NEA Life Insurance Review 2022 – Investopedia
Age
Death Benefit if You Pass Away Within the Age Bracket
45 to 49
$500 for the first year $2,500 for the second year $5,000 for the third year $10,000 for the fourth and fifth year
50 to 54
$10,000
55 to 59
$10,000
60 to 64
$7,500
65 to 69
$6,000
70 and up
$3,000
Available Riders
With most insurance companies, you can customize your coverage to meet the unique needs of you and your family by adding optional insurance riders to your policy. Riders allow you to purchase extra coverage, get insurance for your family members, or access some of your benefits early.
With NEA, the only policy that offers optional riders is the group term life plan. However, some of its plans have riders included with its price. Depending on your plan, you may be able to take advantage of the following riders:
Accelerated Death Benefit
If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, the accelerated death benefit rider allows you to use some of your policy’s face amount for your expenses while you’re still living.
Child Insurance
When you purchase a term life policy, you can add $10,000 of coverage for each of your children.
Spousal Coverage
You can purchase term life coverage for your spouse or domestic partner at the same time you apply for coverage for yourself.
Customer Service
With NEA plans, you can get quotes and submit your application online. Once you apply and are approved for insurance through the NEA, Prudential will issue your policy. Prudential is a large insurance company serving millions of customers, and you’ll go to its customer service department if you have any questions about your coverage.
Prudential has an online portal for customers where you can download plan documents, make payments, or file a claim.
If you need assistance, you can contact customer support from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. The phone number of customer service is dependent on your policy number:
800-944-8786 (policy numbers beginning with the letter “V”)800-778-2255 (all other policy numbers)
Complaint Index
Before buying a policy, it’s a good idea to research the insurer and how it handles policyholder issues.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) offers a useful resource: its complaint ratio index. The NAIC collects all of the complaints that customers submit about companies and compares them to the number of complaints submitted about companies of a similar size.
In 2020, The Prudential Insurance Company of America had a complaint ratio of 4.09 for its individual life insurance segment—four times as high as expected in the market.
Because the complaint ratio was so high, we looked into the most commonly submitted issues. The majority of consumer complaints concerned policyholder service and claims handling.
For the past three years, Prudential’s complaint ratio has been significantly higher than the industry standard.
Third-Party Ratings
It’s important to consider a company’s financial stability before buying a policy so you can be confident the insurer will be able to pay out your claim, if necessary. As a major insurer, Prudential has a strong reputation for its financial stability.
At the end of 2020, AM Best affirmed Prudential’s A+ (superior) rating. In the press release about the rating, AM Best cited Prudential’s balance sheet strength, operating performance, and favorable business profile as its rationale for the higher rating.
Prudential was one of the 24 insurance companies evaluated in the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. The study researched top companies and ranked and rated them based on their available insurance options, prices, and customer service. In the study, J.D. Power ranked Prudential 12th out of 24, giving the company 759 out of 1,000 possible points—just slightly below the industry average rating of 763.
Cancellation Policy
Like other insurance companies, NEA plans offered through Prudential include 10-day free-look periods. During that time, you can decide to cancel your coverage and get a full refund of all the premiums you paid. After that, policies can be canceled at any time, but you won’t receive a refund of the premiums you paid.
While Prudential issues the life insurance policies, cancellations must be submitted to the NEA. You must submit a signed letter requesting the cancellation through the mail or email to the following:
NEA Insurance Operations
Attn: Changes
P.O. Box 9389
Des Moines, IA 50306-9389
Fax: (515) 365-1520
ask-us@neamb.com
If you retire and would like to maintain your policy, you must become an NEA retired member.
Price
According to the NEA, its policies are often less expensive than policies sold elsewhere because the NEA negotiates with insurers to offer group rates to its 3 million members. For most policies, we found the pricing is competitive.
For example, below are estimated monthly premiums for $250,000 level premium term life policies.
Term Length
Age 25
Age 35
Age 45
10 Years
$15.13
$16.19
$25.77
15 Years
$13.69
$17.16
$31.79
20 Years
$14.18
$20.03
$39.73
You can get quotes for its policies on the NEA member benefits website and submit an application online.
As with other life insurance companies, NEA and Prudential require you to select either “male” or “female” when you apply for insurance. Being nonbinary doesn’t disqualify you from getting life insurance. However, you should be aware that most insurance companies haven’t updated their underwriting processes to reflect a current awareness of gender issues.
Competition
While NEA offers affordable life insurance options, its policies are only for educators and retired educators that are members of the organization. Plus, it only offers term life coverage.
If you are ineligible for membership or are looking for other life insurance options, consider purchasing life insurance through State Farm. State Farm is a top-rated insurance company that sells term, whole, and universal life policies. It has 10 different plans to choose from, so you can likely find an option that meets your needs.
Buying insurance through State Farm also gives you access to a lengthy list of optional riders you can use to adjust your coverage. Available riders include flexible care benefit, guaranteed insurability option, waiver of monthly deduction for disability, and children’s term insurance benefits.
NEA (issued by Prudential)
State Farm
Market Share
Fifth-largest in the U.S., 4.6%
Seventh-largest in the U.S., 3.5%
Number of Plans
5
10
Dividends for 2020
N/A
$600 million
Wellness Program Discounts/Quit Smoking Incentives
N/A
N/A
Service Method
Online
Agents
AM Best Rating
A+ (Superior)
A++ (Superior)
Complaints Trend
4.09
0.26
Final Verdict
For qualifying educators, NEA life insurance policies can be an affordable and easy way to purchase life insurance. Because NEA offers group life insurance rates, you may be able to buy a policy for less than you’d spend elsewhere, and most coverage options don’t require medical exams. However, the NEA’s policies are limited to eligible members. If you don’t qualify, you’ll have to purchase coverage from an insurer that doesn’t require a membership.
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Methodology
Our reviews of life insurance companies are based on a quantitative methodology that analyzes each insurer on their stability and reliability, customer service, claims experience, diversity of product lines, and cost. We compare the terms of each type of policy offered—including available coverage amounts, optional riders, and premium payment options—with that of other major life insurance companies. Lastly, we look at how the company is rated by third-party organizations to determine its reliability and overall reputation.
