Protective Life Insurance Reviews (2024)
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Ty Stewart
Licensed Insurance Agent
Ty Stewart is the founder and CEO of SimpleLifeInsure.com. He started researching and studying about life insurance when he got his first policy for his own family. He has been featured as a life insurance expert speaker at agent conventions and in top publications. As an independent licensed life insurance agent, he has helped clients nationwide to secure affordable coverage while making the...
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Mar 16, 2024
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Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by insurance experts.
UPDATED: Mar 16, 2024
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
What’s New in 2021 for Protective Life Insurance
How Has Covid-19 Affected Protective Life Insurance?
During Covid-19, Protective Life Insurance remains dedicated to customers, offering additional support during challenges they may experience. Financial support provided to customers include the following:
- Grace periods and extensions are an option for due dates on insurance premiums.
- The underwriting guidelines are simplified to make them easier for everyone’s assessment, including all ages.
Protective Life Insurance offers additional support and care to all customers during Covid-19.
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New Products or Changes
Protective Life Insurance is committed to providing the highest level of support and continued service to customers and employees during Covid-19. Employees receive adequate accommodations to work from home and support a healthier environment.
A new Covid-19 policy for paid leave improves a sense of stability during times of financial uncertainty. During this unprecedented time, the business strives to adapt and improve its model to prioritize health and safety.
Currently, the company has not announced any new products or services. Protective Life Insurance offers a wide range of insurance and financial products during Covid-19.
Announcements and updates get regularly posted on the company’s website, including messages from its CEO.
Protective Life Insurance in the News
Protective Life Insurance enjoys a solid reputation with over one hundred years of leadership in insurance and financial products. Despite some legal cases involving the company’s premium rates, they generally enjoy a good track record for rates and service.
2021 Latest Protective Life Insurance Reviews
Protective Life Insurance generally has a positive reputation, ranking 13th in best insurance companies and 4th in most affordable insurance companies for 2021. Customers appreciate the accessible pricing the most, while some other facets of the service rank somewhat lower.
Overall, Protective Life Insurance is known for its reasonably-priced premiums. The company rated four out of five stars with Consumer Advocate. However, you’ll find more mixed results on Trusted Choice, with an average of 2.5 stars based on consumer reviews.
The main advantages and strong points highlighted include the company’s financial stability. Consumers liked its intuitive, up-to-date tools, and highly customizable options were another perk. Customized life insurance often means customized pricing, too, which means Protective’s high reviews make even more sense.
Protective Life’s experience in the insurance industry – 110 years – appears to operate seamlessly. The company continues innovating while maintaining high-quality customer service.
Are there any drawbacks mentioned about the company? The website offers limited information on insurance policies or specific facts which customer service will provide instead.
When considering all the ratings and reviews, the overall impression is good. Protective Life Insurance offers a solid, stable line of services and products.
If you’re thinking of buying a Protective Life Insurance policy, you need to read this review first!
It’s really important to pinpoint the best life insurance possible to provide a financial safety net for your family! That means you need to do some research before you sign on the dotted line.
Find out everything you need to know!
What are you waiting for?
Let’s get started.
Table of Contents:
- History of Protective
- Protective Life Insurance Rating – Financial Strength
- Products from Protective
- Insurance Riders
- Underwriting of Protective
- Price Comparison
- Summary of Protective
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History of Protective Life Insurance Company
Protective life insurance company has a long and distinguished history.
Their origins go back to 1907 when President Teddy Roosevelt was just beginning his 7th year in office. Governor William Dorsey Jelks of Alabama founded Protective Life Insurance Company, which would pay its first death claim in 1909.
By 1957, Protective Life Insurance had nearly $1 billion of policies in force.
Over the coming years, Protective Life insurance Company Birmingham Alabama continued to grow in size and purchased the Life & Annuity Insurance Company in 1983. Protective Life Insurance Company holdings increased again when they acquired West Coast Life and the Chase Insurance Group.
Since then, Protective Life Insurance Co has purchased dozens of other life insurers. Most recently, it merged with Japan’s 2nd largest life insurance company known as Dai-ichi life.
Protective Insurance Company sells products in all 50 states throughout the U.S, and owns the following subsidiaries:
- Protective Life & Annuity Insurance Company
- West Coast Life Insurance Company
- Lyndon Insurance Group, Inc.
As of 2014, Protective Life holds over $70 billion in assets and over $357 billion dollars of life insurance in-force. Protective Life Insurance Co.Birmingham AL was featured in both the Fortune 1000 and the Forbes Global 2000 lists as of 2012 and appears in the top 1% of all insurance carriers in the United States.
Their head office is based in Birmingham, Alabama.
Protective Life Insurance Rating – Financial Strength
Before you commit to a policy, you should always determine if the company you are considering is financially stable.
You want assurance that they will be around years down the road should your loved ones have to make a claim.
All large companies in the U.S. are rated according to their financial strength by companies that specialize in such assessments.
Rating companies specialize in performing a detailed analysis of the financial stability of these companies every year. They also provide valuable information as to whether these strengths will carry forward into the immediate future.
