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Prudential life insurance at a glance
- Average costs: $36.07/month for a healthy 35-year-old male
- Term Life policy limits: $100,000 to $1 million for SimplyTerm life insurance
- Whole life policy limits: N/A
- Riders/Add-ons: Accidental death benefit and terminal illness for SimplyTerm
- Eligibility: SimplyTerm coverage is available for consumers ages 18 to 75
- Discounts available: N/A
- Other insurance offered: Health insurance
A wide variety of options for support
Prudential offers multiple options for those in need of customer support. Consumers can meet with an advisor in person, or get support via phone. It’s also possible to get instant term life insurance quotes online and to manage various aspects of a life insurance account online.
Customizable policies
Prudential offers many choices for customizing life insurance coverage. Consumers can add:
- Serious illness rider
- Disability riders
- Additional death benefits riders
- Cash value riders
- Estate planning riders
Not all riders are available with all policies, but the wide variety of options ensures consumers can get exactly the coverage they need.
Coverage available even with some chronic conditions
Prudential is one of few insurers that allows coverage for people diagnosed with certain conditions, including HIV. Many competitors exclude coverage for those who have chronic ailments before getting insured.
What could be improved?
Better customer service
In J.D. Power’s Life Insurance Customer Satisfaction survey for 2020, Prudential ranked below average for overall customer satisfaction. By comparison, more than 10 competitors beat the industry average including State Farm and Nationwide.
A wider selection of insurance options
Prudential offers term life insurance; and several types of universal life insurance including indexed and variable universal life coverage. It also offers health insurance. But it doesn’t offer other types of policies such as whole life coverage, home insurance, or auto insurance.
This means customers who want to address all their insurance needs with the same carrier — or who hope to bundle coverage to qualify for discounts — will need to look elsewhere. Competitors such as Geico and State Farm offer far more coverage types.
Pricing
Prudential offers competitive rates on life insurance, with several plans specifically designed to offer affordable premiums including its SimplyTerm life insurance policy.
| TERM | HEALTHY 35-YEAR-OLD MALE PURCHASING $500,000 IN COVERAGE | HEALTHY 35-YEAR-OLD MALE PURCHASING $1 MILLION IN COVERAGE |
|---|---|---|
| 10 year | $28.16 per month | $54.81 per month |
| 15 year | $32.74 per month | $63.98 per month |
| 20 year | $36.07 per month | $70.64 per month |
| 30 year | $47.32 per month | $93.13 per month |
Alternatives to consider
If you want a life insurer that offers multiple types of insurance: Both Geico and State Farm could be a better fit. They offer life insurance coverage, as well as other policies including home and auto so consumers can get multiple types of coverage from the same insurer. But both are more restrictive in their coverage options for those with chronic conditions.
Policy options
Prudential offers several types of life insurance policies.
Term life insurance
This coverage provides protection for a set period of time such as 10 to 30 years. Prudential provides several different kinds of term life insurance including SimplyTerm which can be purchased online and offers up to $1 million in coverage for up to a 30-year term. Other options include:
- Term Essential and Term Elite: These level premium policies give policyholders the option to convert part of their policy to permanent life insurance if they’d prefer to do so.
- PruTerm One: This allows consumers to get coverage for up to one year at a time.
Universal life insurance
This offers permanent life insurance and acquires a cash value. Prudential offers several types of universal life coverage including:
- PruLife Essential UL is affordable and offers a guarantee that the policy will not lapse as long as premiums are paid.
- Prulife SUL protection, which offers coverage for two people and pays a death benefit only after both have passed on
Indexed universal life insurance
This also offers permanent coverage and a cash value, but the value it acquires depends on the performance of a financial index coverage is linked to.
Prudential offers several types of indexed universal life insurance, including PruLife Founders Plus UL and ProLife Index Advantage UL. The differences between them relate to the financial index to the policy is linked to. It also offers a Survivorship Index that covers two people’s lives instead of just one.
Variable universal life insurance
This permanent life insurance acquires a cash value as well, but consumers have a wider selection of investment options and the performance of their investments determines how much value the policy accrues.
There are two options including PruLife Custom Premier which is for those focused on long-term growth and willing to accept higher risk, as well as ProLife SVUL Protector which insures two lives and pays out when the second person passes.
Riders/add-ons
Prudential offers several riders and add-ons to its life insurance policies.
A serious illness rider
This makes a death benefit payable while the policyholder is still alive if they develop a serious illness
Disability riders
These waive premiums if the policyholder becomes unable to work due to disability
Additional death benefits riders
These offer the option to add coverage for young children
Cash value riders
Cash value riders allow consumers to prevent the lapse of their policy if they take out too many loans against it.
Estate planning riders
These include a guaranteed policy split rider that ensures that if a survivorship policy insures two people, it can be severed in case of divorce or a change in the law
Application process
Prudential makes it quick and easy to get a term life insurance quote instantly online.
Consumers need to provide some very basic information including their gender; age; whether they are a smoker; what pre-existing conditions they have; and their zip code. A quote is provided instantly.
Some consumers may be approved based on the information they submit online. Others may receive a request for additional information about their health status. A medical exam may also be required in many cases.
After underwriting is complete, consumers can determine if they are comfortable paying the quoted premiums for the coverage they’ve chosen.
Who is eligible for Prudential Life insurance?
Prudential offers a wide variety of insurance policies. The company’s SimplyTerm coverage, — which is available for purchase online and which provides up to $1 million in term life insurance coverage for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years — is available to consumers ages 18 to 75 who meet underwriting criteria.
Unlike many insurers, Prudential is more accepting of certain chronic conditions such as HIV and will offer coverage as long as policyholders meet specific guidelines.
Customer service and ratings
Prudential is ranked below average on J.D. Power’s 2020 Life Insurance Customer Satisfaction Survey. However, it does have fewer than the expected number of complaints about an insurer of its size in the database maintained by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. This suggests mixed results for customer service, with room for improvement.
This life insurer is a good choice for:
- People with chronic conditions such as HIV who can’t get coverage elsewhere
- Consumers who want in-person support in purchasing a policy
- Consumers who want to add a variety of riders to their coverage
But consumers may want to consider Nationwide if they’d prefer a life insurer with a better reputation for customer service, or Geico or State Farm for those who would prefer to get multiple policy types from the same insurer.
Why Prudential Life Insurance is an affordable Life Option
