Our Verdict
4.3/5
In our Ethos Life Insurance Review you will discover how you can get you approved for up to $2 Million in life insurance coverage with no exam in minutes. We will also discuss what their policy will coverage and more.
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Just a few years ago there was no such thing as life insurance online, let alone instant life insurance and no exam life insurance. It would easily take three weeks to get an answer on approval.
And let's be honest, that long wait time is a part of what made purchasing life insurance in the past a complete hassle.
In this post, we will show you how Ethos is offering life insurance with no medical exam and the ability to apply instantly online for coverage.
Who Is Ethos Life Insurance?
Ethos Life launched in June of 2018, and offers what they call "modern, ethical life insurance," to protect the life you’re building and the people you love.
They do this in part by having a team that is salaried, allowing them to work with customers to figure out what coverage they need best.
Ethos looks to treat you like family and won't up sell you on a policy that doesn't make sense for your budget or your families needs.
Their policies are underwritten by Assurity Life Insurance Co.
Assurity Life has been around for over 128 years and was founded in 1890, as of today they hold an A- (Excellent) rating with 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 Ethos Life different is that they are offering the ability to purchase return of premium life insurance online and without an exam.
Ethos is offering up to $1 Million is life insurance coverage without an exam, and they say that you can apply online and get covered in as little as 10 minutes.
Like other modern insurance companies, Ethos accesses data, such as your motor vehicle and prescription drug records, and uses predictive analytics to decide whether you qualify and to determine rates.
Ethos really wants to focus on being ethical and helping you apply for coverage fast and without needing an agent.
How Does Ethos No Exam Life Insurance Work?
Ethos has a focus on offering a modern and ethical life insurance buying experience for their customers.
You can apply for up to $1 Million and get an instant decision in less than 10 minutes.
Unlike other online life insurance providers, they actually offer up to $10,000,000 in life insurance.
With all of their term options under $1 Million you will receive:
No Medical Exam
This part of the process is straightforward, you are going to answer a few questions about your lifestyle and medical situation through their online application.
Once you do that, Ethos's in-house underwriting system will instantly process that data through their encrypted channels with a method called accelerated underwriting.
This in-house framework enables Ethos to assess your individual risk, without a medical exam, to get an instant underwriting decision.
If you are Approved, you will get real rates, not quotes, at an affordable monthly price.
We talk more about their super fast underwriting process and rates later in this review.
Salaried Agents
In today's society, most people would prefer not to get 100 phone calls because they wanted to get quotes.
However, there are going to be times when you need to speak to someone, and you want to be sure that they are honest and that they give you information for your own benefit.
Luckily, Ethos doesn't have commissioned agents so you can be sure that they will take their time to help you and won't pressure you into anything.
An Easy Way To Pay For Your Policy
Currently, Ethos offers payment by credit card and bank draft.
Payments will be automatically drafted every scheduled payment day until the term is done or the policy is canceled or replaced.
Traditionally most life insurance companies only accept monthly bank draft as an option for payment.
With this new way to pay for insurance, you have more options, and it is effortless to pay for your policy and keep it in force.
Features like this make this the best life insurance policy to buy.
What Does Ethos Life Insurance Cover?
Ethos life offers 4 different policy options for you to choose from.
Each policy comes with the above benefits that we discussed along with coverage options from $100,000 to $1,500,000.
They also offer a return of premium life insurance rider known as the Endowment Benefit Rider that you can add to the policy that we cover below.
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 Insurance 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.
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.
Ethos Endowment Benefit Rider (ROP)
The Endowment Benefit Rider is a return of premium benefit that is paid to the owner of the policy upon termination of the policy for any reason other than death of the insured.
The Endowment Benefit is paid to the owner at the end of the term period.
This rider is only available at the time of the application so once you submit your application you will need to either:
To express interest in adding the return of premium option to your policy.
Once your application is approved, you will receive an updated quote with your return of premium rate.
