The Insurancy Blog
Insights that make insurance simple
266 expert guides, company reviews and original studies. Written and reviewed by licensed insurance agents.
Category:All articles266
Life InsuranceLife Insurance Investment Calculator (iROI)
The Insurancy iROI (investment Return on Insurance) calculator compares a term life insurance policy plus a separate investment account against a permanent whole or indexed universal life policy. See year-by-year breakdowns of premium, cash value, and projected returns to decide which strategy fits your goal.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Life InsuranceLife Insurance With Living Benefits
Life insurance with living benefits (also called accelerated benefit riders or ABRs) lets you access a portion of the death benefit while you are still alive if you are diagnosed with a chronic, critical, or terminal illness. Most A-rated carriers now include these riders at no extra cost, and the payouts are typically income-tax-free.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Life InsuranceNo Medical Exam Life Insurance
No medical exam life insurance is a policy that skips the paramedical exam (blood, urine, vitals) and uses accelerated underwriting instead. Coverage ranges from $25,000 to $3,000,000, with approvals returned instantly to within five business days.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Life InsuranceOnline Life Insurance Quotes: 8 Carriers Compared
Eight top-rated U.S. life insurance carriers now offer fully online applications with instant or 1-to-3-day decisions, no medical exam for healthy applicants under set face amount caps, and the same A-rated financial strength as traditional carriers. This guide compares each of them on no-exam cap, age eligibility, decision speed, and which buyer profile gets the best rate with each carrier.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Life InsuranceReturn of Premium Life Insurance
Return of premium (ROP) life insurance is a level term policy that refunds 100 percent of premiums paid if you outlive the term. Premiums typically cost 30 to 50 percent more than standard level term, but you get a tax-free refund at the end of the term if you do not die.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsAARP Life Insurance Review
AARP Life Insurance is not underwritten by AARP - AARP is a nonprofit advocacy organization that licenses its brand to New York Life Insurance Company. "AARP Life" products are New York Life products marketed exclusively to AARP members ages 50+. Understanding this relationship is critical when comparing coverage options.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsAmerican National Life Insurance Review
American National Insurance Company (ANICO) is a Texas-headquartered insurer founded in 1905. After being acquired by Brookfield Reinsurance in 2022, American National exited the new life insurance market in 2023 and pivoted to property-casualty insurance and annuities only. Existing life insurance policies remain in force.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsAssurity Life Insurance Review
Assurity Life Insurance Company is an A- rated mutual insurance company founded in 1890 and headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Assurity specializes in supplemental and specialty products: return of premium term life, critical illness insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, and disability income insurance.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsBanner Life Insurance Review (Legal & General America)
Banner Life is the U.S. life insurance arm of Legal & General Group, a London-headquartered global insurer founded in 1836. Banner Life consistently ranks among the most competitive carriers for fully-underwritten level term life insurance, particularly on 30-year and 40-year terms. Rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Corebridge Financial Life Insurance Review
Corebridge Financial is an A rated life insurance company that spun out of AIG in 2022 and IPO'd on the NYSE. It markets the legacy AIG life insurance product portfolio, including Select-a-Term, Quick Issue Term, Quality of Life Insurance with strong living benefits, and Guaranteed Issue Whole Life.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsEthos Life Insurance Review
Ethos Life is a digital life insurance brokerage founded in 2016 and headquartered in Austin, Texas. Ethos offers a 100 percent online application with instant decisions for term life coverage up to $2 million for healthy applicants ages 20-65. Ethos does not underwrite policies itself; coverage is underwritten by A+ rated Legal & General America (Banner Life) and other A-rated partner carriers.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsForesters Financial Life Insurance Review
Foresters Financial is an A rated fraternal benefit society founded in 1874 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada. It is one of the largest fraternal life insurance providers in North America. Member benefits (orphan grant, scholarship, family health benefit) are included at no extra cost with every policy.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Gerber Life Insurance Review
