Life Insurance: Which companies out there are the "top rated" in perspective of service *AND* price ?

With so many companies and websites to choose from, how does the average person know which company has the best service--along with reputation ? In addition... Is 'Primerica' truly the "top of the line" as they claim to be ??

There are a lot of well rated companies out there that also have incredibly competitive rates: West Coast Life, Genworth, Prudential, John Hancock, Lincoln Financial, Lincoln Benefit, Transamerica, AIG, MetLife, etc. I would suggest shopping for price and then looking at the financial ratings and reputation of the top 3-5 to find the best fit for you.

One of the reasons that keeping your insurance and investments separate makes sense is because it is rare to find an investment person who is really savvy about insurance and vice versa. Both are very complicated fields in their own right.

There may not be any one right answer that applies to everyone, because each company has their own specific underwiriting guidelines.

That means some companies offer better rates and plans for smokers, or seniors, or children, or families, etc.

I have no experience directly with Primerica, but Prudential, Metlife, Lincoln Financial and Northwestern Mutual all offer competitive rates and quality service.

One way to compare rates and plans is to request a free quote from multiple insurers using an online quoting service that has access to over 100 of the top-rated insurers nationwide.

One service offering this is efinancial at https://www.efinancial.com/smartquoteefc.aspx?source=389-777 They offer you up to 12 instant quotes from "A" rated insurers. By comparing multiple quotes at one time you can find the lowest rates available.

As for cusotmer service, you may want to check on the top three lowest quotes and contact your Department of Insurance and ask them about complaints related to those top three companies.

Also, you can check out their web sites and call them to ask specifically about how their customer service works.

Also, you could contact some insurance agents in your area (use the yellow pages) and ask them what their experience has been with those companies and how their customer service has been.

Obviously, this is a starting point. Each person has their own experiences with an insurance company. So, do your research and try to find the life insurance plan that meets your needs and your budget while offering you quality service and a strong financial strength rating.

Best of luck to you!

There are several "top rated" companies out there, the service you are going to get will depend largely on the agent you are working with and the company that is supporting them. Primerica is mill shop, they're agents have some of the highest turn over in the industry, so long story short if you are looking for a long term relationship with an advisor who can help through each stage of your life, they are not the place to go.

Look for agents that are going through acredited courses to increase their knowledge about Retirement Planning, Estate Planning, Business Planning, and how life insurance as well as other products play a role in each of these. Also look for agents that have a team of other professionals that they work with that can help you with your plannning.

To argue with the person above who said that when you go to a life insurance company that is what you are going to get, he is right to certain degree, I happen to work with the number one mutual company, and yes they sell life insurance, they also have annuities, Long Term Care insurance, Mutual Funds, Retirement planning, Estate Planning, and Business planning services available as well.

Here is the best advice I can give you since I don't know where you live, find yourself an agent that you feel you can work with, regardless if they are a broker or captured agent, ask them lots of questions regarding what they do for customer service, how they can of assistance on your team of advisors. You should also expect to do most of the talking in the first interview, because if the advisor is any good they should be asking you questions and taking notes.
Now with regard to price, Life insurance is not like buying a car or any other commodity out there. We are talking about your LIFE, how much is your LIFE worth? How much is the true financial security of your family worth? IS it worth $10 or so more a month to be with a company that has been around say 160+ yrs compared to 30yrs? I met a woman last week, her husband at the age of 33 was diagnosed with a brain tumur that was very agressive, six months and three days after he was diagnosed he left his wife and twin 4 yr olds behind. His widow said, that on one of the many car rides from the hospital, he looked at her and said you are going to be alright, you have the life insurance. He didn't say you're going be alright you have the investments, or the house equity, or the 401(k), or even the Roth IRA. It was the life insurance that gave them the peace of mind that their family would be able to get through this no matter what the outcome.
He wasn't worried about how much the premium was anymore, he was happy to have the insurance.
One last note on price with regards to life insurance: Like so many other things in life, you get what you pay for, for that extra $10 a month in term insurance, you can make sure that your family is insured with a company that has a company average of paying claims with in 10 days of recieving all the necessary paper work, or you can save that $10 a month and have your family wait 3 to 6 months before they see a dime from the life insurance. For that extra $10 a month you can work with an agent that is a specialist and who will work with you family every step of the way, or you can save that money and go online and buy through the internet, but tell your family to expect an email telling them when to expect the money, and no one else to be around to help guide them through the process. Lastly for extra $10 a month, you can have the peace of mind that your insurance is with a company that can never be bought out, and therefore your insurance will never be droped, or can you save that money, and go with another company that maybe six months from now, or six years from now will be bought out, and your insurance maybe too much risk, so your droped, and now your uninsurable.
The choice is yours.

Check the websites of institutions like Moody's, Standard and Poors, Fitch and Am Best. These companies rate various life insurance companies based on things like service, revenues, financial stability, company performance in general, etc.

Now, what makes Primerica different is that while another company will just sell you life insurance, your Primerica representative will examine your entire financial picture in order to determine how much coverage you truly need to pay off mortgage, debts, and cover your income for years to come so that your family does not have to sacrifice their standard of living. Isn't that the kind of coverage you would want?

Another thing that makes Primerica different, and better, is that they show you money within your budget that you can use to invest for the length of the term that you have your life insurance policy. That way, if something happens to you and you pass away, your family will get the face value of your life insurance policy AND whatever amount your separate investment had grown to. Again, the great thing is that Primerica shows you how to do all this with money that is within your budget!

Long story short, a life insurance company will do exactly what their name says, they'll just sell you life insurance. And if you just want some random policy from some company that's only into insurance and cannont help you with the "big picture" and probably will not have a representative work closely with you and your family to determine what is right for you, then yeah, go somewhere else. But if you want a company who has received top ratings from just about every single institution out there that rates insurance companies, and will do what's right for you, then talk with a Primerica representative. If you've heard of us, then you've probably already talked to someone. In fact, we're currently working to reduce the premiums for many age groups of people in order to provide them with the coverage they need at an even more affordable price. How many companies do you know that are doing that today?

If you don't want to take my word for it, I've listed the websites of Standard and Poor's and Fitch below providing links to their ratings of Primerica. You can check our ratings on AM Best and Moody's also, but you'll need to create a user account on their websites.

I truly believe that Primerica will do what's best for you and your family because they have done exactly that for myself and my family. I wouldnt recommend something I don't use or don't like. I just do not do that.

I did not mean for this to be a Primerica sales pitch. I just wanted to inform you and help you in your decision and in your search for answers. If I've not shown you what truly sets Primerica apart from our competitors, then I at least hope I've helped you in some way.

I wouldn't buy Primerica. JMO.

Pricing varies wildly. One company might be best for rated people, one for smokers, one for 30 year olds. So it's impossible to rate based on price.

You really need a local, independent agent to shop around, and get you 5 or 6 quotes from a variety of a rated carriers.

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