Gerber Life Insurance Review: What Gerber Options To Avoid
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You may recognize Gerber from baby food or television commercials for children’s insurance plans, but Gerber life insurance is for adults and seniors too. Gerber life insurance for children is heavily advertised to parents and grandparents, but did you know that Gerber also offers final expense insurance and term life options?
Gerber has a small selection of whole life and term life insurance options. Read below to learn more about Gerber life insurance, or call Final Expense Benefits at (866) 786-0725, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET to hear about all your life insurance options.
This article aims to provide impartial information about Gerber Life Insurance and their options. Final Expense Benefits is not affiliated or partnered with Gerber Life Insurance and cannot provide quotes or application information for their policies.
What Is Gerber Life Insurance?
The Gerber Life Insurance Company is a completely separate company from the Gerber Products Company, which you may recognize as the familiar baby food manufacturer. The Gerber Life Insurance Company was founded in Michigan in 1967 and is a subsidiary of the Western & Southern Financial Group. Western & Southern, a large financial services company, has been in business since 1888 and licenses the familiar Gerber name and logo for Gerber life insurance.
Gerber Life Insurance is headquartered in New York and offers some life insurance options. This includes final expense insurance, a children’s life insurance option known as Gerber Grow Up, and term life insurance under the brand Fabric term insurance.
Gerber Final Expense Life Insurance
You may be familiar with Gerber’s whole life insurance option for children, the Grow Up plan, but not with their final expense option for seniors up to age 79. Gerber Life Insurance offers one whole life insurance option for seniors: a guaranteed-acceptance final expense policy.
Gerber’s final expense insurance plan is fairly standard for guaranteed-issue policies. Rates are slightly lower than other guaranteed-issue options, but much higher than non-guaranteed counterparts.
Gerber Final Expense Life Insurance 2-Year Waiting Period
Like any other guaranteed-issue policy, Gerber’s final expense plan requires a two-year waiting period. If the policyholder dies before the waiting period ends, beneficiaries won’t be paid the entire death benefit. Gerber follows the modified life insurance practice of paying 110% of paid premiums within the policy’s first two years to beneficiaries, then the full benefit after the two years are over.
Alternatives to Gerber Final Expense Life Insurance
As with all guaranteed-issue final expense policies, you can often find less expensive options than Gerber’s plan among non-guaranteed options. You may be surprised at the options you can choose from with no waiting period, even if you have a major pre-existing health condition.
Below are pricing examples for no-wait final expense insurance from some of our most recommended providers. These carriers all have relaxed applicant health requirements, which means you could be approved even if you have some preexisting medical concerns. If you’re interested in these and other carriers, call Final Expense Benefits at (866) 786-0725 for more information on these policies.
| Provider | Male, 50 y/o | Female, 50 y/o | Male, 60 y/o | Female, 60 y/o | Male 70 y/o | Female 70 y/o |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$31 |
$26 |
$43 |
$35 |
$71 |
$53 |
|
|
$31 |
$24 |
$44 |
$33 |
$75 |
$53 |
|
|
$34 |
$29 |
$45 |
$35 |
$79 |
$59 |
|
|
$34 |
$27 |
$51 |
$41 |
$73 |
$58 |
|
|
$33 |
$26 |
$48 |
$36 |
$82 |
$58 |
These figures are estimates only, based on a $10,000 final expense insurance policy with no applicant pre-existing conditions.
The Gerber final expense policy is competitive among guaranteed-issue policies, but not among non-guaranteed ones. We can only recommend Gerber’s final expense plan if you absolutely need guaranteed coverage.
Gerber Life Insurance Cash Value Policy
As with all whole life policies, Gerber’s final expense insurance grows in cash value over time. Policyholders can take out money from the policy’s accumulated cash value with no penalty, as the value is taken from paid premiums.
Instead of allowing policyholders to access their accumulated cash pool, Gerber requires them to borrow directly from Gerber, with a borrowable cash maximum of the policy’s cash value. Gerber then applies an 8% interest rate applied to any borrowed cash. This is an atypical practice for any whole life insurance plan.
Gerber Grow Up Life Insurance
You might recognize Gerber’s Grow Up policy from television advertisements. The Gerber Life Grow Up Plan is a whole life policy designed to give lifetime coverage to children. A child from ages 2 weeks to 14 years can be enrolled in this policy, intended to give a child a permanent whole life policy they control throughout their life. Thanks to an included rider, coverage is guaranteed for life – but rates will also change throughout the child’s life.
