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Protective Life Insurance Review
By Victor Rosario MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Protective Life Insurance Company offers multiple products, including whole and term life insurance policies. While it didn’t rank in our list of best life insurance companies, it may be a good option for people looking for competitive rates.
Here’s everything you need to know about Protective Life Insurance, including its coverage options, cost and reputation.
Table of contents
- Protective’s overview
- Protective’s services
- Protective’s credentials
- Protective’s accessibility
- Protective’s customer satisfaction
- Protective vs. the competition
- Protective’s FAQs
- How we evaluated Protective
Protective life insurance overview
- Offers term, whole and universal life insurance products
- Strong reputation, including an A+ rating by the BBB and AM Best
- No additional medical exam needed when switching from a term to a permanent policy
- Reduced rates for Costco members
- Offers an online application and quoting experience
- Requires medical exam after submitting application
- Low customer review ratings on the Better Business Bureau
Protective was founded in 1907 and is based in Birmingham, Alabama. Its products include life insurance, asset protection and retirement services. It also has a few subsidiaries, including MONY Life Insurance Company and West Coast Life Insurance Company.
Protective Life and all of its subsidiaries listed above have A+ AM Best ratings, which translate to superior financial strength.
Protective’s Services
There are three types of policies available from Protective: term life insurance, whole life insurance and universal life insurance (including variable universal life and indexed universal life). Whole and universal life plans offer tax-deferred cash value.
Here’s more information about what Protective does and doesn’t offer.
What it offers
- Term life insurance in 10 to 40-year terms
- Whole life insurance with level premium payments
- Three universal life policies, including Custom Choice UL
- Terminal illness rider
Protective offers term life insurance from ten to 40-year terms with coverage from $100,000 to $10,000,000. You can get a term life quote online. After that, you will apply, complete your medical exam and Protective will review your application.
Your term life insurance can also include insurance riders, like an accelerated death benefit rider for extended coverage in case the policyholder develops a terminal illness. If your needs change, you can switch your term life policy to a permanent whole life insurance policy.
Aside from its Protective Classic Choice Term, the company offers Protective Custom Choice UL. It’s a type of universal life insurance policy where payments stay level for extended periods, and coverage doesn’t end as long as the policy remains in force.
Protective life insurance coverage breakdown
The table below highlights the three main life insurance products that Protective offers.
| Plan details | Term life insurance | Whole life insurance | Universal life insurance |
| Coverage | $100,000 to $50,000,000 | $1,000 to $5,000,000 | $100,000 to $50,000,000 |
| Age range | 18 to 52 | 0 to 90 | 18 to 85 |
| Who should consider it | If you need coverage for a specific amount of time, such as the length of a loan | If you want a policy for the rest of your life | If you think you might want to change your permanent coverage later on |
What it doesn’t offer
- No medical exam life insurance policies
- Accidental death benefit riders
Unfortunately, Protective requires medical exams as part of your life insurance application. However, if you’re switching your policy from a term life product to permanent life, you may not need to do another exam.
Protective also doesn’t offer an accidental death benefit rider. Other companies may have this add-on option — which extends your coverage and pays out your benefit if you die due to a covered accident.
Protective life insurance cost
Life insurance costs depend on several factors, including age, sex and underlying health conditions. The table below includes quotes for $500,000 term life policies for 40-year-old non-smokers in good health. The quotes are for monthly costs.
| Sex | 10-Year term policy | 20-Year term policy | 30-Year term policy |
| Female | $31.44 | $46.19 | $76.96 |
| Male | $39.02 | $59.64 | $101.89 |
Protective’s credentials
When choosing a life insurance company, it’s essential to make sure you’re choosing a reputable company. We reviewed Protective’s credentials — including registrations and legal background — to see if there have been any recent disputes.
Licenses and registrations
Protective is registered with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), registration number 68136.
Awards and certifications
Protective Life Insurance has not received any recent awards or certificates.
Regulatory or legal actions
Protective has no regulatory or legal actions registered with the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) or the NAIC as of December 2022.
Protective’s accessibility
Protective is available in every U.S. state. Its website has a wide range of informational content available, but has limited contact options listed.
Availability
Protective is licensed in all states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam. The company has three locations in Birmingham, Greater Cincinnati and St. Louis, with the majority of its business operating in the virtual market.
Contact information
Protective doesn’t list a phone number or business hours on the website’s contact page, instead encouraging users to log in to their accounts or start the buying process. The company provides a phone number if you want more information on life insurance options. The phone number is (844) 733-5433.
User experience
Protective’s website is well-structured and organized, allowing users to access free quotes through an easy-to-fill-out form. There’s also educational content to help potential policyholders pick the best type of life insurance for their situation and budget.
Limitations
The company doesn’t have a live chat option; instead, it offers a chat box with automated responses that can answer pertinent product questions.
Protective’s customer satisfaction
Protective has few customer complaints and a solid financial strength rating. Read on for more details on Protective’s customer satisfaction.
Customer complaints
Protective has a complaint index of 0.16 with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which is significantly lower than the national standard of 1.00. However, the company has a low customer review rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website — 1.03 out of 5. The complaints revolve mostly around Protective’s ineffectiveness in disbursing funds.
Third-party ratings
Protective is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau, with 109 complaints closed in the last three years. According to AM Best, the company’s financial strength rating is A+. However, Protective ranked 15 out of 22 in the 2022 J.D. Power U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, which measured customer satisfaction.
Protective vs. the competition
The table below will help you see how Protective’s offerings stack up to competitors.
| Life insurance plan details | Protective | AIG | Amica | AAA |
| Maximum coverage amount | $5,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| Policy options | Term life Insurance, whole life insurance, universal life insurance | Term life insurance, whole life insurance, final expense insurance | Term life insurance, whole life insurance | Term life insurance, whole life insurance, universal life insurance |
Protective life insurance FAQs
How can I get a free Protective quote?
You can request a term life insurance quote by visiting Protective.com and completing the online form. You will need to provide personal information about yourself and your health.
Does Protective life insurance require a medical exam?
Protective life insurance typically requires a medical exam as part of the life insurance application. However, you may not need one in some instances, including when switching from a term life to a permanent life policy.
Can you cash out a Protective life insurance policy?
You can cash out on permanent life policies that include cash value, such as whole life, universal life or variable universal life insurance. Be aware that money you borrow and don't pay back will be deducted from your death benefit, which means your beneficiaries will receive a smaller payout.
Does Protective life insurance offer benefits for Costco members?
Costco members can save an average of 15% in life insurance rates when applying for a Protective life policy.
How we evaluated Protective Life Insurance
To evaluate Protective Life Insurance, we weighed the company’s offerings against other competitors while also taking into account the company’s financial strength and accessibility.
Summary of Miami Herald’s Protective review
Protective Life offers five types of life insurance policies, although most require a medical exam. The company offers term life policies that can switch to permanent ones without a medical exam later in life, allowing flexibility not usually found in life insurance policies.
Although its consumer complaints index is strong, the company suffers from poor customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau. We recommend you fill out Protective Life’s free application and compare quotes before deciding on your life insurance product.