RELATED: 5 Critical Tips You Must Know Before Buying Life Insurance
A low rating is a cause for concern because the company may be suffering from financial difficulties.
In a nutshell, I am sure you would like the Protective Life Insurance Rating in the grand scheme of things? Here are the results and are taken from a snapshot of their website as of June 13, 2020:
Protective Life Insurance reviews are pretty clear that they are a financially secure company with tremendous assets to back up any claims that may be made. I see no problem whatsoever recommending this company for your life insurance needs.
Protective Life Insurance Products
Protective Life Insurance Company Birmingham Alabama sells a mix of life insurance products and offers several which are distinctly unique:
- Protective Term life insurance
- Protective Universal Life Insurance
- Custom Choice Universal Life
- Variable ProtectiveUniversal Life
- Survivor Universal Life
- Various Life Insurance Riders
- Protective Whole Life Insurance (?)
Let’s take a bit of time to review their offerings!
Protective Term Life Insurance
Protective Life Insurance Birmingham Alabama sells “guaranteed level plans”, which means premiums remain level for the duration of the term selected.
Coverage is available for 10, 15, 20 and 30 year terms from ages 18 – 80 and include death benefits from $100,000 – $500,000.
If you are not familiar with term insurance then you should know, it’s the most basic and affordable form of life insurance on the market and suitable for most circumstances.
Permanent Life Insurance
Permanent policies tend to be quite a bit more expensive than term life insurance. This is because permanent policies cover you for life and they also include a cash value accumulation feature in addition to traditional death benefits.
Protective Life Insurance Company Birmingham AL sells the following permanent insurance products:
Protective Universal Life Insurance
These policies are much more flexible than Protective Whole life Insurance because they allow you to adjust your premiums, death benefits or coverage. A portion of your premium goes into a cash value accumulation account.
Custom Choice Universal Life
Customize the coverage amount and the premiums you will pay for a specific length of time with this policy.
Variable Protective Universal Life Insurance
Establish your own tax-deferred cash value accumulation account along with standard death benefits. Variable Protective Universal Life Insurance provides flexibility for personal and business applications.
While Variable Universal Life is one of Protective’s offerings, it involves securities and not straight life insurance so you should probably also speak with a financial advisor with a securities license before making this decision.
Survivor Universal Life
This is the ideal policy for couples, especially those with estate planning needs. It covers two people under a single policy and provides flexibility in terms of premiums and benefits.
Death benefits are paid upon the passing of the second partner.
RELATED: Check Sample Life Insurance Rates by Age (No Personal Info Required)
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Protective Life Insurance Riders
Life insurance riders are sold separately from your policy and provide additional coverage for other unforeseen circumstances.
Do you ever wonder what would happen if you became terminally ill and lived for a number of years before you passed on? Life insurance riders are sold to cover situations such as this.
A rider is an add-on provision to a basic insurance policy that provides additional benefits to the policyholder at an additional cost. Standard policies usually leave little room for modification or customization beyond choosing deductibles and coverage amounts. Riders help policyholders create insurance products that can meet their specific needs. Riders, Investopedia
Protective Life Insurance Reviews the following life insurance riders:
- Accidental death benefit rider
- Accelerated death benefit rider
- Waiver of premium rider
- Disability income rider
- Additional purchase option (guaranteed insurability rider)
- Term insurance rider
- Children’s term rider
If you want more information about life insurance riders, I have an excellent resource that defines 73 types of life insurance in greater detail.
Read more: What is a Term Rider?
Protective Life Insurance Co: Underwriting Guidelines
Underwriting guidelines vary significantly from insurer to insurer. In fact, health conditions may be treated differently depending on which company you are working with.
Some insurers are more lenient when it comes to cholesterol, while others may be tough in regard to their approach to that medical issue.
It’s important that your agent knows the ins and outs of the companies that are out there.
A slight deviation in your height/weight ratio, for example, can translate into a drop in the health classification you are assigned.
Each decrease in your health rating may mean as much as a 25% increase in what you pay for premiums. This works the same if your health improves. You may see a 25% dip in your premiums if you are taking better care of yourself.
Most consumers don’t realize that every insurance company has different underwriting guidelines depending on your condition. Let’s say that you suffer from diabetes and you need to buy life insurance. One insurance company may approve you at a Preferred rating while an entirely different company may offer you a Standard rating. The difference between the two could be a 50% increase in your premium. Ouch! 4 Stupid Mistakes That Can Drive Up Your Life Insurance Premium, Jeff Rose, Huffington Post
Always seek the advice of an Independent Agent
We are familiar with the insurers that are more lenient when it comes to a broad array of pre-existing health conditions and can pinpoint the company that will give you the best possible rating.
…which means saving your hard-earned cash.
Let’s see how Protective Life Insurance Birmingham AL compares to Prudential Life Insurance and Banner life insurance.
Typically underwriters review the following 5 standard health factors when assessing applications:
- Height/Weight
- Smoking
- Blood Pressure
- Cholesterol Levels
- Family History
Protective Life Insurance Rating
- Height Weight Chart: 5”11” – 201 pounds maximum weight
- Tobacco Use: No nicotine use for the past 5 years (urine nicotine negative). Will allow up to 6 celebratory cigars over the past 12 months if usage is admitted on the application and/or medical examination and current urine specimen is negative for nicotine.
