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February 20, 2023
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10
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Primerica Life Insurance Review 2023
Primerica is a life insurance company that has been in business since 1977. They offer several different types of term life and whole life insurance policies.
Primerica offers life insurance policies for people of most ages and health backgrounds.
But is Primerica a good life insurance company?
Our team of insurance experts have spent countless hours analyzing Primerica's online reviews, product offering, and sales process. This review will help you make a decision whether to purchase a policy from them.
So let's take a closer look at what they have to offer.
Pros
Cons
Strong Financially
Does not offer the cheapest rates
No medical exam for coverage of $300,000 or less
Maximum coverage amount capped at $400,000
Renewable until age 95
Pushy sales tactics
Increasing benefit rider
Does not offer permanent life insurance
You'll learn:
Who is Primerica?
Primerica Life Insurance company is a financial services company offers term life insurance and investment products. Primerica sell their life insurance products through representatives, who are encouraged to target and recruit their friends, family members, and co-workers to buy and sell Primerica’s products to others. Primerica’s representatives earn commission based on sales made by the agents they recruit, a strategy that is known as multilevel marketing.
Multi-level marketing follows a strategy similar to that of a pyramid scheme except it is perfectly legal and used in many business plans.
Primerica Facts & Financial Information
The Facts
Founded in 1977
Headquartered at Georgia, USA
Financial Information
AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A+
Life insurance is a long-term contract. So, it is important you pick a provider that is financially stable. You can determine how well an insurer is doing financially by looking at its AM Best rating. AM Best is an independent agency that rates life insurance companies on a scale that ranges from A++ downward, depending on their current and long-term financial outlook. Primerica received the second-highest rating of A+ from AM Best. In plain English, this means Primerica has the financial wherewithal to survive a long-term contract.
Primerica Life Insurance Reviews
While it is important to check out the online reviews of Canadian life insurers to get an idea about their customer service, you might not want to use online criticism as a measure for buying a term life insurance policy. Online ratings often do not tell the whole story as something like insurance is highly personalized to you.
We found that Primerica scored 2.6 stars out of 5 on Insureye (a decrease from last year). This is not a bad a score compared to other large insurance companies in Canada. However, there were no Google reviews available for this insurer.
Primerica Life Insurance Review:
Insureye Reviews 2.7 / 5 stars ★★★
Dundaslife.com Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars ★★★★
Products and Features
Primerica Life Insurance specializes in term life insurance. They offer two term life plans, available in different terms. The insurer does not offer permanent life insurance coverage. This means that they do not offer any life insurance policies with a guaranteed payout regardless of when you pass.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance provides protection for a set number of years. They are usually available in increments of 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years or until a specific age, like 85.
Also called pure life insurance, term life has only one function — to support your loved ones if you die. The insurer pays out the death benefit if you die within the policy term. If you outlive the term, you have the option to renew the policy at a higher rate or let it expire.
Primerica Life Insurance offers two term life plans: Custom Advantage and TermNow.
Custom Advantage
No life insurance review would be complete without covering their flagship life insurance product — Custom Advantage.
This is a traditional term life insurance plan requiring medical underwriting. As such, it is much cheaper than TermNow, which lets you forgo a medical examination.
Features:
The death benefit available is from $150,000 to $400,000
The following terms are available with Custom Advantage: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years
You will need to undergo a medical exam to prove eligibility
Comes with a “guaranteed insurability” option. That means you can renew coverage without evidence of insurability up to age 95. Each renewal premium will be higher than the previous one, but the increase will only be due to age
Ability to add various life insurance riders to customize coverage as per your needs
TermNow
Not everyone has the time or inclination to undergo a medical exam. For such people, Primerica Life Insurance offers TermNow. It is also a good option for all those with an underlying condition that makes it difficult for them to qualify for a medically underwritten life policy.
TermNow does not require a medical exam, but Primerica runs a background check through the Medical Information Bureau as well as DMV. If there are no issues, you will receive coverage in a few minutes of applying.
However, the convenience of skipping a medical exam and quick approval comes at a price. TermNow is significantly more expensive than a comparable fully underwritten policy. This holds true for all no-medical life insurance products, and TermNow is no different in this regard.
The other downside is that the coverage is capped at $300,000. By contrast, you can purchase $400,000 in coverage with a Custom Advantage policy.
Features:
The death benefit available is from $15,000 to $300,000
The following terms are available with Custom Advantage: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years
You do not need to take a medical exam
You can get coverage within a few minutes
Comes with a “guaranteed insurability” option. That means you can renew coverage without evidence of insurability up to age 95. Each renewal premium will be higher than the previous one, but the increase will only be due to age
You can add various riders for more comprehensive coverage
Some Key Points about Primerica’s Term Life Insurance Plans
Primerica Life Insurance offers the following terms: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years like many other life insurance companies. However, all options might not be available to every applicant.
Some longer-term life policies (like the 35-year option) do not offer guaranteed level premiums throughout the policy term. Instead, they offer guaranteed level premium rates for a part of the term — usually for the first 20 years. which means after this period, your premium rate may increase. If you are unable to afford the new premium, you may lose coverage.
