GEICO Life Insurance Review

Pros Explained

• Wide range of coverage amounts: Through GEICO’s life insurance portal, you can get quotes for coverage amounts ranging from $2,000 to $25 million. The GEICO portal allows you to shop for a policy that meets your family’s needs. 
• Medical exams not required on some policies: Some companies offering life insurance through GEICO’s portal do not require medical exams, making it possible to get insurance quickly and easily. 
• Guaranteed acceptance policies available: Some companies on the GEICO portal offer guaranteed acceptance policies, meaning you can’t get denied based on your health history. For people who have struggled to get life insurance before, guaranteed acceptance policies can be a useful option.

Cons Explained

• Policies are not underwritten by GEICO: GEICO does not sell or underwrite life insurance. Instead, it works with LifeQuotes and Ladder Life to allow people to get quotes from several different life insurance companies. 
• Plan policies and customer service vary by underwriting company: When shopping for life insurance, the company issuing the policy plays a big role in your experience. Plan policies and customer service levels can vary a great deal between companies, so you’ll have to do your homework on each one to see if a company is a good fit. 
• Company names not always listed on quotes: While you can get quotes online, sometimes the company name is not listed. To find out what company is behind the quote, you have to submit your personal information and request an application.

Available Plans

GEICO partners with LifeQuotes and Ladder Life for life insurance quotes. Through these portals, you can get quotes from multiple life insurance providers. Coverage amounts range from $2,000 to $25 million, and whether you’ll need to undergo a medical exam is dependent on the insurer issuing the policy and the plan you choose. 

GEICO, through its partner sites, provides quotes for term, whole, universal, and guaranteed acceptance policies from multiple companies, including: 

• Aflac
• Gerber Life
• John Hancock
• MassMutual
• Mutual of Omaha
• Pacific Life
• Protective Life
• Prudential Life

Term Life

Term life insurance provides coverage for a fixed period. If the policyholder dies during the policy term, the beneficiaries receive a death benefit. However, if the policyholder dies after the term ends, the beneficiaries receive nothing. Because term life insurance provides only temporary coverage, it tends to be cheaper than other insurance types. 

Through the GEICO portals on LifeQuotes or Ladder Life, terms range from five to 30 years.

Whole Life

With whole life insurance, you get coverage for your entire lifetime. In addition to paying a death benefit to your beneficiaries if you die, whole life policies also have a savings component where cash value may accumulate. Premiums remain constant throughout the contract.

Universal Life

Universal life insurance policies combine permanent coverage with an investment savings element. Universal life policies can build cash value that you can access without impacting the death benefit. Premiums will fluctuate based on the policyholder’s age and the policy growth.

Guaranteed Acceptance

Guaranteed life insurance policies do not require a medical exam, and you cannot be denied because of your health history. It’s typically best for people who are older or who cannot get other life insurance to get coverage for final expenses.

Available Riders

Life insurance companies typically allow you to add insurance endorsements, also known as riders, to your policy to enhance your coverage or give you added protection. 

Available riders are dependent on what insurance company is underwriting the policy. Some plans on the GEICO portals through LifeQuotes and Ladder Life offer living benefit riders at an additional cost, meaning you can access a portion of your death benefit if you have a terminal or chronic illness. 

Customer Service

Through GEICO's partnerships with Ladder Life and LifeQuotes, you can get quotes for term, whole, and universal life policies online. If you decide to move forward with a quote and apply for insurance, you have to create a profile and submit your name, address, phone number, and email address to request an application from the company issuing the policy. 

For claims and other customer support, you will have to work with the company issuing your insurance policy, not GEICO.

Complaint Index

When comparing life insurance companies, it’s wise to look at their complaint ratios, a number released by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) that reflects how many complaints were submitted about a company relative to its size. 

The national complaint index is 1.0. If a company has a complaint ratio above 1.0, that means the company received more complaints than is typical. 

GEICO’s overall complaint ratio for 2022 was 1.21, slightly higher than the national complaint index. But because GEICO isn’t the company issuing life insurance policies, you’ll have to look up the actual company underwriting the policy on the NAIC website. 

For example, Gerber Life’s complaint ratio for 2022 was 0.33, while Mutual of Omaha had a complaint ratio of 0.48. 

Third-Party Ratings

AM Best, a global credit rating agency specializing in the insurance industry, issues Financial Strength Ratings (FSRs) on insurance companies. These ratings represent AM Best’s opinion on a company’s financial strength and reliability. GEICO received an “A++" rating from AM Best, meaning superior. 

However, the companies that actually issue and underwrite life insurance policies through LifeQuotes may have different FSRs.

Cancellation Policy

Your plan’s cancellation policy is dependent on the type of life insurance you have and the company you choose through LifeQuotes. Some companies have a 10-day free look period where you can review your policy and cancel without penalty. Others may offer 30-day money-back guarantees, so check your contract carefully. 

Price

Life insurance policies offered through the GEICO portal on LifeQuotes and Ladder Life range in price based on the type of coverage, whether a medical exam is required, and added riders. 

Because you will receive a range of quotes from GEICO's partner companies, you can choose a plan that works best for your budget. 

For example, we got a quote for a 30-year-old woman in excellent health for $250,000 in term life insurance. LifeQuotes provided us with quotes from Protective Life, Sagicor Life, and Transamerica. 

Like all life insurance companies, GEICO and its partners require you to choose either “male” or “female” when getting a quote or applying for coverage. While being nonbinary doesn’t disqualify you from getting life insurance, be aware that companies haven’t updated their underwriting processes to reflect a current awareness of gender issues.

Competition

We compared GEICO to State Farm, our pick for the best instant issue company and one of the best term life issuers. 

Like the policies offered through GEICO's partners, State Farm offers term, whole, and universal life policies. But unlike insurance purchased through LifeQuotes or Ladder Life, State Farm has a much wider range of riders you can add to your policy to customize your coverage. For example, State Farm offers a children’s term rider, a flexible care benefit rider, and a waiver of monthly deduction for disability rider, giving it the edge over GEICO’s LifeQuotes.

Final Verdict

GEICO and its partners make it easy to get multiple quotes for life insurance online from different companies. You can get up to $25 million in coverage, and some plans do not require a medical exam. 

However, it’s important to know that available plans, prices, and customer service will vary from company to company. Plus, you don’t have access to GEICO’s 24/7 service since GEICO isn’t the company issuing the policy. If you’d prefer a company you know and are familiar with, it’s best to contact that company directly for a quote and more information.

Methodology

Our reviews of life insurance companies are based on a quantitative approach that analyzes each insurer on their stability and reliability, customer service, claims experience, diversity of product lines, and cost. We compare the terms of each type of policy offered—including available coverage amounts, optional riders, and premium payment options—with that of other major life insurance companies.

Lastly, we look at how the company is rated by third-party organizations to determine its reliability and overall reputation.