Did you know that the US is home to almost 6,000 different insurance companies? Of that, 841 insurers provide life/annuity insurance plans. In 2019, these life/annuity insurers alone had cash and invested assets totaling $4.3 trillion.
800+ companies are a lot to choose from, so it’s essential to read insurance reviews before you select one. In doing so, you can learn more about each insurer as a whole, especially the pros and cons of their offers.
To that end, we’ve come up with this Protective Life Insurance review to help guide your decision. Read on to learn what’s great (and what’s not) about this company and if they’re the right choice for you and your family.
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From Then to Now: A Quick Look at Protective Life Insurance Corporation
Protective Life Insurance Corporation has been around since 1907. Its headquarters is in Birmingham, Alabama, which up to now, still serves as the company’s main HQ. Since then, it has had a drastic growth that it now helps consumers in all states except New York.
According to its 2019 annual report, Protective Life served over nine million customers. During that year, it paid claims amounting to more than $6.2 billion. It also delivered over $979 billion worth of insurance coverage.
As one of the biggest life insurance carriers in the US, Protective Life offers more than life plans. It also dabbles on retirement savings while also providing asset protection products. It also assists customers in various investment instruments.
Protective Life Insurance Review: The Good
One of the most impressive things about Protective Life Insurance company is its age. Having been around for over 100 years is a good indicator of its financial stability. It’s also a reliable sign that the insurer delivers quality services, as it won’t be in business for that long if it didn’t.
We’ll take a closer look at the pros and cons below to give you a better idea of whether to go with Protective or not.
Affordability of Term Life Insurance Plans
Protective Life Insurance Company offers some of the most affordable policies. The carrier itself says that its term life plans are often up to 48% less than the competition. According to the insurer’s website, one can get a $100,000 coverage for as low as $7.30 a month.
Stable Outlook Despite the Current Pandemic
As you shop for life insurance during the pandemic, it’s vital to look into each insurer’s outlook. With COVID-19 having claimed so many lives, many insurers have paid out more than what they usually do in a year. This, in turn, has led to a lot of life insurance carriers having received a negative outlook rating.
Fitch Ratings Inc., however, has given Protective Life a stable outlook rating. All in all, the credit rating agency rated 68% of its reviewed companies with a stable outlook. Unfortunately, 24% of ratings had an affirmed negative outlook.
Easy To Use Web Application Portal
Protective Life Insurance has an intuitive, user-friendly online application portal. It even goes so far as to enumerate the five steps involved in the application. You only need to fill out the web-based form, and the company will get in touch with you after.
Minimal Consumer Complaints
Protective Life Insurance ratings from consumers themselves range from above-average to good. Not everyone is happy with the company, but in 2019, they only had 28 complaints filed against them. They received even fewer in 2018 (19) but had quite a few (47) in 2017.
Still, compared to other insurers, those are minimal numbers of complaints.
Term to Whole Life Conversion
Protective allows its policyholders to convert their term life plan to whole life. This enables you to change your policy into one that starts earning a cash value over time. Just make sure that you request the conversion before your term policy expires.
The Not-So-Good Aspects of Protective Life Insurance
Despite being around for such a long time, Protective still has a lot of room for improvement. This is especially apparent when it comes to the level of customer service it provides. The carrier also makes it a bit hard to modify plans, such as cancellation.
Often Requires Medical Exams
Granted, most life insurance companies do require medical exams prior to application approval. However, some offer guaranteed or instant approval without the need for you to go through such a test. Unfortunately, Protective Life Insurance isn’t usually a part of this group.
Longer Turn-Around Times
The application process itself is convenient, but it may take longer to know if you get approved. This is especially true if your medical exam reveals an underlying condition. Protective Life Insurance usually requires more time to verify your health condition.
Policy Cancellation Only Possible via Phone
If ever you’d want to cancel your Protective Life Insurance policy, you need to call the company. You can’t cancel the plan online, nor can you mail your cancellation request. You can, however, make most changes online, such as payments and beneficiary updates.
Protective Life Insurance Policy Options
Protective Life Insurance offers three types of life insurance policies. These include term life, whole life, and universal life. Riders, which are add-ons to the basic plans, are also available.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is the type of policy that comes with an expiration date. The “term” is the length of time that you can have the policy in place. Meaning, if you purchase a 10-year term life insurance plan, it will expire after ten years.
Term life insurance from Protective offers terms of between 10 and up to 40 years.
Once you’ve reached the end of the term, you may still be able to get a new one. However, keep in mind that this will still depend on your age as well as your health condition by that time. Remember: the older you are, the more expensive life insurance can get.
Whole Life Insurance
When you buy whole life insurance, you can stay protected for as long as you live. This is why whole life insurance is one of the types of permanent life insurance. So long as you keep paying your premiums on time, you’ll receive permanent protection.
As such, whole life insurance from Protective is more expensive than its term plans. However, it comes with the added benefit of earning cash value at a set and fixed rate. After several years, you can then borrow against your life insurance.
Note, however, that the whole life insurance plans of Protective aren’t that adjustable. For instance, you can’t alter the face value (or death benefit) of the policy. Your premiums will also stay the same, meaning you can’t reduce it in case your financial needs change.
Universal Life Insurance
Universal life insurance is also a type of permanent life insurance, so it doesn’t expire. It also earns cash value over time, so you can also borrow against it after several years. However, it’s more flexible than whole life, as you can adjust its death benefits and payments.
Protective Life Insurance offers four different classes of universal life insurance. Let’s take a quick look at each one of them.Traditional Universal Life
Traditional universal life insurance delivers lifetime death benefit protection. With Protective, you can expect to have a minimum guaranteed interest rate. Most traditional policies with the company also offer flexible premiums.Protective Custom Choice UL
The Protective Custom Choice UL plan allows you to choose how much coverage you need. It offers benefits similar to term life, but you can have the policy in place for life.
For starters, you can specify the length of time that you want for the policy’s initial level benefit. You can select a period of between 10 and 30 years. The “term” you choose then dictates how long your premium payments stay level, whether for 10, 20, or 30 years.
After your initial level benefit period, you’ll still receive some coverage. Just make sure that you keep paying your premiums so that your policy won’t lapse.Variable Universal Life Insurance
Protective variable universal life insurance policies offer benefits similar to traditional plans. However, you can have your premium payments allocated among various investment mediums. This, in turn, helps you maximize your policy’s cash value accumulation.Indexed Universal Life Insurance
With this, your policy’s cash value builds up based on positive stock market changes. At the same time, your earnings remain protected from downside risks, but there are caps. Like all of Protective’s permanent life insurance plans, this one also doesn’t expire.
Is Protective Life Insurance Worth It?
In this Protective Life Insurance review, you learned about this company’s stability. You also learned that it’s the subject of fewer complaints, as well as their many other pros.
These are all positive aspects that may make Protective a good choice. However, keep in mind that the company would most likely require a medical exam. If you rather not undergo a test, then Protective may not be the best choice.
If you’re looking for the fastest way to compare life insurance plans and rates, Top Whole Life is here to help. Request your whole life quote from us now so you can start exploring your other options!
