PolicyGenius Life Insurance Review – Crossroads Today
February 7, 2022 1:58 PM
Kat Tretina
Posted: February 7, 2022 1:58 PM
Updated: February 7, 2022 2:35 PM
Best Online Broker
If you’re shopping for life insurance, finding the right insurance company — and comparing quotes — can feel overwhelming. Rather than getting prices and policy details directly from individual companies yourself, you can use an online broker to get quotes from several insurers at once.
PolicyGenius allows comparisons of whole and term life policies from top insurance companies. It’s our pick for the best online broker because it allows customers to shop entirely online, but it also has insurance agents available to give you personalized assistance if you need it.
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PolicyGenius Life Insurance Pros and Cons
Pros
Allows comparing multiple quotes at once
Not affiliated with any insurance company
Offers access to licensed agents if you want
Multiple term coverage options
Cons
Limited range of insurance partners
Medical exams usually required
Some partners have low customer satisfaction scores
Pros
Allows you to compare multiple quotes at once
In the past, buying life insurance meant manually getting quotes from multiple companies or working with an insurance broker to do the research for you. PolicyGenius simplifies and streamlines the process, allowing you to fill out one form and get quotes from several top insurers.
Not affiliated with any insurance company
Like most other brokers, PolicyGenius isn’t an insurance company, nor does it own one. It sells policies from multiple companies without giving priority to any one of them, so you can get unbiased information.
Fully licensed agents available
In some cases, even with an online purchase, you may want to talk to an insurance agent because of special circumstances or to answer questions about the insurance process. Unlike some brokers who offer no option for human interaction, PolicyGenius has fully-licensed agents available by phone or text to help you.
Multiple term coverage options
Term life insurance is a popular choice for many people, but some insurers limit options to terms of no more than 30 years or benefits of $2 million or less, to give just two examples. A broker like PolicyGenius allows you to shop multiple companies for terms as long as 40 years and coverage of up to $10 million.
Cons
Limited range of insurance partners
While brokers like PolicyGenius allow you to get quotes from several insurers at once, not all insurance companies work with them. They only provide quotes from its partners that pay commissions, and you may be able to find better rates elsewhere if you’re willing to do the research yourself.
Medical exams are usually required
Most PolicyGenius policies are fully underwritten and require medical exams. If you’re looking for simplified issue or guaranteed issue policies, you may have to work with another company.
Some partners have low customer satisfaction scores
Since PolicyGenius doesn’t underwrite insurance policies, customer satisfaction ratings vary by insurer. While a few of the companies have very good ratings, most are ranked relatively low for customer service. (During the shopping process, PolicyGenius is available for assistance. But once the policy is purchased, you’ll work with the insurer with any customer service issues, so company customer satisfaction ratings are important).
PolicyGenius Life Insurance Products
Through PolicyGenius, you can get quotes for and purchase term and whole life insurance policies. Once you choose a policy, you’ll work with a PolicyGenius agent to finalize your quote and submit your application.
Available Life Insurance Plans
PolicyGenius has two life insurance options:
Term Life
With term life coverage, you purchase life insurance for a specified term. As temporary coverage, term life insurance is usually cheaper than whole life insurance, but your beneficiaries only receive a death benefit if you pass away during the policy term.
When purchasing term life insurance through PolicyGenius, you can choose a term of 10 to 40 years. And, you can get up to $10 million of coverage.
Whole Life
If you’re looking for a life insurance policy that never expires, a whole life plan might be best for you. Unlike term life insurance, whole life policies last for your lifetime. And, they can accumulate cash value over time; you can utilize the cash value in the form of loans or withdrawals as needed.
Through PolicyGenius, you can get quotes for whole life insurance with death benefits as high as $10 million.
Insurance Riders
Although the insurance companies that sell policies through PolicyGenius offer riders, PolicyGenius doesn’t list what riders each company offers, and it doesn’t give you any details on what the riders would cost when you get a preliminary quote. The only way to get that information is to contact a PolicyGenius agent or the insurance company directly.
Limitations
PolicyGenius only sells term and whole life insurance. If you’re looking for another form of coverage, such as guaranteed issue policies or universal or variable life insurance, you’ll have to look for another company.
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PolicyGenius Credentials
PolicyGenius was launched in 2014. Since its inception, it has sold more than $140 billion in insurance coverage, including life, auto, disability and homeowners policies. It has headquarters in New York and Durham, North Carolina.
PolicyGenius doesn’t underwrite or issue policies. Instead, it connects customers to leading insurance companies. For life insurance, its partners include AIG, Brighthouse Financial, Lincoln Financial Group, Pacific Life, Prudential and TransAmerica.
Financial Stability
Purchasing a life insurance policy is a serious decision; your policy will last for decades, if not your entire life. To ensure that your beneficiaries are protected, you want to make sure the company you choose to buy a policy from will be financially stable over the long-haul.
Before purchasing a policy, review ratings from credit rating agencies to see what experts believe about the company’s stability and future outlook.
