Quick answer
Transamerica is an A+ rated (Superior) life insurance company founded in 1904 and now part of the Aegon group. It is one of the highest-volume term life carriers in the United States, best known for the Trendsetter term series: Trendsetter Super for the lowest price and Trendsetter LB with critical, chronic, and terminal illness living benefits built in at no added premium. Transamerica also sells final expense whole life and indexed universal life, making it a strong fit for budget-focused term shoppers.
Our take
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.
What we like
Solid Selection of Products
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.
Competitive Prices Regardless of Age and Health Condition
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.
Other Financial Tools Available
Some customers may wish to take advantage of Transamerica’s other financial tools to plan for their retirement.
What we don’t like
No Online Quotes
Transamerica offers an intuitive and well-organized website, but they lack a tool to provide online quotes for their life insurance policies.
Policy Changes Require a Paper Form
Despite offering some helpful online tools, Transamerica requires policy changes to be completed on paper.
Poor Customer Service Reputation
Transamerica’s customer service ratings aren’t great, suggesting that you may face headaches if you need assistance.
Transamerica Life Insurance Products
Trendsetter Super Term Life
| 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.
High Benefits
This product offers coverage ranging from $25,000 to $10 million, which is higher than many other life insurance providers
Level Term Period
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.
No Medical Exam Option
Applicants under the age of 70 can receive coverage with no medical exam, though the policy must provide less than $100,000 of coverage.
Trendsetter LB Term Life
| 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.
Whole Life
Transamerica offers whole life policies to individuals, as well as group policies.
Individual
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.
Group
Transamerica also offers group policies up to $25,000, which may be an option for the workplace.
Final Expense
Transamerica offers three different policies for final expense insurance.
Immediate Solution
This policy provides coverage to applicants from ages 0 to 85. Full coverage is available from day one, and continues through age 121.
Easy Solution
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.
10-Pay
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.
Universal Life
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.
Indexed Universal Life
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.
Financial Foundation IUL (FFIUL)
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.
Policy benefits
Riders
Transamerica has a number of riders that can be added to the policy, some of which are unique to the company.
Decreasing Coverage
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.
Accelerated Death Benefit with Nursing Home Benefit
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.
Accidental Death Benefit
Final expense policies can add this rider, which pays the death benefit if the policyholder dies due to a qualifying accident.
Children’s Benefit Rider
Universal policyholders can add children 18 and under.
Accelerated Death Benefits
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.
Concierge Planning Rider
This unique rider allows universal policyholders to plan for their funeral and related final expenses. This rider comes standard with the FFIUL policy.
Cost
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.
Affordable Term Life Coverage
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.
Permanent Life Insurance 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.
Performance
Financial ratings
Transamerica is well-regarded by third-party institutions, including:
- A.M. Best Rating: A
- S&P: A+
- BBB: A
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.
