No one enjoys buying life insurance, let alone researching which company to buy it from. But with the internet, finding the best life insurance company (especially one that lets you apply quickly online) is easier than ever.
Like just about every other financial product, the life insurance industry has gone digital. You can now buy life insurance online, completing the entire process online without ever speaking to an individual.
As a former financial planner that sold life insurance the “old-fashioned way,” I’m impressed and amazed how technology keeps pushing the envelope on efficiency. But as the industry makes its way online, there are variations in how the process works. For example, some companies are entirely online, while others are online with live assistance.
One of the major advantages of an online life insurance company is a simpler application process. You can complete the application online, without having to complete multi-page paper applications. This is huge!
They also offer the opportunity to easily compare prices or obtain coverage with certain medical conditions, commonly referred to as high risk life insurance.
Below is a list of who I consider the best online life insurance companies. They’re not in any specific order because each company has strengths that make it stand out.
Our Short List of Top Picks
These are our top picks among the companies below. In the case of newer “online-only” platforms, the A.M. Best Rating is of the insurance carrier issuing the policies. If you’re concerned what happens when an insurance companies goes out of business, going with one with a good A.M. Best rating is very important.
| Company | Why We Like Them | A.M. Best Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Walnut | No medical exam, premium services | A |
| Fabric | Fast policies, good for families | A+ |
| Ladder | Ladder policies easily, quick quote, no medical exams up to $3M | N/A* |
| Haven Life | Only term life, fast coverage | A++ |
*These companies have no A.M. Best rating because they work with multiple companies.
A.M. Best has 15 categories for its ratings and issues them based on the company’s financial strength, operating performance, and ability to meet obligations to its policyholders. The highest categories are A++ and A+ and anything above B+ is considered a secure rating. Anything B and below is considered “vulnerable.”
Table of Contents
Walnut
Walnut aims to provide insurance as a premium membership with memberships that start at $10 per month. The appeal of this is that their pricing is very up front before you apply and there is no medical exam required for coverage.
In addition to life insurance, you get access to the following as part of the plan:
- Headspace Plus, a guided meditation app
- ClassPass Digital, a home workout and fitness video plan
- Dashlane Premium, secure password management and digital protection
It’s quite the collection of services packaged into one but it all revolves our their insurance product, which youc an see for yourself with a quick check.
Insurance is provided by SBLI which has an A.M. Best rating of A. Not available in New York.
Get your estimate today for free from Walnut
Fabric
Fabric is a relatively newer entrant to the life insurance space but they offer policies issued by Western-Southern Life Assurance Company . Western-Southern Life Assurance Company also has an A+ (Superior) rating for financial strength by A.M. Best. Fabric has have a very quick online application process (10 minutes) and they offer 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30-year term life insurance with coverage from $100,000 all the way up to $5,000,000.
What separates Fabric from some others is that they do more than life insurance, they can also help create a will (for free) and help you organize your financial and legal information with their tools. If you are starting from scratch, they can help you get everything started.
Get your estimate today for free from Fabric
Ladder
Ladder offers term life insurance policies to applicants between the ages of 20 and 60 with coverage available from $100,000 to as high as $8 million (coverage amounts vary by state). It has partnered with SoFi offering policies to its customers. Ladder is a pure online life insurance platform that has salaried, licensed agents that current or potential customers can talk to if they have questions about the process or their policy.
However, you don’t have to work with an agent to buy a policy. They’re a valuable resource to help answer questions, not incentivized to sell you policies, which is great. Ladder offers policies issued by multiple carriers.
One of the big advantages with Ladder is that once your policy is in effect, you can decrease your coverage. For example, if you need less coverage because your mortgage has been paid off, you can decrease the death benefit, thus decreasing your monthly premium. But you can also apply for more coverage, should your insurance needs go in the other direction.
Ladder is available in all states and offers only term life insurance. Terms range from 10 to 30 years and no medical examinations are required for coverage up to $3M, just some health questions are included as part of the online application.
We did a review of Ladder where we go deeper on them and its offerings.
Get your free estimate today from Ladder
Haven Life
Haven Life is the only life insurance agency where you can only apply online. Traditional paper applications aren’t available so Haven Life might very well be the quickest source of life insurance available. Since their underwriting algorithms work using primarily third-party verification sources, policy approvals can sometimes be granted in a matter of minutes.
Haven Life provides term life insurance policies only, which are issued by their parent company MassMutual. Death benefits range between $25,000 and $3 million. Their policies are only good for applicants up to 64 years old, but they limit policies to $1 million if you’re 60 or older.
The majority of Haven Life customers need to take a medical exam to finalize their coverage and rate. In some cases, eligible applicants may qualify for the Haven Life process, which lets them skip the medical exam altogether.
If a medical exam is needed, it can be taken at a time and place that’s convenient to the applicant, and once the results are in, a decision is usually communicated quickly. A medical exam can slow the process to two or three weeks depending on when you take the medical exam.
You should also be aware that while Haven Life provides low-cost medically underwritten term life insurance; by the product’s nature it takes into account a lot of health information to determine your price and eligibility. This is a good thing for all applicants since it usually results in the best pricing. If you have a severe chronic health condition, like diabetes, medically underwritten coverage might not be the right fit for you.