The companies PolicyGenius works with generally have high financial stability ratings. Below are the credit ratings for the companies that issue PolicyGenius’ policies:
Carrier
AM Best Rating
Moody’s Rating
S & P Global Rating
AIG
A (Excellent)
Baa2
N/A
Brighthouse Financial
A (Excellent)
BAA3
A+
Lincoln Financial Group
A+ (Superior)
BAA1
BBB
Pacific Life
A+ (Superior)
AA3
AA-
Prudential
A+ (Superior)
A3
AA-
TransAmerica
A (Excellent)
A1
N/A
Third-Party Ratings
PolicyGenius works with many different companies, and their ratings and customer service rankings vary between insurers.
PolicyGenius’ partners did not perform very well in the J.D. Power U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, which ranked 21 life insurance companies based on customer satisfaction. Only one of PolicyGenius’ partners — Pacific Life — was in the top 10; the rest all had scores below the industry average.
Insurance Company
Ranking
Score (based on a 1,000 scale)
AIG
20/21
729 (Below industry average)
Brighthouse Financial
21/21
714 (Well below the industry average)
Lincoln Financial Group
12/21
773 (A little bit below the industry average)
Pacific Life
4/21
801 (Above the industry average)
Prudential
15/21
753 (Below the industry average)
TransAmerica
19/21
747 (Below the industry average)
Regulatory Actions
PolicyGenius has not faced any regulatory actions.
Cost of PolicyGenius Life Insurance
If you’re deciding which insurance is best for you, consider that term life insurance tends to be much cheaper than whole life policies. If you purchase life insurance in your 20s, coverage can be inexpensive since you are less likely to have existing health conditions.
When you request a quote from PolicyGenius, it will give you a range for the premiums rather than a set rate. Many variables can affect your premiums, including the insurance company, your location, age and health history.
To give you an idea of what rates to expect, we requested quotes for a healthy 30-year-old. We found that PolicyGenius’ quotes were in line with industry averages.
Below are the sample monthly premiums:
$100,000 policy
$250,000 policy
$500,000 policy
$1M policy
10 years
$7 to $8
$9 to $14
$11 to $22
$16 to $34
20 years
$8 to $11
$11 to $18
$16 to $29
$25 to $49
30 years
$11 to $16
$22 to $38
$37 to $69
$67 to $128
Whole Life
$80 to $82
$189 to $194
$374 to $384
$733 to $754
Your rates may vary from the sample rates we received because premiums are based on multiple factors including your age, gender, health history and location.
PolicyGenius Accessibility
Customers can apply for a life insurance policy through PolicyGenius’ website. However, PolicyGenius also has fully-licensed agents that can answer your questions or may be able help you find a policy if you have chronic health issues or a complicated medical history.
Contact Information
The life insurance customer support team is available by phone or email:
Phone: 855-695-2255
Email: Team@PolicyGenius.com
Customer service is available Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. EST, on Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. EST, and on weekends from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. EST.
User Experience
PolicyGenius allows customers to create an account to save their information as they get quotes and navigate through the application process. However, once you have purchased a policy, you’ll need to create an account with the company issuing the policy to make payments or change your beneficiaries.
PolicyGenius Customer Satisfaction
While customers often leave positive PolicyGenius reviews, the companies that underwrite and issue the policies that PolicyGenius sells receive less-complimentary remarks.
Customer Reviews
On TrustPilot, PolicyGenius has outstanding reviews. Its TrustScore is 4.8 out of 5 based on over 2,900 reviews, putting it in the “excellent” category. PolicyGenius customer reviews typically praise the quick application process, communication and cost.
Complaint Index
To get an idea of what kind of customer service PolicyGenius offers, we looked at the complaint ratios of the companies that issue policies through the site. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) releases ratios that reflect the number of complaints submitted relative to the company’s size. The industry standard is 1.0; a ratio above 1.0 indicates that the company received more complaints than is typical for its share of the market.
Because PolicyGenius life insurance policies are sold by different insurers, the level of customer service can vary by company. Some of the partner companies, such as Prudential and AIG, have a much higher complaint ratio than the industry standard, meaning they received significantly more complaints than is expected for their size.
What insurance companies does PolicyGenius work with?
PolicyGenius works with several top life insurance companies, including:
– AIG
– Brighthouse Financial
– Lincoln Financial Group
– Pacific Life
– Prudential
– TransAmerica
How does PolicyGenius make money?
PolicyGenius is paid a commission by insurance companies for every sale made through the site. The commission is built into the rate quotes, so you don’t have to pay extra to buy a policy through PolicyGenius.
Who owns PolicyGenius?
PolicyGenius is a private company. It was founded in 2014 by Jennifer Fitzgerald and Francois de Lame.
How We Evaluated PolicyGenius Life Insurance
In our evaluation of PolicyGenius and other life insurance companies, we looked at the following factors:
Available plans and terms
Insurance riders
Policy exclusions
Underwriting process
Cost
Financial stability
Customer service
Customer reviews
Third-party ratings
Summary of Money’s PolicyGenius Life Insurance Review
If you need life insurance and aren’t sure where to start, PolicyGenius could be a helpful resource. As an online broker, PolicyGenius allows you to fill out one simple form and get quotes from multiple insurance companies so you can pick the best fit for you. You can get up to $10 million in coverage, and you can purchase either term or whole life policies.
However, some people may find it worthwhile to shop around on their own. Because PolicyGenius only works with certain insurance companies, you may find better rates — and a higher level of customer service — from other insurers that don’t partner with PolicyGenius.
A proper life insurance policy will protect your loved ones from the unexpected.
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