Quick answer
Primerica is an A+ rated (Superior) insurer founded in 1977 that sells term life insurance exclusively through its network of more than 140,000 licensed representatives. The company champions Buy Term and Invest the Difference: buy affordable term coverage and invest what a permanent policy would have cost. Its TermNow product offers no-exam decisions on qualifying applications. The trade-offs are distribution and price: policies are only available through a Primerica rep, and independent-broker term from carriers like Banner Life or Transamerica is frequently cheaper for the same coverage.
Company Details
Primerica Life Insurance is based in Duluth, Georgia, though their agents are located nationwide.
Primerica only provides term life insurance coverage, and they have a bit of a reputation for campaigning against other life insurance products, though this may depend on your agent. Their life insurance products offer some solid choices, though their rates aren’t the most competitive.
Multi-level marketing strategies are always a mixed bag. On the one hand, it may be easier to reach an agent when you purchase from a friend or a brother-in-law. On the other hand, multi-level marketing companies have a reputation for emphasizing recruitment, so you may quickly find yourself being pressured to become one of Primerica’ agents.
Overall, Primerica’s term policies are solid choices for middle-class customers, but always be sure to investigate your other options before making a commitment.
| Customer Service Phone | 800-544-5445 |
| Company Website | www.primerica.com |
| Address | Primerica 1 Primerica Parkway Duluth, GA 30099 |
| BBB Rating | A+ (view) |
What We like
Longer Term Coverage
Primerica offers term life insurance up to 35 years. This is slightly longer than other companies that limit their coverage to 30 years or less.
High Coverage Amounts
Primerica offers up to $1 million in coverage. While this isn’t unusual for a term policy, not every company can promise this level of coverage.
No Medical Exam
Customers seeking limited coverage amounts can receive no medical exam life insurance coverage.
What We Don’t Like
Multi-Level Marketing
Primerica sells its products through independent agents, who may then recruit others to join the company’s network of representatives.
No Online Quotes
No online quotes are available to give you a preliminary idea of what to expect from your monthly premiums.
Only Offer Term Life
Primerica only offers term life insurance, with no options for whole, universal, or final expense life insurance policies.
No Whole Life Options
Because Primerica does not offer whole life insurance options, there is no option for converting your term life policy after it expires.
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Primerica Life Insurance Products
Custom Advantage Term
| Length of Coverage | 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35 years |
| Minimum Coverage | $15,000 |
| Maximum Coverage | n/a |
| Estimated Time to Approval | 3 - 6 weeks |
| Product Features |
|
Custom Advantage is Primerica’s term life insurance offering. Terms range from 10 to 35 years, which is slightly longer than competing companies. However, these terms are limited by the following ages:
- 10-year term: Max age of 70
- 15-year term: Max age of 65
- 20-year term: Max age of 60
- 25-year term: Max age of 55
- 30-year term: Max age of 50
- 35-year term: Max age of 45
Because this plan required a medical exam, it can take up to six weeks for approval.
Primerica’s term life products offer a level term, meaning you lock in your rate when your policy begins. But this level period is limited to a maximum of 20 years, after which policyholders can expect to see their monthly premiums increase. Because this increase is so far into the future, it’s difficult to know whether policyholders will be able to afford this additional cost, which poses the risk of losing the policy.
An example is a 30-year term policy with a guaranteed level premium in years 1 - 20. In the 20st year, the premiums may increase.
Coverage Options Up To 35 Years
The maximum coverage term for many companies is 30 years.
No War or Terror Clause
Few companies provided death benefits when death is caused by an act of war.
Premiums Are Not Guaranteed
The cost of a policy may increase after the 20th year. This is not an issue for those with 20 year term policies or under. For those with 25 or 30 year policies, there is uncertainty whether the policy is affordable after the 20th year.
Cost
When comparing costs with comparable products at other companies, Primerica’s rates are slightly higher.
Term Now
Term Now is Primerica’s option for term life insurance without a medical exam. This policy is essentially identical to their Custom Advantage plan, though coverage is limited to the range of $15,000 to $300,000. And as with most no-exam policies, this plan will be markedly more expensive as compared to the traditional policy.
| Length of Coverage | 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35 years |
| Minimum Coverage | $15,000 |
| Maximum Coverage | $300,000 |
| Estimated Time to Approval | Immediate |
| Product Features |
|
Quick
Since there is not a medical exam, policies are issued within days.
Low Coverage Amount
The maximum death benefit offered is $300,000. Other companies offer up to $2,000,000 without a medical exam. Bestow insurance offers a 30-year term policy for $1,000,000 that is an instant issue life insurance product.
