Quick answer
Pacific Life Insurance Company is an A+ rated mutual insurer 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) primarily for high-net-worth and supplemental retirement income markets. With over $200 billion in assets under management, Pacific Life is one of the largest U.S. life insurers and the official sponsor of multiple major U.S. golf tournaments and the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament.
Our take
Pacific Life was founded in California in 1868, and today they serve individuals and businesses by providing a variety of insurance policies, annuities, and investment opportunities.
Customers looking for affordable term life coverage will benefit the most from Pacific Life. Their rates are competitive across every age bracket, so even older applicants can be confident that they’re getting an affordable rate. They have no online application, and they also require a medical exam, but these inconveniences are offset by the rider options that can be used to customize your policy.
In short, Pacific Life is a great option for those looking for affordable term life insurance or those looking for the flexible investment of universal life insurance plans.
| Pacific Life Insurance Company Details | |
|---|---|
| A.M Best Rating | A+ |
| S&P Rating | AA- |
| BBB Rating | A- |
| Customer Service Phone | 800-800-7646 |
| Website | www.pacificlife.com |
| Address | Pacific Life Insurance P.O. Box 9000 Newport Beach, CA 92658-9030 |
What we like
Affordable Prices at Every Age
While other insurance companies increase their rates for older customers, Pacific Life maintains competitive rates at every age bracket, making them a solid choice for affordable life insurance.
Varied Selection of Policies
Pacific Life offers a variety of policies, including universal policies for those interested in using their life insurance as an investment opportunity.
Ranked Highly by J.D. Power
Pacific Life has the distinction of being highly-regarded by J.D. Power, giving customers the confidence in the company’s consistent financial performance.
What we don’t like
No Online Application
Many customers are accustomed to the convenience of an online application or at least online quotes. Pacific Life does not provide this option. Applicants will also have to submit to a medical exam for their term life policy.
No Whole Life Policy for Individuals
The Flex 16 whole life option is only available through an employer. Customers looking for whole insurance from the open market will need to look elsewhere.
Universal Policies Aren’t Right for Everyone
Universal health policies are great if you know what you’re doing. But some customers may find the investment options of indexed policies disorienting, preferring to stick with traditional investment options such as their 401k or savings account.
Products
Term
Promise Term
| Term Life Details | |
|---|---|
| Length of Coverage | 10, 15, 20, and 30-year periods |
| Minimum Coverage: | $50,000 |
| Maximum Coverage: | $1 Million |
| Estimated Time to Approval: | 3-4 weeks |
| Product Features: |
|
| Brochure: | Promise Term Brochure |
Promise Term provides customers with a standard term life insurance policy, though it can be modified and enhanced with a variety of riders. This plan offers coverage ranging from $50,000 up to $1 million, and comes in 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30-year increments, though these term lengths decrease with the applicant’s age.
Level Premiums and Conversion Options
The premium stays level, and applicants have the option of converting to a permanent plan at the end of their term.
Medical Exam Required
Applicants can expect to answer medical questions during the application process, as well as undergo a medical exam prior to approval.
Elite Term
| Term Life Details | |
|---|---|
| Length of Coverage | 10, 15, 20, and 30-year periods |
| Minimum Coverage: | $750,000 |
| Maximum Coverage: | $3 Million+ |
| Estimated Time to Approval: | 3-4 weeks |
| Product Features: | · Level Premiums
· Riders Available · Conversion Options |
| Brochure: | Elite Term Brochure |
The Elite term comes in 10, 20, and 30-year terms, offering coverage ranging from $750,000 to $3 million or more. As with the Promise Term plan, applicants can expect to undergo a medical exam prior to approval.
Flex 16
Flex 16 is Pacific’s whole life insurance offering, intended for employer-provided life insurance plans. These aren’t for individuals to purchase apart from their employer. The Flex 16 plan offers a lifetime payment period as well as a fixed premium to ensure long-term stability.
Universal Life Insurance
Universal life insurance policies allow the policyholder to accumulate cash value on their plan, and this cash value can then be used to pay premiums.