Primerica offers its policyholders an option to add an “increasing benefit rider”. It allows you to bump up your coverage amount by up to 10% per year for a period of 10 years. Increasing benefit is a rare rider with most providers offering its opposite add-on — the “decreasing benefit rider”. This rider is more common because financial obligations tend to decrease rather than increase with age.
Riders offered by Primerica
A life insurance rider is an optional add-on that lets you customize your coverage for a small additional cost. Riders help you increase the life insurance coverage of your policy or add benefits that were not originally there.
Primerica offers you a choice of several riders, such as the following:
Child Rider – This add-on allows you to buy coverage for your children — both biological and adopted — under the age of 24. Your future children will be covered automatically. The coverage amount available is $50,000.
Terminal Illness Benefit Rider – This rider offers extra financial protection for you and your family if you are diagnosed with an illness that you are unlikely to recover from. Primerica allows you to take 40% of your life insurance amount if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness and expected to live less than six months. If you have also opted for the waiver of premium add-on, you can take 70% of your coverage amount.
Waiver of Premium Rider – This optional benefit prevents your policy from lapsing if you cannot make the premium payments due to disability. If you become disabled while your policy is active, Primerica will waive off your future premiums. You can add this rider to your TermNow or Custom Advantage policy until the age of 55.
Increasing Benefit Rider – This rider allows policyholders to increase their coverage amount for a specific period. You can increase the life insurance amount of your term life insurance policy by up to 10% per year for a period of 10 years — up to a maximum of $500,000 — from the second policy year onward. You do not need to undergo any further underwriting, though your premium rate will go up along with your death benefit amount. This add-on is available until the age of 55.
Primerica Life Insurance Rates
Term life insurance is easy to understand and affordable, providing you with more coverage for less. For this reason, it is a good option for most people. To find out how affordable Primerica term life insurance rates are, we collected multiple quotes from them.
Here are the monthly premium rates for non-smoking, healthy men and women of different ages. These quotes are $40,000 coverage over a 20-year term length.
Primerica Insurance Insurance Price Example
Quotes are for $400,000 in coverage over a 20-year term length. They represent quotes for someone who is a non-smoker and in good health.
Age
Male
Female
20
$32.40
$32.40
25
$32.40
$32.40
30
$33.54
$33.54
35
$40.00
$40.00
40
$55.20
$55.20
45
$85.60
$85.60
50
$141.08
$141.08
55
$219.36
$219.36
60+
Contact Us for Options
Contact Us for Options
Why We Like Primerica
Financially strong
It is important to pick a life insurer that is on solid footing financially. After all, selecting a provider that closes shop a few years down the line would not only mean a loss of investment but also having to buy a new life insurance policy, at a higher rate, from another insurer. Thankfully, with Primerica, you can rest easy knowing your investment is in good hands. They received an impressive A+ rating from AM Best.
No medical coverage for $300,000 or less
You do not require a medical exam if you want $300,000 or less in term life coverage. This limit is higher than what many other Canadian life insurers offer.
Increasing benefit rider available
By adding this rider to your policy, you can increase the life insurance amount by 10% every year for 10 years — the maximum limit is capped at $400,000 — without any further underwriting.
Guaranteed insurability
All term life insurance policies offered by Primerica include a guaranteed insurability option. What that means is you can renew your coverage without any medical underwriting until you are 95 years old. Your premium may go up at every renewal, but that would only be because of age. This is an immensely useful feature since it helps you maintain coverage even if your health takes a turn for the worse.
Term life policies are renewal up to age 95
Most life insurance companies in Canada do not allow policyholders to renew their term life insurance coverage beyond 85 years of age.
While term life insurance is sufficient for most people, there are situations when a permanent life plan may be a better option. Primerica, however, does not offer permanent life insurance. So, if you need a whole life or universal life insurance policy, you must look elsewhere.
Pushy sales tactics
The insurer sells its life insurance products through designated representatives who earn commission based on sales and referrals. These representatives can only sell Primerica’s products. In other words, they have a financial motive to encourage applicants to sign up for Primerica’s products, even if they do not perfectly suit your long-term financial goals.
Higher than average rates
Primerica’s term life rates are not the cheapest. In fact, regardless of your age and coverage need, you may find much better options out there with similar financial ratings.
Online quotes are not available
It is not easy to compare Primerica’s rates with those of other providers. That is because the insurer does not offer online quotes, which makes comparison shopping challenging. To get a quote, you must contact a representative.
Website is not very informative
Primerica does not offer a lot of information about its term life insurance plans on its website.
Is Primerica Life Insurance Right for You?
If you have a family member or a friend who is a Primerica representative, this insurer could be a good choice. You can buy a standard term life plan, and if you require $300,000 or less in coverage, you would not need to take a medical exam.
However, Primerica’s rates are not the cheapest. Plus, they do not provide whole life or universal life insurance. And the maximum death benefit you can get is $400,000. If you want more coverage or a permanent life policy, you need to look elsewhere.
Keys Takeaways
Primerica only offers term life insurance policies with terms of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years.
Primerica's rates are not the cheapest, but the company is financially strong.
Primerica offers a guaranteed insurability option, which allows policyholders to renew their coverage without any medical underwriting until they are 95 years old.
👉 Looking for something else? Read our other life insurance company reviews here
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