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Policy Benefits
Riders
Primerica’s riders offer some features that add value to the base package of their insurance policy. These include:
Accelerated Death Benefit Rider
This rider will pay up to 70% of the death benefit (to a maximum of $400,000) in the event of a qualifying illness.
Guaranteed Insurability Option
Policyholders have the option to renew their policy without a health exam until age 95, though with increasing age comes an increasing premium. Still, this can be valuable if you are diagnosed with a chronic illness during the initial term, and can use this option to guarantee your continued coverage.
Increasing Benefit Rider
While many companies decrease the death benefit over time, this rider will increase the death benefit by 10% per year for 10 years, to a maximum of $500,000. Policyholders have the flexibility to add this rider until they turn 55. No additional medical exam is necessary, but the monthly premiums will also increase.
Child Rider
Policyholders can receive up to $50,000 of coverage for children under the age of 24, which is slightly older than other child riders on the market.
Waiver of Premium Rider
If you are disabled, this rider waives your premiums for a predetermined period of time, without jeopardizing your policy.
Cost
As you might expect, the rapid-issue Term Now policy costs a bit more than the Custom Advantage plan, but that’s to be expected for a policy that doesn’t require a medical underwriting. Yet Primerica’s base policy is still considerably higher than industry averages, which makes it not the most affordable life insurance provider
High Cost for Traditional Underwriting
A healthy, 35-year-old man looking for $500,000 in coverage can expect to pay the following for a term policy from Primerica:
- $240 for a 10-year term
- $335 for a 15-year term
- $370 for a 20-year term
These estimates tend to be considerably higher than industry averages. Additionally, while other companies offer a guaranteed level premium, Primerica only offers level premiums for the first 20 years. Policyholders who invest in longer terms can expect their rates to increase toward the latter years of their policy.
Guaranteed Coverage Adds Little Value
Primerica makes a big deal of their guaranteed insurability option, but as we noted earlier this is hardly a unique benefit, and therefore doesn’t add any measurable value to the company’s products.
The Social Cost of Multi-Level Marketing
There’s also another cost to consider: the social cost of multi-level marketing strategies. Primerica is sold through independent agents, which means you may be receiving a sales pitch from someone you know. As with any MLM program, this could dial up the sales pressure, or introduce an unwanted business element into a friendship.
Financials
Primerica Life Insurance Company has been given favorable ratings from the following agencies:
- A.M. Best Rating: A+ (Superior)
- S&P Rating: A-
This means that customers can have confidence that the company will follow through with its promises and benefits.
| Total Annual Insurance Premiums | $2,394,370,843 |
| Annual Individual Life Insurance Premiums | $2,393,623,793 |
| Annual Revenue | $2.28 billion |
| Fortune 1000 Revenue Rank | #909 |
Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners and D&B Business Directory
Complaints
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners performs periodic reviews of the complaints received by all the state departments of insurance. A score of 1.0 indicates an average number of customer complaints. This means a company with a complaint index of 2.0 has a complaint index that is twice as high as expected in the market. A company with a complaint index below 1.0 has fewer complaints than the average.
| Total Complaints Filed with State Insurance Departments | 18 |
| NAIC Company Complaint Index Score | 0.37 |
| National Index Complaint Color | Green = 51% less complaints than average |
| Better Business Bureau | Primerica BBB Complaints Page |
Primerica has fewer complaints than most insurance companies, which is a good sign for potential and current policyholders.
Reviews
Primerica has reviews at the following third parties.
Primerica Life Insurance Company has a mix of positive and negative reviews online. Most people have a good experience and like their agent.
The negative reviews are primarily regarding the pricing of the term policies increasing significantly (more than doubling after the 20 years guaranteed period. Customers reference the premiums increasing to the point where the insurance is unaffordable.
Example of a review on the Better Business Bureau:
“James P
I purchased a term policy over 25 years ago. I always paid my premium on time and kept it because I thought they were a reputable company. When I turned 62 they doubled my premium and lowered my coverage. Then when I hit 65 they quadrupled my premium. I was forced to drop them, because my budget could not afford the increase, So now I am old and uncovered. Nice way to treat a long term customer.”
Other negative reviews reference agents recruiting customers to work for Primerica.
Is Primerica a pyramid scheme?
Insurancy Recommendation
Primerica only sells term life insurance with guaranteed premiums for 20 years. If you are looking for a policy longer than 20 years, or a permanent policy, Primerica is not a good option. Buy from a company that offers guaranteed level term life insurance.
If you are looking for a 20-year term policy or less, and for whatever reason, you want to purchase from your agent even if the cost is a bit higher, Primerica is a reliable insurance company.
If you are being recruited to be an agent, be aware that Primerica has been called an MLM.
Definitely compare pricing with recommended companies on our comparison engine.
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