The Top 10 Best Term Life Insurance Companies

When it comes to term life insurance there are a ton of different life insurance carriers that you can choose from. The good news is we did the work for you and listed all the best ones that you should be dealing with. One of the ways that you can recognize a bad company from the best companies is by their rating. Ratings reflect their financial strength and it is one of the most important things to look at when considering a life insurance company. As an independent agency, we only represent “A” rated companies so you can avoid any fly by night companies. In this article, we will be providing a short review of each company and their term life product highlights. The following are the top 10 best term life insurance companies that if you click on their name, they will lead you to our review for a more in-depth understanding.

What is term life insurance?

Term life insurance is a really good place to begin if you have never had any life insurance before and are generally the most affordable insurance policies on the market. Term life is a temporary form of life insurance that will cover your needs for a specific time. The term lengths are dependent on the company and their products, most offer term lengths of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30-years. After the lock-in period comes to an end your policy will go up in cost every year thereafter. It is also important to note that term life is a pure protection product with no cash value growth.

How do I know if I need term life insurance?

There are many reasons that people buy life insurance but there are about three good reasons to buy a term life insurance policy. If you have short-term responsibilities this is the first good reason to obtain term life insurance. For example, if you only have 10-15 years left on your mortgage or if you have a 15-year old child who will be out of college in 10 years then having a 10, or a 15-year term policy may be most beneficial for the time being since your highest risk years will be over in 10-15 years.

Another reason people buy life insurance policies is for loan assignment. A lot of loan companies require you to buy a life insurance policy whether whole or term just to make sure that they can get their money back in case something were to happen to you. In this specific case, a 10-year term policy will make a lot of sense.

The last reason people buy term life insurance policies is that it is the most affordable life insurance option on the market. It is the most affordable type of life insurance because statistics show that the chance of you dying in 5-10 years isn’t high, and that’s why life insurance companies give you some leeway. If all you can afford is a 10-year term policy then you should get one because if it’s hard to make ends meet now you don’t want to think of what would happen if you were no longer around to provide for your loved ones.

Metlife

You may have heard of Metlife or Metropolitan Life Insurance Company because they have been named the No.4 “world’s most admired” by Fortune in 2016. They have been around since 1868 when they used to underwrite the lives and limbs of Union soldiers during the Civil War. According to A.M Best Metlife has an “A+” rating also known as superior, Fitch Ratings also rate them an “AA-” and Moody’s Investors rates Metlife an “Aa3”. They offer 5-year renewable term life which allows you to renew your policy every 5 years up to the age of 75. You can renew this policy for the same cover and the same duration without the need to provide evidence of good health. Metlife also offers Level Term Life which allows you to choose to pay premiums over 10, 15, 20 and 25-years or from the age of 55 to 75. This policy offers your premiums to be fixed or leveled throughout your term which means that your premiums will neither increase nor decrease. Just like other companies, Metlife has their own set of unique underwriting techniques. If you are under 40 with a blood pressure reading of 130/80 you can still qualify for the best rates also known as preferred rates, or if you haven’t had a DUI within the past five years you are eligible for good rates.

Protective

Protective Life was founded in 1907 and are known for their competitive prices when it comes to term life rates in the whole marketplace. According to A.M Best Protective Life is rated “A+” also known as superior. This a good indicator of how much you can trust your insurance company because it shows how financially strong the company is. The company offers a traditional Term Life product that only provides protection for 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30-years. This term life product offers fixed or level premiums which means that the premiums on this policy will neither increase nor decrease throughout your whole term policy. Protective Life differentiates themselves with their underwriting because of the fact that Protective Life is so compassionate when it comes to their clients having some health conditions. They are a #1 choice for clients who have a history of heart disease because they pass their competitors rates by 25-45%. This includes clients who have suffered a heart attack, have heart disease, or have had bypass surgery. They also don’t charge tobacco rates for those who have an occasional cigar or two every two months or so which is great because most life insurance companies don’t overlook that fact and charge you smoker rates which can increase your rates by 60% or more.

AIG

AIG has been in business for over 160 years and has served a total of 12 million customers. According to A.M Best AIG is rated “A” or excellent, Standard & Poor’s also rates the company “A+” or strong. Moody’s rated AIG an “A2” or good, and Fitch Ratings rated them an “A+” or strong. AIG offers two term life products, the first one is AIG Select A Term which provides coverage for 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30-years. This is a simple term that provides pure protection for the duration of the policy with the ability to convert to a permanent plan. You can also add a rider to this policy which will allow you to get all the money you paid back if you outlive the term. The other product they have is a Guaranteed Universal Life policy also known as a lifetime term. This is a permanent coverage that can be locked in till age 90, 95, 100 or 121 with some cash value accumulation. Besides that AIG is a great carrier for people with criminal history or women with gestational diabetes looking for preferred rates.

