "simplifying everything," Protective has separated themselves from other insurers by implementing its "PLUS" underwriting process – Protective Life Underwriting Solution. This innovative PLUS system is available to applicants aged 18 to 45 with face amounts up to $1 million. Applicants who are 46 to 60 are also eligible for face amounts up to $500,000.

The PLUS process streamlines the underwriting process by not required a medical exam which allows the company to issue term policies very quickly.

Here are examples of Protective's Term Rates for $250,000 20-year policy for healthy male and female non-smoker:

Protective also provides a handful of optional riders that enables the applicant to customize their policy according to their circumstances. Here's how these riders can broaden your coverage and provide living benefits:

AIG (American General)

Simply put, AIG is a gigantic insurance company doing business worldwide. They offer a comprehensive list of insurance and financial products that include life, health, property & casualty insurance, and specialty products.

The company traces its roots as far back as the year 1919 and has significantly increased its footprint to that 80 countries and jurisdictions.

AIG Financial Stability and Consumer Scores

AIG Select-A-Term

Unlike most other term policies that require a policy period in 5 or 10-year blocks, AIG allows the applicant to choose his or her policy term based on their individual needs as long as the selected term falls within 10 to 30 years.

This allows the applicant to purchase exactly the insurance coverage they need without having to round up or down to meet the requirements of the carrier. For example, if you are purchasing mortgage protection coverage and owe only 14 years on your mortgage, why purchase a 20-year policy when you can purchase a 14-year policy and be done with it?

AIG offers very competitively when it comes to term insurance. Here are the rates for a $500,000 20-year term policy for a healthy male and female non-smoker:

For accurate rates for your actual age, please feel free to contact us online at your earliest convenience.

AIG Optional Riders to Customize Your Coverage

Foresters

Foresters Life Insurance is one of a handful of insurance companies that is a fraternal benefit society. Since the company is owned by its members (policyholders), the company is in business to provide services for the members and not profits for stockholders.

Foresters' Financial Stability

Although Foresters only subscribes to A.M Best rating services, they are one of the few insurance companies that post their annual financial results to their website where anyone can review five years of financial statements. The company has maintained it's "A" (Excellent) with A.M. Best for the past 18 years.

Foresters Your Term No Medical Exam Life Insurance

The Your Term product is a level term insurance policy that can be purchased in face amounts of up to $400,000. The policy is renewable which allows the policyholder to extend their length of coverage or it can be converted to a Foresters Permanent policy like Universal Life or Whole Life without having to go through additional underwriting for approval.

Here are Foresters Your Term rates for a $400,000 20-year policy for a healthy male and female non-smoker:

Customize Your Foresters Term Insurance with Optional Riders with no Additional Charge

The following list of features can be added to your basic policy without an additional charge:

Common Carrier Accidental Death Rider – This benefit is designed to provide an additional death benefit if you die as a result of injuries sustained while riding as a fare-paying passenger on a common carrier.

Family Health Benefit Rider – This valuable rider provides for Foresters to pay a benefit for family health expenses that resulting from natural disasters like a hurricane or tornado.

Accelerated Death Benefit – This rider provides for the insurer to pay an advance of the death benefit to the insured if diagnosed with a covered chronic, critical, or terminal illness.

American National

American National Life Insurance Company, also known as ANICO, was established over 114 years ago. ANICO offers U.S. consumers a complete portfolio of life insurance products, annuities, property and casualty insurance, and other specialty products like Credit Life and Credit Disability insurance.

Most agents consider ANICO as one of their go-to companies because of liberal underwriting guidelines, especially for seniors who need life insurance but are dealing with various illnesses.

Similar to other carriers listed in this article, American National Life can boast high ratings for financial stability.

American National Term Life Insurance

Understanding that individuals and families have different needs for different circumstances, American National offers three term products to provide life insurance solutions at very affordable rates.

ANICO XPRESS PLUS

XPRESS PLUS is American National's entry into the innovative accelerated issue process. The company's success with this product is due to automated underwriting, competitive pricing, no medical exam requirement, and the ability to have a policy issued within an hour instead of days, weeks, or months.

To purchase $1,000,000 or less in coverage, applicants must be less than 51-years-old. Applicants between the ages of 51 and 60 can purchase up to $500,000 in coverage.

ANICO Freedom Term

The Freedom Term product was designed for applicants who don't need a large amount of coverage but prefer a quick and easy purchase. These policies are a great solution for applicants that require $250,000 or less in coverage to cover a mortgage, loan, or divorce requirement. There is no medical exam requirement and policies can be issued in less than an hour.

ANICO Signature Term

ANICO's Signature Term, although fully underwritten, is a very popular term product because of such competitive rates. Available policy terms are 10, 15, 20, or 30-years with face amounts up to $1,000,000. Since this product is fully underwritten, a medical exam will typically be required.

Here are ANICO's actual Signature Term rates for a $500,000 policy with a 20-year term for a healthy (preferred plus) male and female non-smoker:

For accurate rates for your actual age, please contact our office during normal business hours or contact us through our website.

Mutual of Omaha

Mutual of Omaha is probably one of the best-known life insurers in the country. Not only does Mutual of Omaha offer very competitive rates on a complete portfolio of products, but they also deliver outstanding customer service and claims service to policyholders. Although they are best known for simplified issue whole life insurance, the company excels in the term insurance business as well.

Mutual of Omaha Financial Stability

Mutual of Omaha continues to earn very high ratings from the national rating services as well as consumer rating services like J.D. Power.