Gerber Life Insurance Company is an A rated U.S. life insurance company founded in 1967 as a subsidiary of the Gerber baby food company. While Gerber Life is now owned by Western & Southern Financial Group, it remains best known for the Gerber Grow-Up Plan, a children's whole life policy that automatically doubles its face amount at age 18.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsHaven Life Insurance Review
Haven Life was a digital life insurance brokerage founded in 2014 as a subsidiary of MassMutual. It pioneered instant-decision term life insurance with no medical exam. Haven Life closed to new applications in 2023, with existing policies continuing to be administered by parent MassMutual.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsLadder Life Insurance Review
Ladder Life was a digital life insurance brokerage founded in 2017 known for its flexible "laddering" feature that let policyholders adjust coverage up or down over time. Ladder was acquired by Allstate in 2024 and no longer offers new policies under the Ladder brand. Existing in-force policies continue to be administered.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsMutual of Omaha Life Insurance Review
Mutual of Omaha is an A+ rated mutual insurance company founded in 1909 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. It is one of the broadest carriers in the U.S. life insurance market with strong offerings in term, no-exam term, simplified-issue and guaranteed-issue final expense, whole life, and universal life. Famous for the Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom sponsorship.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsNational Life Group Insurance Review
National Life Group (NLG) is an A rated mutual insurance holding company founded in 1848 and headquartered in Montpelier, Vermont and Addison, Texas. NLG is best known for its LiveWell product line and for including the deepest and broadest set of living benefit riders (chronic illness, critical illness, terminal illness) in the U.S. life insurance market.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsNorth American Company Life Insurance Review
North American Company for Life and Health Insurance (NACOLAH) is an A+ rated life insurance carrier founded in 1886 and headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. As part of Sammons Financial Group, North American specializes in indexed universal life (IUL) and guaranteed universal life (GUL) products. Strong accelerated underwriting up to $1,000,000 for healthy applicants.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Pacific Life Insurance Review
Pacific Life Insurance Company is an A+ rated mutual insurance company founded in 1868 and headquartered in Newport Beach, California. Pacific Life specializes in permanent life insurance (guaranteed universal life, indexed universal life, variable universal life) for the high-net-worth and supplemental retirement income markets.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsProtective Life Insurance Review
Protective Life Insurance Company is an A+ rated U.S. insurer founded in 1907 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Owned by Japan's Dai-ichi Life Holdings since 2015, Protective is one of the most competitive carriers for fully-underwritten term life (Classic Choice Term) and guaranteed universal life (Custom Choice UL).
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Company ReviewsRoyal Neighbors of America Life Insurance Review
Royal Neighbors of America is a fraternal benefit society founded in 1895 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It is one of the few major U.S. life insurance organizations founded and historically governed by women, with a focus on women-led households. Royal Neighbors offers term life, whole life, simplified-issue whole life, and guaranteed-issue whole life with included member benefits.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Life InsuranceThe Life Insurance Application Process: How to Qualify
A life insurance application has three main components: a written questionnaire about your health, lifestyle, and finances; a public records check including MVR, prescription history, and MIB; and, for fully underwritten policies, a brief medical exam performed at your home or office. Understanding each step ahead of time is the difference between a 10-day approval at the best rate class and a 6-week back-and-forth at a higher rate class.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Life InsuranceGuaranteed Universal Life Insurance (GUL)
Guaranteed Universal Life (GUL) is permanent life insurance with a fixed premium, a guaranteed death benefit, and a guarantee to age 90, 95, 100, or 121. Premiums are typically 30 to 50 percent lower than whole life of the same face amount because GUL is designed for the death benefit, not for cash-value accumulation.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026
Life InsuranceViatical Settlement Guide and Calculator
A viatical settlement is a transaction in which a chronically or terminally ill life insurance policyholder sells their life insurance policy to a third-party investor for a lump-sum cash payout. The proceeds are typically income-tax-free under IRS Section 101(g) and can be used for medical care, debt, or any other purpose.
Brian Greenberg•Updated Jun 2026