Pacific offers two different universal life insurance plans:
- Versa Flex Venture UL
- PL Promise GUL
The latter includes a no-lapse guarantee rider, letting you extend coverage by paying higher premiums.
Indexed Universal Life Insurance
An indexed universal life insurance policy allows the insured to decide to assign cash value to either a fixed account of an equity-indexed account. Investment opportunities are available from well-known indexes, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. This allows the policyholder to accumulate cash value without reducing the death benefit. Because it’s based on market performance, this type of plan carries a greater risk, but it can be useful as a long-term investment strategy.
- Pacific offers several indexed universal life insurance plans
- Pacific Discovery Xelerator IUL 2L
- Pacific Indexed Accumulator 6
- Pacific Discovery Protector IUL
- Pacific Indexed Estate Preserver 3
These can be great investment opportunities if you know what you’re doing. But many customers may find these procedures to be unfamiliar, choosing to rely on traditional investment strategies such as savings accounts, mutual funds, etc.
Variable Universal Life Insurance
A variable universal life insurance allows the policyholder to invest the cash component to produce greater annual returns. Unfortunately, this depends on the market, which means that there is no guaranteed return on the investment.
Customers who choose this plan can select from Pacific’s two choices:
- Pacific Select VUL 2
- Pacific Select Harbor VUL
As with other universal plans, this option may be unfamiliar territory for the average life insurance customer, who might wish to rely on other investment opportunities.
Life Insurance with Long-Term Care Benefits
Pacific also offers life insurance with long-term care benefits. If the insured requires long-term care, (whether at an in-patient facility or in their home) they may borrow from the death benefit to cover these expenses. The death benefit pays 100% if no long-term care is needed.
Policy benefits
Conversion options
Term life customers can convert to a permanent policy up to 10 years after their term begins.
Riders
Accelerated Death Benefit Rider
If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, you may receive a portion of the death benefit to cover medical bills and other end-of-life expenses. This rider is included at no cost with the Promise Term and Elite term policies.
Child Protection Rider
This rider provides life insurance to children as young as 15 days and as old as 18 years. Coverage can be as high as $10,000.
Disability Waiver of Premium Rider
If you are totally disabled as a result of an accident or qualifying event, you are exempt from paying your monthly premium for a set period of time. This rider lasts the length of your policy, but terminates once you turn 65.
Cost
Affordable Plans at Every Age
Pacific Life offers competitive rates at every age bracket. The following table illustrates the cost of a 20-year, $250,000 policy for a healthy man:
| Age | SBLI Estimate | Industry Average |
|---|---|---|
| 20-29 | $25.00 | $28.00 |
| 30-39 | $28.00 | $32.00 |
| 40-49 | $56.00 | $61.00 |
| 50-59 | $137.00 | $152.00 |
| 60+ | $340.00 | $504.00 |
*Note: Rounded to the nearest dollar. Figures are given for illustrative purposes only. For an individual estimate, contact Pacific Life.
With other companies, older applicants can experience a price jump at the age of 50 or 60. But with Pacific Life, rates stay competitive for every age group.
Premiums Fluctuate with Health Conditions
Of course, Pacific Life’s rates can still fluctuate with health conditions, and increase for applicants who smoke cigarettes. The policy will be most affordable to non-smokers with milder health problems such as sleep apnea or high cholesterol or those who struggle with anxiety and depression.
Performance
Financial ratings
Pacific Life is highly ranked by third party sources, including:
- A.M. Best: A+
- S&P: AA-
- BBB: A-
In J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Life Insurance Study, Pacific Life ranked seventh out of 23 companies. These high financial ratings make Pacific Life a reliable, trusted insurance provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pacific Life a good life insurance company?
Yes. Pacific Life is rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best with over 155 years of operating history (founded 1868). Pacific Life is a mutual holding company structure, with surplus distributed to policyholders rather than shareholders. Pacific Life has over $200 billion in assets under management and is one of the largest U.S. life insurance companies by total assets. The company is particularly well-known in the high-net-worth advisor channel for permanent life insurance design.
Who owns Pacific Life?
