DO BIG NAME LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES COST MORE?

What do Northwestern Mutual, State Farm, Allstate, and MetLife have in common? For starters, brand name recognition. Secondly, I believe they are all great companies.   Let me ask you this though, why is it that we have all heard of these companies? Well, it’s because they spend hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising each and every year. Just this past weekend, I can’t count the number of times I saw commercials for these 4 companies, not to mention halftime sponsorships and studio shows during football, basketball and hockey games. Does that mean that they are more financially sound or offer better insurance solutions than other carriers? NO! It doesn’t. In fact, what I think it means is that because they spend SO much money in promoting their brand via advertising they have to charge higher premiums on their products and ultimately that is passed on to you the buyer in the form of higher costs. Also, in the case of State Farm and Allstate, since they have your homeowners or auto insurance they will drip on you via regular mail and email with their term life insurance rates. People see those rates and they seem good so they purchase because there is a comfort level with the company.   Unfortunately, they probably could have saved hundreds if not thousands of dollars had they just done a little shopping. I get a notice about every other month from my Allstate agent trying to sell me term life insurance and I am shocked at how expensive the rates are, but it is the same with all the “Brand” name companies. Since we are an independent agency, we have the capability to shop all the insurance carriers and after 25 years we have narrowed that list down to about 10 carriers. In fact, I would say that 9 out of 10 of our term life cases are written with one or two carriers. If there is a special situation, like a health issue that one carrier is more competitive in pricing then we will look at that carrier that offers the best rates for that issue. But overall, I believe we have found the two best carries for term life insurance when you compare quality of company, credit rating and pricing.

The two financial services that we will often recommend are Ohio National and Midland National. Chance are you haven’t heard of these two companies because they don’t spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising like the other carriers and because they don’t, it is reflected in the price they charge you for life insurance. You see, these companies rely on a network of experienced, independent agents to share their story with their clients and prospects. That is a lot less expensive than sponsoring studio shows and halftime shows. Both of these companies have excellent credit ratings. In fact the very best – they both carry an A+ rating with AM Best.

Here is an example of the monthly rates for Term Life Insurance with Ohio National. These are preferred plus nonsmoking rates, meaning that you are in good shape with no health issues. You can see just how affordable term life insurance can be!  If you would like to download a free term life buyers guide or get a free term life quote please visit our website at www.termlifeusa.com.