- Blood Pressure: Average from the current medical exam and history reading within the last year do not exceed 135/85 through age 60 or 140/85 for ages 61 – 70. Treated blood pressure must have been controlled for 1 year with favorable APS readings throughout the year.
- Cholesterol: Total cholesterol not greater than 275 including treated cholesterol and cholesterol/HDL ratio is 4.5 or less.
- Family History: No history of or death from cancer*, heart disease or any cardiac-related condition, of either natural parent or sibling prior to age 60. Waived if the applicant is age 60 or older unless both natural parents died from one of the same prevailing impairments prior to age 60.
* Family history cancers are limited to those types that clearly demonstrate a genetic predisposition i.e. Breast, colon, prostate, ovarian, melanoma, lung cancer.
Prudential Life Insurance
- Height Weight Chart: For ages 18 – 59, the maximum weight for a 5’ 11” man or woman is 122 pounds. For ages 60 and over, the maximum weight for a 5’ 11” man or woman is 129 pounds.
- Tobacco Use: No tobacco or nicotine use for the past 5 years.
- Maximum Blood Pressure: Up to 130/80 for ages up to 49. Up to 135/85 for ages 50 and over. Must be without medication
- Maximum Cholesterol Treated: HDL Ratio 5 or Less with or without medication.
- Family History: No death of a parent or sibling age 60 due to the following:
- Coronary Artery Disease
- Cerebrovascular Disease
- Cancer
Banner Life Insurance
- Height Weight Chart: For a 5’11” Male, the maximum weight is 210 pounds. For a 5’11” Female, the maximum weight is 175 pounds
- Tobacco Use: No use of nicotine or nicotine based products based in the last 36 months. One cigar allowed per month with HO specimen negative for cotinine.
- Blood Pressure: Well-controlled with or without treatment with average readings in the past 2 years not greater than 136/86.
- Cholesterol: 120-300 with or without treatment. May not exceed 4.5 with or without treatment.
- Family History: No cardiovascular disease in either parent or siblings before age 60. CAD is disregarded for applicants over age 70 that do not use tobacco. Cancer is no longer a factor preventing consideration for preferred classes.
SUMMARY OF Protective Underwriting
Protective Life Insurance Company is an excellent company for a variety of health conditions. It’s very lenient when it comes to underwriting clients for the following medical conditions:
- Heart disease: Their rates can be as much as 25-40% less than their competitors when it comes to a heart attack, stents, and bypass surgery.
- Cholesterol: Quite lenient for elevated cholesterol levels.
- Occasional Smoking: The company allows for preferred rates if you are a periodic celebratory cigar smoker.
- Diabetes and Elevated Blood Sugar
- Seniors
Read more: What are the best-rated life insurance companies for seniors?
There are some areas where Protective Life Insurance Co.Birmingham AL is not as lenient as other companies such as:
- Moving Violations
- Stay at Home Spouses
Overall, I would say that in many underwriting categories, Protective is one of our primary choices.
If you are a stay at home spouse or have moving violations, then Protective Life Insurance Company Birmingham AL may not be the right choice for you, as they are more stringent in regard to those underwriting guidelines.
When picking the right life insurance company, the result ultimately depends on your personal circumstances.
How Protective Life Insurance Costs Compared To Competitors
Now that we know all about Protective’s underwriting guidelines, let’s check out their prices.
I ran some quotes, so I could compare them with Banner and Prudential.
These rates are for a 40-year-old non-smoking male and female with a “preferred plus” rating.
20-year term policy for $250,000 for nonsmoking male age 40
- Protective – $20.01 monthly, $232.70 annually
- Prudential – $25.65 monthly, $285.00 annually
- Banner – $20.77 monthly, $237.42 annually
20-year term policy for $250,000 for non-smoking Female age 40
- Protective – $16.92 monthly, $176.76 annually
- Prudential – $23.18 monthly, $257.50 annually
- Banner – $17.19 monthly, $196.49 annually
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Is Protective Life Insurance Company For You?
No doubt about it, Protective life insurance Co is priced very competitively for Term insurance. This company often shows up in the top 10 for lowest rates.
Additionally, Protective underwriting excels in many areas…but if you have moving violations or one partner is staying at home, they might not be the right fit for you.
This company also has an excellent array of quality life insurance products, especially when it comes to Universal life.
In terms of running their business, they are financially sound and will be able to make good on any claims made.
Overall, this company is an excellent choice for those that require affordable, quality life insurance.
Find out what companies we rate as the top 10 life insurers for 2021: “The Top 10 Life Insurance Companies of 2021.”
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Ty Stewart
Licensed Insurance Agent
Ty Stewart is the founder and CEO of SimpleLifeInsure.com. He started researching and studying about life insurance when he got his first policy for his own family. He has been featured as a life insurance expert speaker at agent conventions and in top publications. As an independent licensed life insurance agent, he has helped clients nationwide to secure affordable coverage while making the...
Licensed Insurance Agent
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by insurance experts.