Bestow Life Insurance Review | Smart Change: Personal Finance | madison.com – Madison.com

Kat Tretina

Best for No-Exam Life Insurance

If you’ve been putting off getting life insurance because you don’t want to go through a lengthy application process or deal with the hassle of a medical exam and tests, Bestow may be an excellent option for you. You can get a substantial amount of term life insurance without a medical exam, and your coverage can begin as soon as the same day you apply, making Bestow our top choice for no-exam life insurance.

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Bestow Life Insurance Pros and Cons

Pros

No medical exams requiredUp to $1.5 million in coverage availableGet coverage as soon as the day you applyLong, 30-day guarantee

Cons

Only sells term life insurancePolicies not available in New YorkNo insurance riders available

Pros explained

No medical exams required

Applying for life insurance usually involves answering questions about your health and undergoing a medical exam and lab work. No-exam life insurance policies like those Bestow offers skip those requirements.

Up to $1.5 million in coverage available

Typically, coverage for a no-exam policy Is limited to $500,000 or less. But Bestow offers up to $1.5 million in term life coverage without a medical exam.

Get coverage as soon as the day you apply

Fully underwritten policies with medical exams can take weeks to finalize. Simplified underwriting such as Bestow’s can allow more rapid approval, and your policy may go into effect as soon as the same day you apply, the company says.

Life insurance policies usually have a 10-day free look period where you can cancel your policy and get a full refund. With Bestow, you’re covered by a 30-day guarantee. If you cancel your coverage within 30 days of its issue date, you’ll get a full refund.

Cons explained

Only sells term life insurance

Where many or most life insurers sell term, whole, universal and variable universal life insurance, Bestow only sells term life insurance. If you’re looking for permanent insurance, you’ll need to buy from another company.

Policies not available to residents of New York

Although Bestow is available to most people, it is not licensed to issue policies to residents of New York. If you live within that state, you’re ineligible for Bestow’s term life policies.

Insurance riders allow adjustments to a policy for an additional cost. You can add riders to get coverage for your spouse or children, access your benefits if you become terminally ill or even to waive your premiums if you become disabled. However, Bestow doesn’t offer any insurance riders, so your coverage may be less extensive and customized than you could get from another company.

Bestow Life Insurance Products

Unlike other insurers that have multiple life insurance products, Bestow offers just one: term life insurance. Term life policies provide you with coverage for a specified term. Term life policies are usually much less expensive than whole life or universal life coverage, making them a popular choice for budget-conscious individuals.

The tradeoff is that term life policies elapse. Unlike whole life policies that last for your lifetime, term life policies only provide coverage during your term. Once the term ends, your policy is no longer active and your beneficiaries won’t receive a death benefit if you pass away.

In addition to selling policies itself, Bestow powers the life insurance offerings for Lemonade, with Bestow policies available via Lemonade’s website and app.

Available Life Insurance Plans

Bestow’s term life plan allows coverage of between $50,000 and $1.5 million. Terms range from 10 to 30 years, and you can apply entirely online. Bestow doesn’t require medical exams, and you can get a decision as soon as the day you submit your application, the company says. If approved, your policy can go into effect as soon as the same day you apply, according to the company.

People between the ages of 18 and 60 are eligible for coverage through Bestow.

Insurance Riders

Bestow doesn’t offer insurance riders.

Limitations

While Bestow’s plans are of the simplified issue type, meaning they don’t require a medical exam, you can still be denied coverage due to health issues. If you have a history of medical issues or have a chronic health condition, such as high blood pressure, Bestow may not insure you, because the company doesn’t offer guaranteed issue policies.

No-Exam Life Insurance allows you to get the coverage you need without leaving the comfort of your own home.

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Bestow Credentials

While Bestow is a relatively young company, it has a strong reputation within the insurance industry. While it isn’t a direct insurer, its policies are issued by North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, an established company that has been in operation since 1886.

Awards

Bestow was recognized for its technology and growth by being included in CB Insights’ Fintech 250 list for two years in a row. This list includes top fintech companies all over the world that are disrupting traditional financial service industries.

Financial Stability

When choosing a life insurance policy, researching the issuer’s financial stability is key. When you have a policy with a term of 10, 20 or even 30 years, you want to be sure the company is financially sound and able to honor claims for decades into the future. You can get insights into companies’ financial stability by looking up their ratings from major credit rating agencies like Moody’s, AM Best and S&P Global.

North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, the company that underwrites Bestow’s policies, is well-regarded. While the company was deemed only adequate for stability from S&P Global, it received top scores from two of the most respected insurance-ratings agencies: Moody’s and AM Best.

