Country Life Insurance Review

Pros Explained

• Long history: Country Financial has been in the insurance business since 1925.
• Easy to bundle: There are many other types of insurance available, such as home, auto, and farm insurance, that can be easily bundled with your life insurance for additional savings.
• Excellent customer satisfaction: Country Life Insurance Company holds some of the best scores in the industry for a low incidence of customer complaints with the NAIC, indicating customers are satisfied with the company. 

Cons Explained

• Limited availability: Country Financial is only available in 19 states.
• No online quotes: You have to call and speak with an agent or give you information to be contacted later if you want a quote.

Available Plans

Country Financial offers three forms of life insurance: term, whole life, and indexed universal life insurance. 

Term Life Insurance

Country Life offers term life insurance that comes with terms of 10, 15, 20, or 30 years and a death benefit ranging from $50,000 to over $1 million. At the end of the term, you have the option to extend coverage or convert to permanent coverage. Because term life insurance is only temporary, policies are generally more affordable than permanent life insurance. However, it does not build cash value or receive dividends.

Whole Life Insurance

For permanent coverage, Country Financial offers whole life insurance with lifetime protection and the ability to accumulate cash value over time. Although premiums are often more expensive than term life premiums, whole life insurance has fixed premiums that do not increase over time. You can also access cash value if you need a financial boost due to an emergency or other reasons.

Country Financial whole life insurance is available in five policies, although availability and eligibility restrictions may apply.

10-Pay Life 

Country Financial’s 10-Pay Life likely has the highest premiums (with the exception of the single premium policy) because payments last just the first 10 years of your policy. After that, you have a fully paid premium with lifetime protection.

20-Pay Life 

Similar to the 10-Pay Life policy, the 20-Pay Life policy has premiums that last for 20 years before the policy is fully paid.

Life Paid-Up at 65 

Country Financial’s Life Paid-Up at 65 policy is an age-based policy with premiums that end at the age of 65.  

Executive Whole Life

For more affordable premiums, you can extend your premiums through the age of 95 with the Executive Whole Life policy.

Single Premium Whole Life

Country Financial also offers its Single Premium Whole Life policy that requires just one upfront, lump-sum premium payment in exchange for lifetime coverage. 

Indexed Universal Life Insurance

Country Financial also offers an indexed universal life insurance, which can provide lifetime protection and cash value growth. Some or all of your premium can be designated to earn index credits which grow your cash value based upon the performance of a stock market index. The policy has flexible premiums and two different death benefit options. You can choose between a level or increasing death benefit. Another key feature is a no-lapse guarantee for a specified period of time.

Available Riders

A life insurance plan may not always meet your needs as packaged, which is where life insurance riders can help. For an additional cost, you can often add additional protections to your policy to better mold coverage to your specific needs.

Country Financial has 11 life insurance riders available for your policy, with options depending on both the coverage you choose and the state in which you live.

Child Term Insurance

Country Financial offers the option of additional term insurance for children up to the age of 17 years. At the age of 23, children can convert their coverage to whole life insurance coverage without having to show proof of insurability. Coverage is available in amounts up to $50,000. 

Disability Waiver of Premium

Should the policyholder become disabled before the age of 65, Country Financial will waive premium payments.

Accelerated Benefits 

Country Financial offers accelerated benefits for free on indexed universal life policies and for an extra charge on whole and term life. If you are diagnosed with a terminal or chronic illness, you can access a portion of your policy's death benefit to help with the medical expenses.

Return of Premium

When you purchase a 20- or 30-year term life policy, you can add the Return of Premium waiver to your policy. This will refund your paid base annual premiums, as well as the cost of the Return of Premium waiver, if you are still living at the end of the policy’s term.  

Insured Term Rider

The Insured Term Rider allows policyholders greater flexibility with term life insurance coverage, offering temporary coverage when you have specific financial needs throughout life, such as college or a mortgage.

Accidental Death Benefit

An Accidental Death Benefit Rider offers an additional death benefit if you die from an accident before the age of 70.