Mutual of Omaha Term Life Insurance

TERM LIFE ANSWERS

The TERM LIFE ANSWERS product is a straightforward fully-underwritten policy that is available in policy terms of 10, 15, 20, and 30-year terms. Here are the policy highlights for TERM LIFE ANSWERS:

Issue Ages – 18 to 80 (depending on face amount and tobacco use)

Available Face Amounts - $100,000 to $1,000,000 plus

Underwriting Classes – 8 classes available

Riders – 2 riders available with no additional charge and 4 more with an additional charge

Conversions – available before age 75 except for 30-year term which is during the first 20 years

Renewals – All policies renew annually on the expiration date up to age 94

Here are actual rates for a TERM LIFE ANSWERS policy. These rates are for a $500,000 face amount with a 20-year term for a very healthy male and female non-smoker.

TERM LIFE EXPRESS

The Term Life Express policy is considered a simplified issue product. There is no medical exam or blood/urine test requirement but there are several health questions on the application. The underwriting highlights for Term Life Express are as follows:

Underwriting requirements – No blood or urine tests and no medical exam requirements.

Available Policy Periods – 10, 15, 20, and 30-year policy periods

Issue ages – 18 to 65

Face amounts available - $25,000 to $300,000 age 18 to 50 - $25,000 to $250,000 age 51 to 65

Riders – 5 optional riders are available

Prudential Life Insurance

Established in 1875, Prudential manages more than a trillion dollars in asset and is one of the most well-known financial services companies on the planet. During its time in business, Prudential has consistently delivered exceptional customer service, claims service, and competitive rates. As for ratings from the national rating services, Prudential continues to score at the top of the list of our favorite companies.

Prudential's Financial Stability

Established in 1875, Prudential has grown its footprint to over one trillion assets under management and continually earn accolades for outstanding customer service and claims service.

Prudential Term Life Products

Prudential continually leads the field in term insurance products by offering the insurance policies that will meet the needs of its clients and prospective clients.

Term Essential

Term Essential is Prudential's standard offering in the race for term insurance. This term policy provides terms of 10, 15, 20, and 30-years and is renewable to age 95. Term Essential also provides a conversion privilege to age 95 without a requirement of insurability.

Term Elite

The Term Elite policy is a great solution for families since it allows the applicant to add dependent children for coverage and the ability to convert all or a portion of the policy to permanent insurance like universal life or whole life insurance.

MYTERM

The MyTerm Policy is extremely popular because applicants can purchase up to $250,000 in coverage without having to undergo an insurance medical exam. The MyTerm policy also allows the applicant to elect a terminal illness rider which provides for the company to advance a large portion of the death benefit to the insured to help pay for end-of-life expenses.

PruTerm WorkLife

This term policy is available for those who are up to 65 years of age. If you become disabled, then this policy will waive the premium you pay. Prudential will also waive your premium for one year if you find yourself unemployed and can prove it. This policy is best for people who are in their working years and have adequate retirement planning in place for when they reach age 65.

PruLife Return of Premium

The PruLife Return of Premium policy is the best solution for applicants who want to not rent insurance. If at the end of the policy term, the insured is still living, the company will return all premiums paid into the policy tax-free in one lump sum.

PruTerm One

PruTerm One is primarily purchased by business owners who prefer to insurance against a debt that will be paid within a year. This way, if the insured dies, the business will receive the death benefit to pay off the loan in full.

Sagicor Insurance Company

Sagicor Insurance Company, although less popular than many, have been in business since 1840. During that time, Sagicor has built its insurance footprint across the U.S. and offers a complete selection of term insurance products at very affordable prices.

Agents rely on Sagicor because they are a no-exam life insurance company with liberal underwriting guidelines that allow less-than-perfect applicants to purchase policies at very low rates. Sagicor's flagship term policies are their SAGE Term products:

The highlights of their SAGE Term Products are as follows:

• 10, 15, or 20 Level Premium Life Insurance
• Guaranteed Death Benefit to age 95
• No Medical Exams or blood/urine tests
• Conversion Privilege to permanent insurance products
• Issue ages are 18 to 65-years-old
• Face Amounts - $50,000 to $500,000
• Four optional riders available

Phoenix Life Insurance Company

Although not as well-known as other companies listed here, Phoenix Life has been offering life insurance products since 1851. During that time, the management at Phoenix has built the company's assets to one of the largest insurers in the U.S.

Phoenix offers three term life insurance programs to meet the needs of consumers across the U.S. even though their specialty remains in permanent insurance like whole life and universal life.

Safe Harbor Term High Band

Face Amounts Available – Up to $1,000,000 for applicants who are 70 and younger and $500,000 in coverage for applicants between 71 and 80-years-old.

Policy Terms – 10 to 30-years

Underwriting – Simplified medical exam requires without blood or urine samples

Safe Harbor Term Low Band

The Low Band policy is similar to the high band policy except the face amounts depend on the age of the applicant.

• Age 18 to 50 – Maximum face amount is $400.000
• Age 50 to 60 – Maximum face amount is $300,000
• Age 61 to 70 – Maximum face amount is $200,000
• Age 71 to 80 – Maximum face amount is $100,000

Safe Harbor Available Riders:

For applicants wanting to customize their term policies to meet their individual needs, Phoenix offers the following optional riders:

• Conversion Rider
• Terminal Illness Rider
• Critical Illness Rider
• Accelerated Death Benefit
• Unemployment Waiver of Premium Rider

To compare rates for all of the term life insurance companies available to you in your area, just run an instant quote or call us at 844-528-8688