Pacific Life is owned by its parent company Pacific Mutual Holding Company, which is in turn owned by its policyholders (a mutual holding company structure). Pacific Life is not publicly traded and has no shareholders. Surplus is distributed through dividends to participating-policy holders and through reinvestment in product development and capital reserves. This structure is similar to other major mutual carriers like MassMutual, Northwestern Mutual, and Penn Mutual.
What life insurance products does Pacific Life offer?
Pacific Life offers four main product types: (1) Pacific Promise GUL - guaranteed universal life with flexible guarantee ages (90, 95, 100, or 121), (2) Pacific Indexed Performer IUL - indexed universal life with strong cap rates and accumulation potential, (3) Pacific Discovery Variable Universal Life - investment-linked permanent insurance with subaccount investing, (4) Survivorship products (PL Promise Survivorship UL, Pacific Survivor IUL) - second-to-die designs for estate planning. Pacific Life does NOT sell traditional term life through its retail channel.
Does Pacific Life offer term life insurance?
Pacific Life does not actively sell traditional level term life insurance through its retail/broker channel. The company focuses on permanent life insurance (GUL, IUL, VUL). For term life, Pacific Life-affiliated agents typically partner with other carriers (Banner Life, Protective, Symetra) to provide term coverage. If you need term life specifically, look at Banner Life OPTerm or Protective Classic Choice Term.
Does Pacific Life require a medical exam?
Pacific Life primarily uses traditional underwriting with a paramedical exam for its permanent products, due to the higher face amounts and design complexity typical of permanent insurance. Pacific Life does offer accelerated underwriting for some Pacific Indexed Performer applications up to $1,000,000 for healthy applicants ages 18-55. Higher face amounts or more complex designs (large IUL funding, business-owned life insurance) typically require full underwriting.
How much does Pacific Life insurance cost?
Sample monthly rates for a healthy non-smoking 45-year-old: $500K Pacific Promise GUL to age 100, around $230-320/month. $500K Pacific Indexed Performer IUL designed for retirement income, around $400-700/month depending on funding target. Pacific Life pricing is generally moderate-to-premium within the high-net-worth permanent insurance space. The company's value proposition focuses on design flexibility and competitive cash-value accumulation rather than lowest-cost.
How long does Pacific Life take to approve applications?
Pacific Life applications typically take 4-8 weeks from application to issue, depending on product complexity, paramedical exam scheduling, and lab work. Larger face amounts ($5M+) or business-owned insurance can take 8-12 weeks because the underwriting includes financial documentation review. Accelerated underwriting cases on Pacific Indexed Performer typically return decisions within 1-2 weeks for healthy applicants under the eligibility thresholds.
Who should buy life insurance from Pacific Life?
Pacific Life is best for: (1) High-net-worth applicants seeking permanent life insurance for estate planning, business buy-sell, or wealth-transfer strategies, (2) Buyers focused on retirement-income IUL designs (Pacific Indexed Performer is highly regarded in the advisor channel), (3) Survivorship (second-to-die) designs for estate-tax planning on married couples, (4) Buyers wanting flexible guarantee-age design on GUL. Pacific Life is NOT a good fit for term life buyers or buyers seeking final expense, simplified-issue, or guaranteed-acceptance products.
What is Pacific Indexed Performer?
Pacific Indexed Performer is Pacific Life's flagship indexed universal life product. It allows cash-value growth tied to one of several stock indices (S&P 500, Russell 2000, Hang Seng) with a guaranteed floor of 0 percent and a cap on annual gains. Pacific Indexed Performer is particularly well-regarded in the advisor channel for retirement-income illustrations because of its flexible loan options (preferred loans, indexed loans, fixed loans). The product is designed for accumulation-focused buyers funding to maximum non-MEC levels.
How do I file a claim with Pacific Life?
Beneficiaries can file a claim by calling Pacific Life at 1-800-800-7681 or by visiting PacificLife.com/claims. Required documentation includes the certified death certificate, the policy number, and the beneficiary's ID. Pacific Life is known for relatively fast death-benefit claim payment (typically 14-30 days from receipt of complete documentation), particularly important for high-net-worth estate-planning beneficiaries who need timely access to liquidity.