Get your free estimate today from Haven Life
SelectQuote
SelectQuote is a life insurance comparison platform, which means they’re not a direct provider. They’re an independent agency that offers coverage from many different companies.
You can complete a single application and get quotes from multiple providers. But one of the biggest advantages is finding the right insurance company for any health conditions you might have.
Life insurance is not standard across the industry. Some companies take a more favorable view of applicants with diabetes, heart disease, a previous bout with cancer, or even cigarette smoking. SelectQuote can help point you toward the companies that are most likely to approve your policy, and at the lowest premium rate.
Since SelectQuote is an actual insurance agency, another advantage they offer is live agents available who can help you find the right policy. This is very different than the online-only platforms, that may either offer limited product lines, or very limited customer service.
One factor to be aware of is SelectQuote only works with a dozen providers. While it’s one of the most popular online life insurance companies in the industry, they may not necessarily have the lowest prices or even the best policies for everyone.
Allstate (formerly Esurance)
Esurance, which was acquired by Allstate and was recently pulled into the fold, may be a bit of a surprise because they’re best known for car insurance, which they advertise heavily on the Internet and major media. But they also offer life insurance and offer more options than the competition, especially now that they’re fully integrated with Allstate.
A major advantage with Esurance is they offer whole life and universal life in addition to term policies (I think term life is better than whole life, but to each their own). You can apply and complete the process online. But if there are any complications, particularly involving health conditions, a live agent will need to get involved. This can turn it into something of a hybrid between online and person-to-person.
Esurance is a subsidiary of Allstate Insurance Company, which is one of the largest and best-known companies in the industry. Esurance itself operates more as the online division of the company but that will soon be going away (branding-wise) and it’ll Allstate throughout. Despite its strong online presence, the company maintains a network of 17 offices and 3,000 associates.
The availability of auto insurance also holds the prospect of lower premiums due to bundling.
Voya Financial
Formerly ING Insurance, Voya Financial life insurance policies are actually sold through ReliaStar Life Insurance and Security Life of Denver, but they’re all part of the same corporate umbrella.
One of the big advantages of Voya is their product selection. Unlike many online life insurance companies, that primarily sell term life insurance, Voya also offers universal life and variable universal life policies. They’re more expensive than term policies, but for certain people in specific situations, they may be preferable. The company also offers a very wide range of policy riders to customize your policy.
The disadvantage is that Voya is a direct provider, so you’ll be working only with the programs they offer. There’s no capability to shop your application with different companies. However, Voya is one of the most highly rated companies in the insurance industry and offers a higher level of direct support. You can start the process online but get as much help as you need to complete it.
Globe Life Insurance
Globe Life Insurance is well known for offering low-cost term life insurance policies. They famously advertise “$1 Buys $50,000” or “$1 Buys $20,000 for Children”. A bit of an exaggeration actually, since $1 just gets the process going, acting as the first month’s premium. The actual premium you’ll pay will be more than $1, but you have to give them credit for an outstanding sales hook.
Globe Life is another online source that’s an online provider. The policies you’ll be purchasing are supplied directly by the company. Globe offers both term and whole life, including whole life for children. They also provide accidental death insurance, mortgage protection insurance, and even Medicare supplements.
The limitation with Globe is the size of their policies. They’re generally limited to no more than $100,000 for a term life policy for adults, or $50,000 for a whole life policy. Children’s policies are capped at $20,000. And like many of the providers on this list, they tend to favor healthy applicants.
Ethos
Ethos was one of the first insurance companies to offer online applications. They only offer term life insurance policies, and generally without medical exams. In this way, they operate similar to Haven Life, by making heavy use of third-party information sources in underwriting your application.
One of the major advantages of Ethos is price, as they are one of the lower-cost providers. The speed of application approval is also a benefit, with the use of third-party verification services. The actual policies themselves are provided by Assurity.
The major disadvantages are policy choice. They don’t offer whole life insurance or other types of cash value life insurance. But if you’re in excellent health, looking for a quick approval and low prices, Ethos is an excellent choice.
Final Thoughts
To get the best use of online life insurance companies, apply with the ones which closely match your personal situation. The industry has become highly specialized. For example, if you’re in excellent health, and need coverage quickly at a very low price, apply with Haven, Ladder or Fabric.
If you have a medical condition, you may be better served by applying through online brokers like SelectQuote. If you’re looking for coverage for children, Globe Life is one of the leading providers in that category.
Finally, make sure you understand how much life insurance you need. You could be at risk if you don’t get enough and you may overpay if you get too much coverage.
Use this list as a high-altitude information source and choose the online provider that will work best for you.
(and if you need to insure against disability, we have this list of the best disability insurance companies today)
Nick says
Did you get a quote from all of these? Can you provide a ranking of rate comparisons so people can see the relative differences in price?
Hi Nick – we didn’t get a quote from all of these. Insurance policies are difficult to price a rate comparison because of all the factors involved. The only way to know is to apply to several and see how the actual rate compares.