Endowment Rider Eligibility:
Since you can't get a quote with the rider attached we have added a few sample rates below:
Monthly Cost for Term Policies with Endowment Benefit Rider (ROP)
Rates For Men
Age | 20 Year Term | 30 Year Term |
|---|---|---|
25 | $39.00 | $34.00 |
30 | $39.00 | $39.00 |
35 | $51.00 | $51.00 |
40 | $87.00 | $79.00 |
45 | $138.00 | $121.00 |
*All rates shown are sample quotes for healthy individuals based on $250,000 in coverage
Rates For Women
Age | 20 Year Term | 30 Year Term |
|---|---|---|
25 | $25.00 | $26.00 |
30 | $27.00 | $26.00 |
35 | $42.00 | $40.00 |
40 | $68.00 | $61.00 |
45 | $102.00 | $90.00 |
*All rates shown are sample quotes for healthy individuals based on $250,000 in coverage
How Does Ethos Underwriting Work?
Ethos uses a process called algorithmic underwriting.
Algorithmic Underwriting is a fast and inexpensive approach.
It helps with understanding what type of risk the insurance company will assign to you.
These risk values range from healthy to no healthy.
Instead of an actual person, (which is called an underwriter) reviewing your application and waiting for lab results, a rules-driven decision engine (the “algorithm”) reads your application answers together with available outside data to assign what type of risk you are.
This algorithm is much faster and more unbiased than human underwriting, which translates to a more convenient experience and more accurate price for you.
What Data Will Determine Your Approval?
The products that Ethos offers relies heavily on data vendors.
They take the information from identifying verification, prescription history databases, motor vehicle reports and financial data vendors to make a decision about how risky you would be as a policyholder.
They then take that risk and place it in a few different groups like super healthy, above average, average, or below average.
This risk assignment then determines your price on a month to month basis.
The data vendors that Ethos works with adhere to and are compliant with regulations that make sure your data is used securely and responsibly.
Below are a few reports used to determine your eligibility:
MIB Report - This report which was previously named the Medical Information Bureau is a group of member insurance companies that share data based on when you last applied for life or health insurance in the past 7 years.
This report is used to determine if you have been declined for insurance in the past or if you have any medical conditions not disclosed on a current application.
Prescription History Report - This report is used to check your prescription drug history against your application and how you answered your questions.
If you say you aren't diabetic but you take diabetic prescriptions the algorithm will catch that discrepancy.
Motor Vehicle Report - This report is used to check your driving history to see if you are a risky driver or if you have a history of reckless driving like DUI's or DWI's.
You will be presented disclosure notices that ask for your consent before any data is ordered.
So that you understand what information is being pulled, I encourage you to read these notices and reach out to Ethos's Customer Care Advisors if you have any questions.
What Can You Expect During The Application Process?
Ethos has worked with their insurance partners, designers, and engineers to design an extremely user-friendly application process for life insurance.
The application begins by checking if you are a real person (no robots), followed by questions about your health and lifestyle.
They make sure your information is protected with encryption, and they do not sell your personal information to third parties.
Once they have enough information, if approved, they recommend a coverage amount and monthly price that makes the most sense for you.
You can also decide to choose your own coverage amount and term length.
Ethos Life Rates & Comparisons
Just to give you an idea, below I wanted to compare one of the most popular plans out there with multiple carriers. A 20 Year, 250,000 Term Policy for a 33 year old male in perfect health and a non-tobacco user, see the results below:
Company / Agency* | Medical Exam? | Medical Exam? |
|---|---|---|
 5 / 5 | No | $16.00/month |
 4.5 / 5 | No | $19.00/month |
4.3 / 5 | No | $20.00/month |
 4 / 5 | Not required in most cases | $35.20/month |
As you can see, Ethos is right in line with the pricing of all the heavy hitters in the life insurance industry.
However, with Ethos instead of having to deal with an exam or wait weeks for an answer, you can be covered within minutes.
Best Alternatives To Ethos Life Insurance?
How The Ethos Claims Process Works
Right now, the fastest way to file a claim with Ethos is to call them to speak with one of their Customer Care Advisors.
In the event of the insured's death, you can contact them at 415-915-0665 to report the claim.
They do require that the beneficiary of the insured complete all claim requirements.
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), and high-risk activities like scuba diving, automobile or motorboat racing, and mountain or rock climbing.
Also, operating or learning to operate an aircraft as a student, pilot or crew (excluding commercial pilot).
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.
Ethos Life Availability & Policy Options
To qualify for the Ethos Term life insurance policy, you must:
How To Take Action
No other Ethos Life Insurance Reviews are as long as mine; 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 and stop wasting time.
Click here or on any of the above buttons to get some instant quotes and get covered today.