Credit Rating AgencyRatingRating RangeMoody’sAAAC to AAAAM BestA+ (Superior)D to A++S&P GlobalBBB+ (Adequate)D to AAA

Third-Party Ratings

Neither Bestow nor the North American Company for Life and Health Insurance were included in the 2021 J.D. Power U.S. individual Life Insurance Study.

Regulatory Actions

Bestow has not been the target of any regulatory actions.

Cost of Bestow Life Insurance

When it comes to cost, life insurance is typically less expensive when you’re young. Buying insurance in your 20s or 30s is easier than shopping for insurance when you’re older, since you’re less likely to have existing health issues, and coverage will typically cost much less.

In general, simplified issue policies like Bestow’s plans are more expensive than fully underwritten policies. However, we found that Bestow’s rates for young adults were very competitive.

According to LIMRA, the average cost of a $250,000, 20-year term life policy for a healthy 30-year old was $165 per year, or $13.75 per month. When we requested quotes for a 30-year-old woman in excellent health, we found Bestow’s rates to be slightly lower than the industry average.

$50,000 policy$100,000 policy$250,000 policy$500,000 policy$1M policy$1.5M policy10 years$7.50$8.17$9.33$11.83$17.67$23.5020 years$7.88$8.50$12.04$16.83$27.67$38.5030 years$8.96$11.92$20.58$28.08$50.17$72.25

Your rates may vary from the sample rates we received because premiums are based on multiple factors including your age, gender, health history and location.

Bestow Accessibility

Bestow only accepts online applications; you don’t have the option of meeting in person with an agent or financial professional. However, Bestow does have multiple options for getting virtual help with your application or with questions about your policy.

Contact Information

Bestow’s customer support team can be reached via email, phone or live chat.

Customer service is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. CST.

User Experience

Existing policyholders can use Bestow’s customer portal to pay their premiums, download the necessary claim forms or update the beneficiary information. Bestow’s portal can be accessed via desktop and mobile devices.

Bestow Customer Satisfaction

When it comes to Bestow reviews, customers tend to be very positive about the company. It has excellent scores on both consumer rating sites and industry support organizations.

Customer Reviews

Bestow has an “excellent” rating on TrustPilot, with a 4.7 TrustScore out of 5 based on nearly 800 reviews. Bestow reviews often focus on the user-friendly platform, quick application process and responsive customer service.

Complaint Index

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) collects all complaints that consumers submit to it about insurance companies. With that data, it creates complaint ratios that reflect the number of complaints an insurer received compared to similar companies.

The industry standard complaint ratio is 1.0; ideally, companies want ratios below 1.0, since that means they received fewer complaints than expected for its size and industry.

Since Bestow’s policies are issued by the North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, we looked up that insurer’s complaint ratio. For 2020, its complaint index for individual life insurance was 0.68, which is better than the industry standard. The company received just eight complaints in 2020 about its life insurance policies.

How much does Bestow cost?

Bestow’s life insurance policies start under $10 per month for healthy individuals in their 20’s and 30’s. Your premiums may vary based on your location, age, gender and health history.

Does Bestow sell whole life insurance?

Bestow does not sell whole life insurance or any other form of permanent life insurance. It only sells term life policies.

Who owns Bestow?

Bestow is a privately-held company. Based in Dallas, TX, the company sells insurance policies directly to consumers, without using agents or medical exams. Its policies are issued by the North American Company for Life and Health Insurance.

How We Evaluated Bestow Life Insurance

In our evaluation of Bestow and other life insurance companies, we looked at the following factors:

Available plans and termsInsurance ridersPolicy exclusionsUnderwriting processCostFinancial stabilityCustomer serviceCustomer reviewsThird-party ratings

Summary of Money’s Bestow Life Insurance Review

If you’re looking for a life insurance policy, but not a traditionally underwritten plan, Bestow could be a good choice. It offers simple, affordable life insurance, and allows customers to get up to $1.5 million in coverage entirely online without a medical exam.

However, Bestow doesn’t offer permanent life insurance, nor does it sell guaranteed-coverage policies. If you’re looking for whole, universal or guaranteed issue life insurance policies, you’ll need to work with another life insurer. Not sure where to start? Check out our picks for the best life insurance companies of 2021.

Protect your loved ones from the unexpected with Bestow Life Insurance

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This article originally appeared on Money.com and may contain affiliate links for which Money receives compensation. Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s alone, not those of a third-party entity, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed. Offers may be subject to change without notice. For more information, read Money’s full disclaimer.

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