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Elizabeth Rivelli is an insurance writer passionate about helping people navigate the complex world of insurance to help them make empowered choices.
Updated December 22, 2022
Our Take Assurity Life Insurance is a financially solid provider offering a nice assortment of riders on its universal, whole, and term policies—the latter two of which may not require a medical exam. Its term policies in particular have some unusual features and riders that make them stand out. On the flip side, the policies run toward the expensive side, and you can’t apply for them online. Dividend-seekers may like that Assurity is a mutual company whose whole life policies are eligible for dividends. What’s more, as a Certified B Corporation, Assurity is committed to corporate transparency, as well as its customers, employees, the community, and the environment.
Assurity Life Insurance was founded as the Modern Woodmen Accident Association in 1890. In 2005, three Lincoln, Nebraska-based insurance companies—Woodmen Accident and Life, Security Mutual Life, and Lincoln Mutual Life—joined forces and rebranded under the name Assurity. Today, Assurity Life Insurance Company operates as a mutual company and is wholly owned by its customers.
As of 2021, Assurity had more than $23 billion in life insurance in force. It is a Certified B Corporation, which means it must meet transparency and accountability standards and take into account all stakeholders, including the community and the environment—not just stockholders. Newsweek also ranked it as one of the best U.S. companies for customer service in 2022. Assurity Life Insurance Company sells life insurance policies in every state except New York. Residents of that state can buy policies through Assurity Life Insurance Company of New York.
We identified 45 life insurance companies with strong financial stability and high customer satisfaction ratings and evaluated them based on 70 metrics, collecting over 3,000 data points. This research allowed us to rate and rank the best life insurance companies and provide you with unbiased, comprehensive reviews.
Assurity has fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The NAIC’s Complaint Index is a database that measures the number of complaints an insurance company receives, relative to its size. Companies with the same number of complaints expected for their size are given an index of 1.0. Companies with fewer complaints than expected get an index below 1.0 and providers with more complaints than expected get a score above 1.0. Assurity’s three-year average complaint index is 0.386.
Assurity is solid financially, with an A- rating from AM Best, which means it is considered to have an “excellent” ability to pay claims and meet other policyholder obligations. AM Best is a credit rating agency that provides letter grades ranging from A++ to D, based on a company’s balance sheet performance, debt, and other measures of financial responsibility.
However, almost all 91 life insurance companies we reviewed have a minimum AM Best score of A-. And all of the insurers in our list of best life insurance companies have an A+ rating or better, so in that regard, Assurity does not particularly stand out.
We’ve reviewed more than 90 life insurance companies, and each one has unique strengths. To find the best life insurance provider for your needs, it’s important to compare a few different companies based on important factors, like price and coverage types. In the table below, you can see how Assurity stacks up against Colonial Penn and Fidelity Life.
| Assurity | Colonial Penn | Fidelity Life | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Types of Coverage | Term life, whole life, universal life | Whole life, final expense | Term life, whole life, final expense |
| Dividends for 2021 | $9.8 million | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Online Application | No | Yes | Yes |
| AM Best Rating | A- | A | A- |
| Price for Term Policies | Worse than average | Information not available | Poor |
| NAIC Complaint Index (averaged over 3 years) | 0.386 | 2.093 | 1.927 |
Our ratings take into account NAIC complaint index scores and AM Best ratings. The NAIC complaint index indicates how many complaints a company receives relative to its size. AM Best assesses a company's ability to pay its claims on a graded scale, with A++ being the highest. All of the providers on our list of best life insurance companies have at least an A rating.
Assurity offers several types of life insurance, with four policies to choose from. You can get an online quote for term life and single premium whole life insurance, but to submit an application, you’ll need to work with an agent. Here are the kinds of life insurance that Assurity sells:
Term life insurance provides coverage over a certain period of time, typically 10-30 years. It usually has fixed premiums and a guaranteed death benefit that gets paid out if you pass away during the term. Unlike permanent life insurance, term life policies do not have cash value. Although term life insurance is usually less expensive than permanent life insurance, the premiums increase with age.
Term Life with Accelerated Underwriting
Assurity’s term life insurance policy provides coverage for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years, and may be available without a medical exam. Coverage amounts range from $25,000 to $10 million. You may be able to get an instant decision if you are aged 18 to 50 and are applying for coverage of $500,000 or less, or are aged 51 to 65 and are applying for $350,000 or less. There’s also an optional ROP benefit if you choose a 20- or 30-year term policy. (In fact, Assurity made our best ROP term insurance list.)
ROP policies tend to be significantly more expensive than regular term policies, so be sure to think about whether you’ll get your money’s worth out of this type of policy. An ROP benefit can be a way to force yourself to save money you may later get back. But for many people, the smarter choice is to skip the ROP rider and invest the difference—assuming they’re disciplined enough to do that.
What we like about Assurity’s term policies in particular are their flexible conversion options. You can convert to a permanent policy up until just two years before the policy’s level term period ends (or until you turn 65). For example, if you have a 30-year policy, you can wait until year 28 to convert. Although a few competitors (such as Mutual of Omaha and AAA) offer even better conversion options, Assurity’s is still unusually good.
Whole life insurance is a type of permanent coverage that protects you for your entire lifetime. It has level premiums, a guaranteed death benefit (as long as your premiums are paid), and cash value. When you pay your monthly premium, a portion of the money goes toward cash value, which can be withdrawn or borrowed like a loan. However, if you don’t repay the money, it gets taken out of your death benefit.
Whole Life Insurance with Accelerated Underwriting
Assurity’s whole life insurance policy is available for applicants up to age 85, and may not require a medical exam. Policyholders are eligible to receive annual dividends based on the company’s financial performance. If you receive dividends, you can use the funds to increase your cash value, reduce your premium, purchase additional paid-up insurance coverage, or take the money in cash.
