Best Term Life Insurance In California- Updated for 2021!
Best Term Life Insurance In California
Out of the 1800+ life insurance companies that sell term life insurance in California, some stand out more than others. We’ve picked our three best life insurance carriers based on our outcomes experience in 2021 in helping our California life insurance applicants get the best term insurance rates for their particular needs. SO…
Here Are The Top 3 Best Life Insurance Companies In California:
Lincoln Financial
Lincoln Financial Group ( The old Lincoln National plus Jefferson Pilot Life after their merger in the early 2000s)
Excellent medical underwriting/excellent financials/features “e-App” or “drop ticket” paperless applications. Lincoln or “LFG” is a major player and sells lots of term life insurance in California, primarily due to the support they give to brokers to make their application process as seamless as possible.
Banner Life
Banner Life is usually one of the cheapest carriers around, but you need to be “squeaky clean” in order to get their top rates. Weaker financials, but for Millennials in California, not a bad choice. Banner Life’s parent company, Legal & General Group, has a 180-year-old history. It was founded in 1836 in London. Banner Life is more than 50 years strong.
AIG/American General
This carrier was tainted in the 2008 financial meltdown. Parent company almost went insolvent to derivative and major leverage exposure. The life insurance component was untouched, but “guilt by association”. AIG has been helping American families guard their financial future for almost 100 years.
What Does It Take To Make It To The Top 3 Best Life Insurance Companies In California?
Is The Number Of Years They’ve Been In Business Or The Number Of Offices They Have Across America?
To start with, good ratings are one.
However, as mentioned, you can buy life insurance across state lines.
So if it doesn’t matter where you buy your life insurance, then it means that all insurance companies are the same, generally speaking.
This is because in the insurance industry all insurance carriers are required by law to maintain reserve requirements according to the state’s insurance code.
To determine a company’s strength, it’s best to view the provider’s insurance “report card.”
The five major insurance rating agencies are A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, Fitch Ratings, and TheStreet.com and each insurer must be rated by at least one of them.
Each of these agencies will rank insurers based on their own set of criteria but they all use a letter grading system.
When choosing the right life insurance company for you, do your homework.
To check the financial health of the company you are considering, look at its ratings.
Check if any complaints have been made against the company.
Searching For Term Life Insurance In California?
You Need To Understand Some Life Insurance Language First…
By Definition, Term Life Insurance Is A Type Of Life Insurance That Provides A Potential Death Benefit For A Fixed Period Or “Term.”
Introduction To California Life Insurance
“Death” and “benefit” in the same sentence always make people uncomfortable.
We get it.
However, because death is the only thing any of us will ever know for certain, it certainly pays to talk about these things now rather than later.
When it comes to talking about any type of life insurance, it isn’t the fear of death that often stops people from opening up the conversation; it’s all the complicated insurance terms that get thrown around that go over most people’s heads.
So we’re here to simplify things for you.
To begin, here’s a quick list of terms and definitions that you will often encounter when talking about term insurance:
Death Benefit – The amount of money paid when an insurance claim is approved; also referred to as a policy benefit.
Beneficiary – The party or parties designated as the recipient(s) of the money from a life insurance policy or annuity.
Premium – The amount of money paid as either a single payment or periodic payments to maintain insurance coverage.
Policy – The printed legal document stating the terms of the insurance contract that is issued to the policy owner by the company.
Term insurance is usually referred to as “pure life insurance” because it’s meant only to protect your dependents in the event that you die prematurely. It’s simple; if you die within the term you chose when you bought the policy, then your beneficiaries receive the payout. In California, common terms are 5, 10, 15, 25, 30 years or to a specified age.
What happens when you don’t die within the specified term?
No benefit is payable. For this reason, it’s ideal to choose a term that covers the years that you should be actively paying bills or have someone relying on your income such as your partner and kids.
With a few exceptions, term insurance is quite similar from state to state. Here’s a guide to help you understand California term life insurance:
What Term Insurance Is NOT…
A bank account: No, term life is not a savings plan or a money market fund. You cannot take out the money you’ve put in anytime you like.
Permanent: Whole life is perhaps the most well-known forms of permanent life insurance. Whole life insurance provides, you guessed it, lifelong coverage. Unlike term insurance, there is no choice of policy length. However, it does accumulate cash value.
So if you figure that you will need life insurance beyond 30 years, you’re really better off with permanent life insurance. While you do have the option to extend a term life policy, it will ultimately cost you more in the long run.
What Term Insurance IS…
Simple: It offers pure life insurance protection without the hassle of getting a medical exam.