Guaranteed Insurability Option

If you think you might need additional life insurance coverage, the Guaranteed Insurability Option (GIO) offers guaranteed additional coverage for policyholders without the need for a medical exam. Coverage is available for purchase every three years for policyholders between the ages of 22 and 43.

Index Dividend Feature Rider

The Index Dividend Feature Rider is a free rider for whole life insurance that can grow dividends using index performance to build greater value. However, growth is not guaranteed, and dividends can decrease or even be lost. 

Paid-Up Additions Rider

With the Paid-Up Additions Rider, you have the option to buy upfront additional whole life coverage in order to increase your policy’s value. 

Term Insurance for Policyholder and/or Spouse

If you have a whole life insurance policy, you can purchase additional protection with term life coverage for yourself or your spouse. There is the option of term life coverage that lasts 10, 15, 20, or 30 years. It can be a cheaper way to buy additional coverage without the cost of pricier whole life insurance policies.

Waiver of Monthly Deductions

The Waiver of Monthly Deductions is available for indexed universal life policies and wavies your monthly deductions while disabled following a six-month waiting period.

Customer Service

Country Financial has both ample employees and local insurance agents to provide customer service. To find a representative, Country Financial offers an easy online search tool.

Country Financial can be reached by phone at 866-268-8679 (866-COUNTRY). Service is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST on weekdays and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

Complaint Index

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) tracks the number of customer complaints that a company receives and assigns a score, using 1.00 as the industry average. 

Country Life's complaint record over the past few years is very impressive. In 2022, they had zero complaints for an index of 0.00. In 2021 and 2020, they had extremely low indexes of 0.05 and 0.08. It shows that customers are generally happy with the service that they receive. 

Third-Party Ratings

One way to determine a company’s financial strength is to consider its AM Best rating. Country Life receives a rating of A+ (Superior), showing excellent financial strength. This means that Country Life is in financial conditions to reliably pay claims.

Cancellation Policy

When you buy a new life insurance policy, there is a "free look" period that gives you an opportunity to review your policy in greater detail. If you decide that your policy is not for you, you can cancel your policy without penalty and receive a refund of premiums paid when you cancel within the appropriate period. Free look periods typically last between 10 and 30 days. 

If you decide that you want to cancel your Country Financial policy, simply contact your insurance agent for more information. Your agent can detail any fees or penalties that may apply if you cancel after the free look period. To contact your agent, you can call 1-866-COUNTRY (268-6879).

Price

To qualify for a life insurance policy, many life insurance companies require a medical exam or questionnaire. However, Country Financial offers a unique underwriting process that can bypass the hassle and save you time. There are simplified and accelerated underwriting processes that can bypass the medical exam altogether. Your insurance agent can help with eligibility requirements.

The cost of your Country Financial policy depends on several factors, such as the policy you choose. Term and universal life insurance are more affordable than whole life insurance, but your death benefit amount and any riders can also increase the cost.    

Other factors that impact the cost of your life insurance are your age, health, and medical history. Gender is another factor that can impact price, although most providers use your sex at birth rather than current gender identity.

Competition

To help evaluate how Country Financial performs, we compared it to one of the best life insurance companies, New York Life. Country Financial is significantly smaller than New York Life, which is the second-largest provider in the country. Country Financial has fewer plans and fewer dividends, and although it rates highly for customer satisfaction, it still lags behind in scores for financial strength and reliability. Overall, New York Life is a stronger company for life insurance.

Learn More

Our Methodology: How We Review Life Insurance Carriers

To find the best life insurance companies for you and your family, our team uses our exclusive Life Insurance Review Methodology to evaluate companies based on critical factors like available coverage, pricing, and availability. We also look at each provider’s overall customer satisfaction based on ratings by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Finally, we consider financial strength ratings from AM Best for claims processing and reliability. Based on these factors and more, we present well-rounded, multi-faceted life insurance reviews for your reference.