Genworth

Genworth Life Insurance Company wrote their first insurance policy in the year 1871 in Virginia. They have over $100 billion in assets and according to A.M Best as of March 15, 2017, the company has received a “B” rating or fair and Standard & Poor’s rate of the company is a “BB-” or marginal. Lastly, Moody’s rates Genworth a “Ba3”. They offer term, whole, and universal life insurance. Genworth Colony Term life insurance is a term life product offered by the company that comes in lengths of 10, 15, or 20-years. This product allows to convert from term life to a permanent life insurance policy and has a minimum of $50,000 of coverage. Their second term life product is VantagePoint Term Life insurance policy which covers a choice of 15, 20, or 30-years. They offer guaranteed level premiums which means that your premiums will neither increase nor decrease and has a return of premium feature which will return 100% of eligible premiums after 15, 20, or 30-years.

Transamerica

Transamerica Life Insurance Company has been around for over 100 years and today they have the highest rankings from popular rating agencies. The company leads in the top 5 ratings with a score of “A+” from A.M Best, Fitch, an “AA-” from Standard & Poor’s, and an “A1” from Moody’s. The company has more than $1.95 billion of life insurance policies in force. Transamerica offers Term, Universal, Variable, and Whole life insurance products. Their Term life product is available for ages 18-75 and death benefits begin at $100,000. You can obtain this policy for 10, 15, 20, or 30-year terms with no annual fees for maintaining a term policy. Trendsetter Term life insurance is available for ages 18-80 and comes in term lengths of 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30-years. This product has a guaranteed coverage and rate amount during your term length and offers advanced payout if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness and have less than 12 months to live. Transamerica Life’s niche is older clients and offers competitive rates and liberal guidelines for clients 71 and older, which is an age that many life insurance companies stop writing life insurance at. They offer the best rate class for clients 71 and older with a 5.5 cholesterol ratio or who have a blood pressure reading of 145/85 and are also 71 and older.

Prudential

Prudential is the big kid on the block and for a good reason, they been around since the late 1800’s with an “A+” rating. The company has over a trillion dollars in assets, YES a Trillion! This is a wonderful company overall and they have some of the best underwriting for people who are nicotine users and have preexisting conditions. Their term life product Term Essential provides guaranteed level premiums for the entire length of the policy. So if you are approved at a Preferred rate at $45 a month for a 10-year term product, you can expect to pay for the entire 10-year period. Once the term expires it will start to renew annually and this can mean that the rate will go up every year according to your new age. This product also offers a convertible option which allows you to switch your policy from term life to permanent life insurance without having to prove insurability, no exams or underwriting is necessary.

Principal

Principal Life Insurance Company was founded in 1879 and is rated “A+” by A.M Best which means they are superior in their financial strength. They have more than $516 billion assets under management and their operating earnings of more than $967.3 million. Principal offers one of the highest coverage caps at $1,000,000 while most no exam carriers limit you at $250,000 to $500,000. This product can assure you to be covered in 72 hours or two weeks maximum if you qualify for their accelerated underwriting program. Principal offers amazing rates for cancer survivors, clients with diabetes, and clients with epilepsy.

Voya

In 2014 ING U.S became Voya Financial and have completed their re-branding that year. Voya has more than 13 million customers and about $486 billion in Assets under management. According to A.M Best, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s they are rated “A” and an “A2” rating by Moody’s. Voya offers term life and universal life insurance products. Voya TermSmart is a term life insurance product and comes in term lengths of 10, 15, and 20-years of coverage. The coverage amount options range between $100,000 to upwards of millions of dollars. This is a level term product which means that throughout the length of the policy your premiums will not increase nor decrease and is guaranteed to stay locked in. Just like other plans, this term plan is convertible on a guaranteed basis to a permanent life insurance option. Oh, and a cool fact about Voya, they are our go-to company for cigar smokers.

Nationwide

Nationwide Life Insurance Company is almost a 100 years of age and although they are popular for their Auto&Home plans, they provide some cool life insurance plans too. According to A.M Best, they are rated “A+” or superior. Nationwide offers a term life product called YourLife Guaranteed Level Term which can be bought for a period of 10 to 30 years and is guaranteed to be a level term. This means that your rates will not go up or down and once the term expires you can either let it expire or let it renew annually. This product also allows you to convert your policy into a permanent life insurance policy. Nationwide is one of the few life insurance companies who provide wellness credits which basically gives you points as long as you live a healthy lifestyle and can sway your health rating in the better direction.

Banner Life

One of the most competitively priced life insurance companies is Banner Life. When running quotes for different plans and ages you’ll start seeing a trend of Banner being in top 5 when it comes to affordability. However, don’t let this fool you the company is not weak and their product is not of low quality. They are actually also “A+” rated by A.M. Best and have over $7 billion in assets. Unlike other insurers, they don’t offer hundreds of different confusing plans but rather two options. One option is term life insurance and the other is GUL. For term life, you can get 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30-year term with conversion privilege. Their permanent GUL is available up to age 100 or 121 if you plan on living for a long time.

Work with InsureChance!

In conclusion, we can only provide our idea of the best term life insurance companies out there but it is up to you to figure out which of these best suits your health and lifestyle. Based on your situation and health class different companies will come back with different quotes. The key is working with us, we can do all the shopping for you because we work with over 60 top “A” rated companies. The best part is our service is free to you so request an application or call us at 888.492.1967!