Our Verdict
4.0
Protective Life offers a wide verity of insurance products and additional insurance riders. Even through their underwriting process is longer than average, they still have some of the most lenient underwriters in the industry. That is why I put this Protective Life Insurance Review together, to help you understand if this product is best for you and how it works.
Pros
Cons
When it comes to life insurance I am a huge advocate of the no exam life insurance option.
However, there are some situations where the "no exam" option is out of the question and a fully underwritten option is best.
Especially if you have pre-existing conditions or need more than $1.5 Million in life insurance. The best way to speed this process up will be to get your exam completed super fast, try to get a time as early as possible so that your results get back to the insurance company faster.
If you need the most affordable rates and are fine with a 2 to 3 week turn around, then getting term life insurance rates and coverage from Protective is the best answer.
Who Is Protective Life Insurance?
Protective Life was founded in 1907 which makes it 112 years old.
An insurance company's age is essential because it shows that they aren't going anywhere and have longevity.
They believe in doing what's right, always and living with integrity and honesty
Protective wants to view each customer as a friend for life.
They underwrite their own policies as well as for their subsidy properties.
Protective Life Insurance Company has insurer financial strength ratings of A+ (Superior) from A.M. Best.
Why Should You Care About A.M. Best?
I like to think of A.M. Best like the JD Power of the insurance industry, they have been around for over 117 years.
They rate companies based mainly on their financial strength, which can be an indicator or claims-paying ability.
Claims Paying Ability "in plain English": A Life Insurance Company's ability to pay out on a policy.
What Makes Them Different?
What makes Protective Life different is that they have some of the most affordable life insurance rates in the industry. Protective is offering up to $10 Million in life insurance coverage with a short online application.
Protective also offers a variety of permanent insurance policies—such as whole and universal life. However, as we stated above Protective is not a good choice if you are a tobacco user, as the company's rates are considerably higher when compared to competing insurers.
Protective Life PLUS Accelerated Term Life Option
Like most companies, Protective Life is moving towards an automated and accelerated life insurance underwriting process.
Because of this, some applicants may not be required to take an exam.
The also might be able to avoid medical records requests also. You can apply for up to $1,000,000 if you are between ages 18-45 and up to $500,000 for ages 46-60.
The accelerated underwriting works like this:
Protective life agents will conduct a Telephone Interview and once the needed information from the interview is collected there are two different outcomes that can happen.
1. The accelerated underwriting option and the policy may be issued without the need of an exam or blood work.
2. The traditional underwriting course that requires and exam and medical records.
If you qualify for the no exam option is going to depend on your specific medical situation.
Remember, "No Exam" doesn't mean "No Underwriting," there are still reports pulled to make sure you qualify for coverage such as:
Protective is working to give you the best of both worlds, if you can't qualify for the no exam option, you will probably be able to qualify for the fully underwritten option.
INSURANCE WHERE YOU LIVE
Life insurance by state.
" data-uw-styling-context="true">How Does Protective Life Insurance Work?
Protective is focused on affordable life insurance rates with solid underwriting for people with pre-existing conditions.
Their life insurance process works like this:
Simple Application
The application process is simple and short, it will usually take less than 15 minutes to complete all the information and submit your application.
Accelerated Underwriting
This part of the process is straightforward, you are going to answer a few questions about your lifestyle and medical situation via a telephone interview.
Once you do that, Protective's in-house underwriting system will decide how to proceed with your application.
If you qualify for the no exam option you will be approved based on that interview and coverage can start immediately.
If you don't qualify you will be sent into the traditional underwriting process.
Policy Delivered Via Email
Once your policy has been approved and issued you will receive a copy of it directly to your email address.
This is great because you don't have to remember where you left your policy and will always have easy access to it.
What Does Protective Life Insurance Cover?
Protective life offers a few different policy options for you to choose from. Each policy comes with coverage options from $100,000 up to $10,000,000.
10 Year Term Life Insurance Policy
The ten year term life option is going to cover you for 10 years before it's time to purchase a new policy.
This policy is going to be the most affordable option with low-range pricing and will be best for people who are looking at both their short term and long term needs.
The amount of life events that can happen in 10 years is massive and being prepared for them is very important.
A 10 year term is a great starting point and locking your low rates in is going to be essential.
15 Year Term Life Policy
The fifteen year term life option is going to cover you for 15 years before you have to purchase a new policy.
This policy is going to be the second most affordable and be best for people who are in the middle of life events like having a baby or switching jobs.
20 Year Term Life Insurance Policy
The twenty year term life policy will be the second most expensive of the 4; however, it will still be very affordable.
This term length is going to be best for someone focused very much so on their future and want to be covered for the most extended period of time with the maximum amount of savings.
The longer a term length a policy has, the more expensive it will be up-front; however, the more savings you will get over time.
If you know what you want and can afford the twenty year term option, then I would suggest you go with the 20 year term option.
30 Year Term Life Insurance Policy
The thirty year term life policy will be the most expensive of the 4; however, it will still be affordable.
This term length is going to be best for someone focused on their future and want to be covered for the most extended period of time with the maximum amount of savings.
The longer a term length a policy has, the more expensive it will be up-front; however, the more savings you will get over time.
If you know what you want and can afford the thirty year term option, then I would suggest you go with it.
It's a really good option if you just purchased a home.
Universal Life Policy
The Universal life policy provides permanent coverage but has the flexibility to raise or lower premiums and coverage options to accommodate your changing needs.
