Protective Life Insurance Review 2024
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Protective
on Nerdwallet
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
on Nerdwallet
Protective
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
Protective Life Insurance Company offers term and whole life, plus various types of universal life insurance, including a low-cost policy with similar benefits to term.
» MORE: Compare life insurance quotes
Protective life insurance rating
Protective Life earned 4 stars out of 5 for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account consumer experience, complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and financial strength ratings.
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Protective life insurance policies
Term life insurance. Protective offers 10- to 40-year term life insurance policies with coverage of $100,000 to $50 million. Policyholders may have the option to convert their term life insurance policy to a permanent policy without a medical exam. Depending on your state, the policy could include a terminal illness rider, which pays out early death benefits if you become terminally sick.
Whole life insurance. Protective offers whole life insurance policies with level premium payments and a cash value that grows at a fixed interest rate.
Universal life insurance. Protective’s Custom Choice universal life insurance policy provides permanent coverage but offers the flexibility to raise or lower the premiums and death benefit. The accompanying cash value account grows tax-deferred. You pay a level premium for coverage for a certain period, from 10 to 30 years. At the end of this period, the price stays the same, but you'll start getting less coverage. When the death benefit reaches $10,000, premiums begin to increase.
Other types of universal life insurance from Protective:
Variable universal life ties the growth of the cash value account to underlying stock investments.
Indexed universal life policies offer lifetime coverage with flexible death benefits and premiums, plus a cash value that grows based on a fixed interest rate or stock market indexes.
Protective life insurance rates
Below are monthly rates for a 20-year, $500,000 term life insurance policy from Protective. These are sample rates for a nonsmoking man and woman in excellent health — the final quote you’re offered will depend on factors like your age, health, lifestyle, occupation and driving record.
Age | Monthly rate - man | Monthly rate - woman |
|---|---|---|
20 | $18.34 | $15 |
30 | $18.76 | $15.83 |
40 | $28.39 | $23.94 |
50 | $69.41 | $54.47 |
60 | $199.55 | $140.45 |
70 | $790.16 | $697.25 |
Source: Insurer's site. Rates reflect the super preferred class and were generated on 10/24/24. | ||
Protective customer complaints and satisfaction
Over three years, Protective Life has drawn fewer than the expected number of complaints to state regulators for a company of its size, according to NerdWallet’s analysis of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Protective Life ranked No. 18 out of 22 companies in J.D. Power's 2023 U.S. Life Insurance Study for overall customer satisfaction.
What Reddit users say about Protective
Reddit is an online forum where users share their thoughts in “threads” on various topics. The popular site includes plenty of discussion on financial subjects like life insurance, so we sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check on how users feel about insurers. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.
Comments on Reddit about Protective life insurance range from positive to frustrated. Some people praise the company for affordable rates and strong customer service. However, others complain about unresponsive representatives or outdated technology on the company’s website. For those who might want to convert their term policy to permanent life insurance at some point, several commenters caution potential buyers to research Protective’s conversion options.
Questions from Reddit: Our experts answer
Should you get Protective life insurance through Costco?
Costco sells a policy from Protective called Member Advantage Life. The premium stays the same for the first five years of the policy, then goes up in year six and remains level for the rest of your policy term. The policy may be worth considering if you’re a Costco member, but you’ll also want to compare life insurance quotes from other companies to make sure you’re getting the best coverage and rates. Note that Costco sells term life insurance only, so if you want a permanent policy, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Will Protective issue me a policy if I use marijuana?
Each life insurance company has its own standards for deciding whether to sell marijuana users a policy and how much to charge. The company may ask you about your marijuana use in its health questionnaire and/or test your urine for drugs. In general, those who use marijuana frequently will have higher life insurance rates than more occasional users.
More about Protective life insurance
Protective’s website features an array of educational content, plus a life insurance coverage calculator and policy finder. The online portal allows policyholders to sign up for electronic billing, change their address, update beneficiaries and review account information.
Through its partnership with Costco, Protective Life offers special rates for term life insurance to Costco members.
In addition to life insurance, Protective offers fixed, immediate, variable and indexed annuities.
Life insurance buying guide
Before you start comparing companies, choose the type of life insurance you want, such as term or whole life. Decide which life insurance riders, if any, you want the policy to include. Calculate how much life insurance you need and how long you want the coverage to last. Check that the insurers you’re considering offer the coverage you’re looking for.
When comparing rates, be sure the quotes are for the same amount of coverage over the same period of time. It’s also important to make sure the policy’s medical requirements match your needs. For example, if you want to skip the life insurance medical exam but don’t mind answering health questions, confirm that the application process for each policy you're comparing aligns with that.
Price may not be the biggest driver behind your decision to buy. Look at the number of consumer complaints each company receives, as high numbers can be a red flag about the quality of service.
For more guidance, see our life insurance buying guide.
Methodology
Life insurance ratings methodology
NerdWallet’s life insurance ratings are based on consumer experience, complaint index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for individual life insurance, and weighted averages of financial strength ratings, which indicate a company’s ability to pay future claims. Within the consumer experience category, we consider ease of communication and website transparency, which looks at the depth of policy details available online. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale.
These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.
Insurer complaints methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2020-2022. To assess how insurers compare with one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
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