Last updated: March 20th, 2023
Reviewed by
Grant Desselle
Licensed Insurance Agent
Table of Contents
Transamerica has over a century of industry experience, having been founded in San Francisco in 1904. The company began with the ambition of providing affordable banking services. Today, they provide a variety of financial services, most of which are aimed at planning for retirement. Their products also include life insurance policies for both individuals and the workplace.
Transamerica offers a full spectrum of policy options, including term life insurance, whole life insurance, and some flexible options for universal life insurance coverage. We especially like their term life plan that comes with living benefits at no additional cost.
Transamerica’s competitive rates also stay relatively consistent with age and health conditions. Even if you’re a smoker, you can rely on stable, reliable coverage.
| A.M Best Rating | A |
| S&P Rating | A+ |
| BBB Rating | A |
| Customer Service Phone | 800-951-5771 |
| Website | www.transamerica.com |
| Address | Transamerica Insurance & Investment Group 4333 Edgewood Rd. NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52499 |
*This score reflects the parent company, Aegon USA Group.
Transamerica offers a solid selection of both term and permanent life insurance products, with riders that can be added to customize these policies even further.
Transamerica’s rates stay reasonably competitive across multiple age brackets, and those with milder health conditions won’t see a spike in their monthly premiums.
Some customers may wish to take advantage of Transamerica’s other financial tools to plan for their retirement.
Transamerica offers an intuitive and well-organized website, but they lack a tool to provide online quotes for their life insurance policies.
Despite offering some helpful online tools, Transamerica requires policy changes to be completed on paper.
Transamerica’s customer service ratings aren’t great, suggesting that you may face headaches if you need assistance.
| Length of Coverage | 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30-year terms |
| Minimum Coverage | $25,000 |
| Maximum Coverage | $10 million |
| Estimated Time to Approval | Immediate |
| Product Features |
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Transamerica offers a simple form of term life insurance called Trendsetter Super. It is available to applicants between the ages of 18 and 75, and comes in 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30-year terms.
This product offers coverage ranging from $25,000 to $10 million, which is higher than many other life insurance providers
The monthly premiums are fixed for the initial level term period. After this, the policy may be renewed on a yearly basis, though premiums will increase each year.
Applicants under the age of 70 can receive coverage with no medical exam, though the policy must provide less than $100,000 of coverage.
| Length of Coverage | 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30-year terms |
| Minimum Coverage | $25,000 |
| Maximum Coverage | $2 million |
| Estimated Time to Approval | 0 days |
| Product Features | Living benefits included |
This product costs slightly more than the other term policy, but comes with living benefits. If you are diagnosed with a qualifying illness, you can receive as much as 24% of the death benefit per year, to a maximum of 90% total (or $1.5 million, whichever comes first). The actual amount you receive does depend on the severity of the illness, but these living benefits can cover unpaid medical bills, groceries, and other expenses.
Transamerica offers whole life policies to individuals, as well as group policies.
Individuals can receive whole life insurance from Transamerica, providing coverage ranging from $25,000 to $2 million. Premiums on these policies can be higher than term life coverage, but premiums stay level for the lifetime of the policy.
Transamerica also offers group policies up to $25,000, which may be an option for the workplace.
Transamerica offers three different policies for final expense insurance.
This policy provides coverage to applicants from ages 0 to 85. Full coverage is available from day one, and continues through age 121.
This policy provides coverage to applicants between the ages of 18 and 80, though New York residents must be 50-75. This policy has a graded death benefit, which means that for the first two years, the policy is limited to 110% of the premiums currently paid.
This policy is designed to be paid off within 10 years of purchase. It is available to applicants between the ages of 0 and 80, and pays the full benefit from day one.
Transamerica offers a fairly standard universal life policy, which accumulates a cash value that can be borrowed against. As with other universal policies, the policyholder can modify their premiums over time.
An indexed universal life insurance policy allows the policyholder to take the cash value that accrues, and invest it in indexed markets such as the S&P 500 or Nasdaq. The advantage is that this provides the opportunity for greater returns, though it comes with all of the usual risks of the market.
This unique product comes with a guaranteed minimum interest rate, or “floor,” offering policyholders a bit more stability than other universal policies. It also provides for tax-free loans and withdrawals, and tax deferral on earnings. This policy is available with the Concierge Planning Rider (see below), so customers can use this policy to plan for end-of-life expenses as well.
Transamerica has a number of riders that can be added to the policy, some of which are unique to the company.
Most policyholders find that their financial obligations decrease with time. This rider provides decreasing levels of coverage as you pay off debts and your children move out of the house.
Final expense policies can be modified with a rider that pays the death benefit upon diagnosis of a qualifying illness/event, or confinement in a qualified nursing facility.
Final expense policies can add this rider, which pays the death benefit if the policyholder dies due to a qualifying accident.
Universal policyholders can add children 18 and under.
In the event that you are diagnosed with a qualifying illness, you can receive a portion of your death benefit to cover expenses. The FFIUL policy includes a terminal illness rider, granting a portion of the death benefit in the event of a terminal illness.
This unique rider allows universal policyholders to plan for their funeral and related final expenses. This rider comes standard with the FFIUL policy.
Transamerica is a great option for those seeking affordable life insurance, and the premiums don’t skyrocket with age or with certain health risks, such as being a smoker.
Their term life plans are the most affordable. A 20-year $500,000 policy starts at around $25.00 for a man in his 20s, and only $57.00 per month for a 40-year-old man. This puts their term life policies below industry averages.
The prices are the same for the Trendsetter LB policy, and the living benefits gives this policy exceptional value.
No quotes are available for Transamerica’s whole or universal life insurance policies. These policies tend to offer a number of different variables, so it really comes down to whether you need the coverage and riders that Transamerica offers.
To that end, the Concierge Planning rider on the Financial Foundation Indexed Universal Life (FFIUL) plan makes it a great value for those looking for the benefits of universal life insurance, with the added benefit of planning for some end-of-life expenses.
Transamerica is well-regarded by third-party institutions, including:
These consistent scores speak well to the company’s track record of trust and reliability, which means you can be confident that they will pay your full benefit when the time comes.
Brian is the founder and CEO of Insurist and carries Life, Health, and Property & Casualty licenses in all 50 U.S. states. Since 2013, Brian has been a member of Million Dollar Round Table, a designation for the top 1% of financial advisors worldwide. Brian has been featured in Yahoo! Finance, Money.com, Entrepreneur.com, Life Happens, Forbes, MSN, and Good Financial Cents. Brian’s goal is to show customers the best products, the quickest answers to their questions, and provide expert advice.
Grant's past experience includes work as a licensed sales agent for Hagerty Insurance. He has reviewed thousands of existing auto policies across the nation and issued hundreds of new ones on everything ranging from classic cars undergoing restoration to modern exotics and motorcycles.