It usually considered as an alternative to term life insurance and more affordable than whole life insurance.
All Cause Death Benefit
All of these policies will pay out for all types of death from accidental death, terminal illness, critical illness or chronic illness.
With all insurance policies, there are some limitations so be sure to read the policy for things that aren't covered.
Protective Life Income Provider Rider
The income provider option is what makes Protective Life the best option for cheap life insurance.
Instead of a lump sum payout to the beneficiary, this option allows the death benefit payout to happen over a set amount of years.
For example, a policy with a $600,000 death benefit could be structured to that the benefit to the beneficiary pays out $60,000 a year for 10 years instead of a $600,000 lump sum.
This is a great option to choose if:
Just imagine you have a kid that is in college or just starting a family. Instead of giving them their life insurance proceeds in a lump sum that they might blow through, you can just pay them a set amount every year which gives them time to get better with their finances.
INSURANCE WHERE YOU LIVE
Life insurance by state.
" data-uw-styling-context="true">Protective Life Insurance Products
What Data Will Determine Your Approval?
The Classic Choice Term from protective life is one of the most affordable term life insurance products on the market. Like all life insurance products it has a tax free death benefit as well as an accelerated death benefit via a terminal illness rider.
This policy also has guaranteed level premiums as well as the ability to convert the policy into a whole life plan, without a medical exam; below are the conversion rules:
Conversions are allowable for the level premium term period less two years subject to an age maximum of 70 years old. Conversions for the first five (5) years will be allowed to an expanded set of products, which today includes all of our currently marketed products except Survivor UL, Survivor Term and Single Premium VUL. After five (5) years, conversion can take place only to a limited basic set of products.
There are also other optional benefits such as:
Child Protection Rider - Life insurance for all natural, adopted and stepchildren with ages ranging from as young as 15 days old through 18 years old — this is a better option than purchasing individual policies for each child.
Accelerated Death Benefit Rider - Advances part of the death benefit (up to 60% of the policy's death benefit or $1 million, whichever is less) if you’ve been confined to a nursing home for 6 months and are expected to be in the nursing home permanently or you’ve been diagnosed with a terminal illness with a max life expectancy of 6 months.
Accidental Death Benefit Rider - Provides coverage that pays an additional death benefit if your death results from an accident. - Applicants ages 18 – 60 are eligible for the rider, with coverage and premiums ending at age 65. Your additional coverage can range from $1,000 to $250,000.
However, it might be more affordable to purchase a separate accidental death insurance policy.
Classic Choice UL
This policy is the alternative to their term life insurance product. It offers a level death benefit for a term ranging from 10-30 years, with multiple options for continuing the coverage beyond that term period.
While most term life insurance companies do offer the option to convert to a term policy at the end of the chosen term length, this policy builds it in, which prevents the customer from facing large premium increases at the time of the conversion.
Protective Child Life Insurance
Protective offers child life insurance through their Protect My Child insurance policy. It is a whole life policy with level premiums and lifetime protection.
The best thing about this policy from Protective is that when your child turns 18 the policy will double in coverage amount without the premiums changing.
Coverage options range from $10,000 to $100,000 in coverage. While they do offer the single pay option, keep in mind the life pay option will still be expensive if you get a large amount of coverage.
Protective Life Rates & Comparisons
Just to give you an idea, below I wanted to compare Protective life rates with multiple companies.
A 20 Year, 500,000 Term Policy for a 30 year old male in perfect health and a non-tobacco user, see the results below:
Company Name | Plan Name | $500,000 Quote |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Choice Term | $20.21/month |
 | Pacific PROMISE Term | $20.84/month |
 | TermAccel | $21.00/month |
 | Select-A-Term | $21.11/month |
 | Level Premium Term | $21.32/month |
 | OPTerm | $21.44/month |
 | Term Life Answers | $21.66/month |
 | Haven Term | $22.48/month |
 | Bestow No Exam Term | $26.25/month |
As you can see, Protective is more affordable than all of the carriers quoted.
If you want the lowest price then the Classic Choice Term product is your best option.
INSURANCE WHERE YOU LIVE
Life insurance by state.
" data-uw-styling-context="true">How Protective's Claims Process Works
Protective offers a simple and clear explanation of how to handle a claim on their website.
You can call their toll-free number for either annuity or life insurance claims.
You can also download the required forms for the claim.
Their claims process seems to be easy to follow and involves the filing of the claim, gathering of the required information by a claims representative, and the release of funds when all of the documents have been submitted.
Protective promises to send out payment within one business day of claim approval.
The company offers a Benefit Account option for benefits larger than $10,000, which can be used as a checking account rather than a lump-sum payment.
They also offer financial counseling to assist with handling the benefit, especially with large amounts.
Are There Any Claim Exclusions
There are a few exclusions when paying a life insurance claim.
The exclusions include death from suicide (within the first 2 years of coverage), which is standard for almost all life insurance policies.
As always, please read the policy specifics when it arrives in the mail; however, those are some general exclusions which is industry standard for most policies.
Protective Life's Availability & Policy Options
To qualify for the Protective Term life insurance policy, you must:
How To Take Action
No other Protective Life Insurance Reviews are as long as ours; however, I wanted to make sure that I gave as much detail as possible.
If you have been holding off on buying life insurance for any reason, I say give the 30-day free look period a shot. Protective is an amazing life insurance company.
Don't waste any time, just click here or on any of the links above to get a quote and get started today.
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