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Reviews.com scores Prudential life insurance a 4.4 out of 5 based on financial strength, customer reviews, and available products.
Term life insurance in 10, 15, 20 and 30-year terms and permanent universal life insurance are available from Prudential.
Customers may receive an online quote and continue the application process through the Prudential website
The Prudential Life Insurance Company may be nearly 150 years old, but its strong digital presence makes researching and purchasing term life insurance convenient and accessible. The company’s goal is to provide coverage that “fits your life” with flexible offerings and riders that make it possible to customize coverage.
Reviews.com rates the insurance company with a 4.4 after evaluating factors such as financial strength, products available and Prudential life insurance reviews from third-party rating systems.
Prudential Life Insurance Overview
Reviews.com Score:
4.4
In business since:
1875
AM Best: AM Best rates insurance providers creditworthiness. Ratings are based on the provider’s ability to follow through with a payout when a consumer files a claim.
A+
J.D. Power: J.D. Power scores are based on surveys for customer satisfaction and product quality.
759*
Prudential Life Insurance is worth considering if you’re in search of quality coverage. The online platform aims to streamlines its term life insurance application and claims process to provide faster life insurance coverage to customers.
However, Prudential Life Insurance customer service receives below-average marks from customers participating in J.D. Power’s life insurance study, but shows improvement over the last few years according to NAIC’s customer complaint trend report. Past complaints remark on how slow underwriting and the claims process may be, but the improved online management for both policy owners and beneficiaries may be resolving the matter.
PROS
Accessible coverage:Term life insurance is available for quotes and purchase online, with pricing in minutes.
Variety of universal life insurance: Customers can choose from standard, index, survivorship and variable universal life insurance.
Over a dozen life insurance riders:To be exact, Prudential life insurance offers 13 riders to create a comprehensive and customizable life insurance policy.
No medical exams:Select term life insurance coverages only require answering a few medical history questions in lieu of a medical exam.
CONS
No whole life insurance: Although whole life insurance is the most popular type of permanent life insurance, Prudential does not currently offer it.
Average customer satisfaction:Prudential Life ranks just below the industry average in customer satisfaction.
No mobile access:Prudential does not currently offer a life insurance mobile app.
Prudential Life Insurance Highlights
Coverage & Riders
Customer Experience
Before You Buy
Prudential has an extensive list of life insurance policies and add-ons to fully customize your coverage. Regardless of whether you choose a policy as part of legacy planning for your loved ones or as a part of your overall financial plan, you will find plenty of options. If you choose permanent coverage with Prudential, there are enough riders to account for a change in circumstances. Guaranteed policy split allows you to separate your life insurance if you divorce. Living needs and enhanced disability provides funding if you become seriously or chronically ill. Customers can choose from the following life insurance policies from Prudential:
Term
Universal
Universal Survivorship
Universal Index
Universal Variable
Prudential also offers the following riders to add to life insurance policies:
Enhanced cash value
Accidental death
Accelerated death (BenefitAccess)
Survivorship accelerated death (BenefitAccess)
Child level term
Children’s protection
Enhanced disability
Waiver of premium
Waiver of monthly deductions
Living Needs
Overloan protection
Guaranteed policy split
Estate protection
Prudential provides plenty of coverage options and addons. In addition, the quote and application process is simple and can be completed online. However, customers find the customer service side as needing improvement. Prudential rates below average in the J.D. Power life insurance study, based on the scores awarded by responding policyholders. J.D. Power rates Prudential a 759 out of 1,000 in its 2020 study, but the National Association for Insurance Commissioners finds that it has .
If you are planning on purchasing a simple term life policy, you should be able to make an informed decision using the online articles available on the website. However, more complex products such as universal life insurance come with an investment side that exposes you to risk. You may want to consult with a financial planner or Prudential representative for guidance on how its permanent life insurance products work.
Coverage up to $250,000 is available to purchase online from Prudential and customers can choose from terms of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. A medical exam isn’t required for this type of coverage, but potential clients will need to answer some health-related questions. However, the overall application process can be completed in just a few minutes.
PruLife Universal Protector and Plus are available for online quotes and provide permanent life insurance with no end date. All ages up to 85 can qualify and a guaranteed death benefit is available. What differentiates universal most from term life is the opportunity to build a separate cash value account, which can be accessed by the policyholder while living.
PruLife Survivorship Index UL and PruLife SUL Protector are designed for joint policyholders such as spouses or business partners. PruLife’s survivorship index allows clients to invest in an index fund that mirrors the stock market. Survivorship policies are flexible, with an enhanced cash value option and guaranteed split value rider that allows policyholders to separate their coverage in case of divorce or changes to the estate.
Universal index life insurance allows policyholders to invest the cash value amount in an index fund. Investing in an index fund is safer than stocks but still allows the cash value to grow more aggressively, based on the market’s overall performance.
PruLife Custom Premier II and VUL Protector expand options by allowing customers to choose from either a fixed or variable death benefit. Custom Premier II offers customizable coverage further by picking and choosing the options and riders available for the most flexible of all the types of universal life insurance products offered by Prudential.
Prudential and State Farm are both full-service insurance and financial companies with attractive products. However, State Farm decisively beats Prudential when it comes to customer satisfaction. State Farm’s strength rating of A++ (Superior) offers policyholders the utmost peace of mind that claims will be paid now and in the long-term. In addition, State Farm ranks in first place for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s study, with an 838 out of 1,000 points.
Prudential vs. Protective Life
Prudential edges out Protective Life in customer satisfaction based on J.D. Power ratings but blows the company out of the water when it comes to options. Protective Life is known for basic term and permanent coverage and its 13 riders and four types of universal life coverage make up for its lack of whole life insurance.
Prudential vs. Transamerica
Making a decision between Prudential and Transamerica comes down to the level of benefit needed. Transamerica offers one of the highest death benefit options in the industry, with policies of $10 million or more available. On the other end of the spectrum, you can start with as little as $25,000 if you choose Transamerica’s FFIUL policy. Compared to the $250,000 in term coverage available from Prudential, Transamerica may be a better option when the death benefit amount needed is higher than average.
It all depends on the type of policy and riders you choose. Prudential’s universal life insurance policies may be cashed in, depending on the value you accumulated and length of ownership. If you purchased the Enhanced Cash Value rider, you’ll receive a higher amount if you surrender it earlier on.
The time it takes depends on many variables, such as the type of policy and whether you filed a claim online. According to Prudential, payouts for a simple online claim take five to 10 business days to complete.
Methodology
We evaluated Prudential Life insurance based on riders, coverage, resources, financial strength and customer satisfaction to determine Reviews.com scores and create our best life insurance reviews. To compare life insurance companies with other providers across the board, we calculate each Reviews.com score based on the following:
Number of Riders: The more riders a life insurance company has, the higher it scores in our Reviews.com methodology.
Financial Stability: Reviews.com utilized AM Best ratings to assign a score based on each life insurance company’s financial stability.
Coverage: Life insurance companies scored higher if customers can convert term to whole and if they offered multiple options under different types of life insurance policies.
Resources: Reviews.com compared website functionality for life insurance companies based on ability to receive online quotes, submit online claims, and read information on different policies available.
Cynthia Paez Bowman is a contributing writer for Reviews.com. Over the last two years, she has covered insurance, home security and more. She has been featured in MSN, Bankrate, Coverage.com, The Simple Dollar and GOBankingRates. She has dual bachelors degrees in International Business and Journalism from American University in Washington, D.C. “Is It Getting Harder to Get Home Insurance in High-Risk Areas?” is Cynthia’s favorite story on Reviews.com.