The policy includes an accelerated death benefit rider for chronic or terminal illness, as well as optional riders such as an accidental death benefit, a children’s term rider, a critical illness rider, and a disability waiver of premium.
Single Premium Whole Life Insurance
Similar to the above policy, the single premium policy differs in that you pay one premium at the beginning and then your policy is paid up and you don’t have to pay any more.
Universal life insurance is another form of permanent coverage that builds cash value. Unlike whole life, the cash value in a universal life policy grows based on fluctuating interest rates. Universal life insurance also has adjustable premiums and a flexible death benefit, which allows you to change the amount of coverage you have based on your financial needs.
Assurity takes applications for its universal life insurance policy from consumers up to 85 years old. The cash value from your policy grows tax-deferred and has a guaranteed minimum interest rate. Minimum coverage is $25,000 and there is no stated maximum, although the amount of coverage you qualify for will depend on your age, health, and other factors.
As with Assurity’s whole life policies, this one includes an accelerated death benefit for chronic or terminal illness, with optional riders that include an accidental death benefit, a children’s term rider, a critical illness rider, and a disability waiver of premium.
Assurity offers lots of different life insurance riders, which are endorsements that can be added to your existing policy for more protection. Riders can also fill gaps in your coverage if there are exclusions. Below are the riders available from Assurity, keeping in mind that not all riders are available in every state.
This rider allows you to receive part of your death benefit if you get diagnosed with a terminal illness and have a year or less to live, or a chronic illness that leaves you unable to perform at least two Activities of Daily Living on your own. This rider is included at no extra cost on all of Assurity’s life insurance policies.
If you become totally disabled due to sickness or injury before your 65th birthday and you’re unable to work, this rider will provide monthly supplemental income for up to two years, after a 90-day elimination period. It’s available on term life policies.
This is similar to the Monthly Disability Income Rider, but the disability must be the result of an accidental injury.
A waiver-of- premium rider will pause your life insurance premiums if you become sick or disabled and are unable to work. However, your coverage will remain unchanged during this time. You can add a waiver of premium rider to any Assurity life insurance policy, except Single Premium Whole Life.
Assurity’s guaranteed insurability rider allows you to purchase additional permanent life insurance coverage up to five times before you turn 40, without taking a medical exam. You can add between $10,000 and $50,000 in coverage each time, as long as the total addition does not exceed the policy’s initial benefit amount.
Assurity’s child’s term rider will provide between $5,000 and $25,000 of life insurance coverage for your child until they turn 25. When the coverage terminates, the child has the option to purchase a new policy with up to five times the face value of the rider. This policy is available with Assurity’s regular whole, term, and universal life policies at an extra cost.
The accidental death benefit rider pays out an additional death benefit if you pass away and your death is ruled accidental. You can add this rider to your whole or universal policy until you turn 60, and the coverage terminates at age 70. The benefit amount is the same as your base policy’s face value up to $250,000.
The critical illness rider pays out a lump sum from your death benefit while you’re still alive if you are diagnosed with a covered critical illness, such as stroke or cancer, or if you have certain procedures, like coronary artery bypass surgery. With this rider, you can receive between $5,000 and $75,000 from your policy, as long as it does not exceed the death benefit. You can add this rider to a term, whole, or universal life insurance policy.
Assurity offers paid-up additions riders on its whole life insurance policies, which allow you to increase your policy’s death benefit and cash value by using extra premium payments to purchase small amounts of paid-up life insurance. Over time, these additions can increase both the death benefit and cash value. You can add these riders when you first purchase the policy, or at any point thereafter.
Assurity touts the availability of phone help on its website, promising that when you call Assurity, you’ll get connected to a live representative at the company’s Lincoln headquarters within 90 seconds.
For general questions or help with your policy, you can call the company at 800-869-0355 (ext. 4279) during business hours, which are Monday through Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Central Time and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Customers can also email the company at clientservices@assurity.com.
To file a claim or check on the status of an existing claim, the number to call is 800-869-0355 (ext. 4484), or you can email claimsinfo@assurity.com.
Unfortunately, like many of its competitors, Assurity does not offer web chat.
Assurity’s prices for term insurance are worse than average, according to our research. To glean insight into Assurity’s rates, we got quotes for a 30-year, $250,000 term life policy for males and females in excellent health, aged 25, 40, and 55, living in the 90666 or 94027 zip code. Assurity’s premiums are only slightly worse than average, but they’re well below the median, ranking among the most expensive 25% of the 32 companies from whom we were able to get price information.
Life insurance premiums are personalized for everyone, based on factors like your age, health, location, and the amount of coverage you’re applying for. However, seeing average rates can help you gauge how much you might pay for coverage.
Before you purchase a life insurance policy, get price quotes from a few different providers for the same type of policy and coverage amount. That makes it easy to compare premiums and see which company can offer you the lowest rate.
Assurity is a great choice for consumers seeking a term life policy from a company with a reputation for good customer service, as well as a commitment to social and environmental responsibility. Flexible conversion options and add-ons, such as disability income riders and a return-of-premium rider, make its term policies extra sweet.
Shoppers hoping to skip a medical exam may also like Assurity, since it offers accelerated underwriting for both its term and whole life policies—and the latter are eligible for annual dividends, to boot. For all its policies, Assurity offers a nice selection of riders that can tailor your coverage to better fit your needs. And the company overall is financially sound.
But if you want cheap term coverage, you’re better off with a different company—Banner and Protective tied for the cheapest term coverage we found in our research. Those seeking a robust online experience should look elsewhere as well. Assurity doesn’t let you apply for policies or start a claim online.
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.