Cheaper: It’s comparatively less expensive than permanent life insurance which means you get the highest amount of life insurance and the lowest cost.
Temporary: It will expire on the day of your choosing. The term is decided entirely by you. Pay for what you need.
Flexible: Not everyone has a family to protect. Choose to protect something else that’s important to you.
Can I Buy Life Insurance Across State Lines?
Truth be told, it doesn’t really doesn’t matter if you buy your term life insurance in California or not. Term life insurance is still the cheapest form of insurance, whether you live in California, Utah, or Hawaii.
Rates are mostly the same except for a couple of states that use “unisex” life insurance rates which average the mortality cost for men and women.
In that case, men pay less and women pay more…
Life insurance works the same way in all states.
All online marketers use the same “best life insurance in _________ state” line to advertise.
In the U.S., life insurance is regulated on a state level as each state has its own life insurance laws.
Insurance is regulated on a state-by-state basis, so insurers have to be licensed in each state they sell policies in.
For the policy buyer, the location of the company selling the life insurance policy is less significant than the licensing of the company.
It is not uncommon for a company to be based in New York but be licensed to sell insurance in several other states, including California.
Life insurance is not location-specific like other types of insurance such as home or car.
Life insurance is much more versatile.
However, before you buy a policy across state lines, make sure that the company you are buying from is licensed in your state.
Contact the company to ask if they are licensed in your state or check with California’s Department of Insurance.
The main reason that life insurance can be purchased across state lines is that it’s a type of long-term coverage.
People move around all the time, and it is not uncommon for a policyholder to move to another state during the course of their life insurance policy.
This is why it is essential that your life insurance be able to follow you wherever you move.
When you are purchasing a policy that you will need to pay premiums on for many years, you need to be assured that the contract will not be denied simply because your life demands that you move to another state.
Ultimately, you can buy life insurance across state lines as long as the company you are buying your life insurance from is licensed to sell insurance in your state.
For as long as the company is licensed, and your research has concluded that the company is stable enough to buy a life-long policy from, it’s safe to make the purchase.
So remember, you can buy term life insurance in California, but live somewhere else and that’s NEVER a problem!
More About Top California Life Insurance Companies
How Life Insurance Benefits May Be Used To Pay Off A Home Mortgage Or Other Debts At The Time Of Death
Unfortunately, your debts don’t die with you. If you share a loan such as a mortgage with your spouse, they carry the burden of paying off that loan alone when you pass away.
By purchasing a life insurance policy, you will have the peace of mind that when you die, your loved ones will not be left with the burden of repaying debts by themselves.
For life insurance primarily associated with major loans, you can purchase credit life insurance which can be used to pay off your home mortgage or other debts at the time of death.
Credit life insurance is different from traditional life insurance coverage in the way the death benefit is structured.
With a traditional life insurance policy, the death benefit is determined at the time you purchase the policy.
With credit life insurance, the face value of the policy corresponds to the value of the loan it’s designed to pay off.
Credit life insurance is also easier to qualify for than traditional life insurance.
Many insurance companies require you to undergo a medical exam or health screening to qualify for permanent life insurance.
Unfortunately, if you’re in poor health, you will likely face a higher premium for coverage.
That’s if you’re not denied altogether.
Both credit life insurance and traditional life insurance can protect your beneficiaries and save them from having to use other assets to pay your debts.
But before you purchase a policy, it’s critical that you evaluate the costs, coverage, and any exclusions that may apply.
You should also study how premiums are paid and how long the policy covers you.
You may want to consider using the life insurance proceeds for debt repayment and any form of investing only after assessing your immediate needs.
Here are other ways your loved ones could use life insurance benefits:
Paying off high-interest debt
Paying off the mortgage
Saving for your children’s college
Investing the life insurance proceeds
Honor the policyholder’s memory by doing something meaningful
Take the Next Step
It’s tough knowing how to protect your family after you’re gone, especially with such a vast amount of information out there. But we can help!
To support you as you safeguard your financial security, I’ve created an up-to-date guide for parents who need life insurance here. My guide can help you with your long-term life insurance goals, especially with a family to nurture at home.
Here at CB Acker Associates, we want to help you take care of your family. If you’re ready to find a policy that fits your needs and your budget, we can help!
With access to all the top-rated life insurance companies, we work extra hard to get you the best life insurance rates possible. You can even compare rates and benefits from over 40 providers with no obligation to buy here. Plus, it’s fast—under 60 seconds kind of fast.
Please, give us a call today at 650-969-5844 or email [email protected]
