Cincinnati Life Insurance Review

Pros Explained

• Fewer complaints than expected: NAIC complaint index data shows that this company has far fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size.
• Superior financial strength rating: AM Best gave Cincinnati Life Insurance a financial strength rating of A+ (Superior), which is in line with what our highest-rated life insurance companies received.
• Coverage available without medical exam: Our research shows that whole life insurance coverage up to $99,000 is available to policyholders from 18 to 60 years old without needing a medical exam, blood profile, or urinalysis.
• Better than average term pricing: In comparison to the other insurers we reviewed, Cincinnati Life’s pricing for term policies was more affordable than average.
• Return of premium term available: Some term policies return a portion or all of the premiums you paid if you outlive the term of the policy. They’re more expensive than regular term and not widely available. But for those seeking such a policy, Cincinnati Life is one of the few insurers offering one.

Cons Explained

• Limited online capabilities and information: The insurer does not offer an online application, same-day decisions, online quotes, or the ability to file claims online. There’s also limited information about the company’s policies on its website.
• Limited policy options: The company offers three common types of life insurance, but you won’t find additional options such as index universal life or variable universal life.

Complaint Index

Cincinnati Life Insurance receives far fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The NAIC collects data to assess how many complaints insurers receive and how they compare to other insurers, after adjusting for market share. An index above 1.00 means that an insurer gets more complaints than expected, while an index below 1.00 means they get fewer complaints than expected. When looking at the NAIC complaint data for the Cincinnati Life Insurance Company over a three-year period, its average index is 0.16. Compared to the 91 other life insurance companies we reviewed, Cincinnati’s NAIC complaint index average puts it in the top 20% for the fewest complaints.

Third-Party Ratings

When choosing an insurer, assessing its stability can help ensure that your benefits will be paid as promised. Cincinnati Life Insurance fares well on the stability front as it earned an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating (FSR) from AM Best. AM Best is an independent provider of insurance ratings that reports on over 16,000 insurance companies globally. An A+ rating means a company has a superior ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations. Of the insurance companies we reviewed, about 30% earned an A+, while only about 10% earned the highest FSR of A++.

Policies Available 

When it comes to the policies available, Cincinnati Life Insurance offers three main types—term, whole life, and universal life. Here’s a closer look at each.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance provides affordable coverage for a set period. For example, you may be able to pick a term that’s 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years in length. If you pass away during the term, your beneficiary receives the death benefit. If you don’t, your coverage will end at the end of your term, unless you renew your term coverage at a higher premium. Many insurers let you convert your term policy to a permanent one before it expires as well.

Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance is a permanent type of coverage designed to cover you for the rest of your life, as long as you pay your scheduled premiums. When you pass away, your named beneficiary will receive the death benefit. These policies accumulate a tax-deferred cash value you can withdraw from or borrow against during your lifetime.

Universal Life Insurance

Universal life (UL) insurance is another type of permanent coverage. Similar to whole life policies, the policy is designed to be permanent, and it will accumulate a tax-deferred cash value over time. With a UL policy, you can adjust your death benefit and premium throughout your lifetime. However, you may need to make extra premium payments when you’re older if the cash value doesn’t grow as anticipated.

Available Riders

Based on our research, Cincinnati Life Insurance offers the following riders which allow you to customize your insurance policy to your unique needs.

Guaranteed Insurability Rider 

Permanent life insurance policies typically have fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit amount. However, in some cases, you may want to purchase more coverage throughout your lifetime. A guaranteed insurability rider lets you do so at specific times without requiring you to provide evidence of insurability.

Cincinnati Life’s guaranteed insurability riders let you purchase more insurance when you’re 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, and 40 years old, or when certain events occur such as a birth, marriage, legal adoption, or home purchase. You must be 37 or younger to add the rider to a new policy.

Child Rider

Cincinnati Life’s child rider enables you to add term life insurance coverage for your child, stepchild, or legally adopted child that covers them until age 25. If the child passes away during that period, you would receive a death benefit. If not, your child can convert the coverage to a permanent policy on the policy anniversary nearest their 25th birthday for up to five times the original amount of coverage.

Waiver of Premium 

If you become totally disabled, the waiver of premium rider waives your premium payments. Cincinnati Life requires that you are totally disabled for four consecutive months before you can claim this benefit.

Accidental Death Benefit 

An accidental death benefit rider pays an additional death benefit to your beneficiaries if you die due to bodily injuries that result from an accident. For example, if you were involved in a car accident that led to your death, your beneficiary would receive your death benefit along with the accidental death benefit.

ADB: Terminal Illness Rider

The terminal illness rider is a type of accelerated death benefit (ADB) that advances part of your death benefit if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness with less than 24 months to live. The diagnosis must come from a physician.

ADB: Chronic Illness Rider

The chronic illness rider is another ADB. However, instead of requiring a terminal illness diagnosis, you must be diagnosed with a chronic illness by a licensed health care practitioner. Once diagnosed, you will be able to receive a portion of your death benefit early.

Customer Service

Cincinnati Insurance offers support for life insurance customers over the phone at 800-783-4479. You can also get help with online services and payments by calling 888-242-0888. Representatives are available from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. ET on weekdays and from 8 a.m.–noon on Saturdays. 

Further, you can make payments by phone or file claims 24/7. If you prefer to communicate via email, you can fill out the online form and will get a response in your email inbox. The company also has an online directory so you can search for an agent near you and contact them in person, by phone, or by email.

Our Methodology: How We Review Life Insurance Carriers

We designed a comprehensive ranking methodology based on consumer priorities and life insurance company fundamentals to rank more than 90 insurers across five general categories: financial stability, customer satisfaction, product and feature variety, the overall buying experience, and cost.

In order to do this, we collected over 5,000 data points and scored each company based on 55 metrics. We grouped metrics by category to see how insurers performed in each; we then weighted category scores to determine how companies performed overall.

To learn more, read our full Life Insurance Methodology.