How Does Gerber Grow Up Insurance Work?
The policy matures when the child reaches 18 years old and the benefit value doubles. When the child turns 21, they become the principal policyholder. From there, the child can access the policy’s cash value growth to pay for life accomplishments like college tuition or a house downpayment.
Premiums are very low when the child is young, but in whole life policies, cash value is generated from a percentage of the paid premiums. With such low premiums, little cash is set aside, even across a near-20-year period. And like their final expense policy, Gerber requires the policyholder to instead borrow from a policy loan with an 8% interest rate if they wish to borrow cash from their account.
Gerber also restricts when the Grow Up policy benefit can be raised. Once the child becomes the policyholder, they cannot raise the benefit amount when they wish, which is a typical whole life practice. Instead, the policyholder can only change the policy near its yearly anniversary or upon reaching certain ages and life accomplishments.
Setting aside money at the birth of a child or grandchild is a great idea. However, other policies in the children’s life insurance market can be less expensive and restrictive than the Gerber Grow Up plan. For example, Mutual of Omaha offers a similar plan for nearly half the monthly premium rate.
Other Gerber Life Insurance Benefits
Gerber’s life insurance options are overall pretty simple; they don’t have many extra benefits beyond a few policy riders, some optional and some included with policies.
- Guaranteed Purchase Option Rider
Included with the Grow Up Plan, this rider allows a covered child turning 21 to purchase additional coverage at standard adult rates without a medical exam. They can buy additional coverage up to four more times, with a coverage limit of 10 times the original coverage total or up to $100,000 in added protection. - Payment Protection Option Rider
An optional rider for the Grow Up Plan, the payment protection option rider temporarily waives premium payments if the policyholder dies or is disabled before the covered child reaches 21. To keep the policy, the child must resume payment upon becoming the new policyholder on their 21st birthday. - Accelerated Death Benefit Rider
This rider is included with the Gerber final expense and term life policies at no extra cost. If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness with a life expectancy of 12 months or less, you can request up to half of your death benefit to use for medical expenses and other costs. - Disability Waiver of Premium Rider
This optional rider is similar to the payment protection option. Similar to the payment protection option, this rider is available at an extra cost for Gerber whole life policies for applicants ages 18 to 59. It allows the policyholder to waive premium costs after 6 months of total disability.
Gerber Life Insurance Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easy to apply
Most Gerber Life Insurance policies have an online application process; only term life policies above $1.5 million require a medical examination. - Guaranteed acceptance for final expense
The final expense policy guarantees acceptance, giving those with severe illness a whole life insurance option. - Included policy riders
All Gerber Life Insurance policies include at least one rider at no extra cost. - Flexible payment options
Gerber Life Insurance payment options include electronic money transfer, credit card, mailed money orders, or personal checks.
Cons
- Waiting period for final expense
While a waiting period is standard for guaranteed acceptance plans, it is disappointing that Gerber does not offer a final expense policy without a waiting period. - Higher rates than competitors
Nearly all Gerber life insurance options have similar policies from competitors at lower rates. - No options above age 80
Gerber has no options for seniors over 80 seeking final expense insurance. - Irregular policy restrictions
On top of Gerber’s 8% interest rate on whole life cash value borrowing, their Grow Up plan places a low limit on coverage maximums. Additionally, coverage can only be increased four times. - Mixed customer service feedback
Customers commonly complain about Gerber Life Insurance’s support, while others praise it. With so many life insurance options, you may not want to gamble on unreliable support.
Gerber Life Insurance Reviews
Third-Party Reviews
Gerber Life Insurance A.M. Best Rating
A.M. Best is an independent agency dedicated to assessing insurance companies’ creditworthiness. They gave Gerber Life Insurance an A+ rating, indicating that they have an upstanding financial status and are in no danger of having complications with fulfilling financial obligations.
Gerber Life Insurance NAIC Rating
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners records complaints against life insurance companies on their yearly complaint index. NAIC aims to protect life insurance consumers. Their rating ranges from 0 to 10, with 1 as the average customer complaint rating. Companies should aim to be rated below 1.
Gerber Life Insurance has a rating of 1.03, slightly above the national average.
Gerber Life Insurance BBB Rating
The Better Business Bureau evaluates businesses’ trustworthiness by tracking customer complaints and offers complaint resolution services for customers and businesses. Based on those complaints and resolutions, the BBB rates companies from A+ to F.
The BBB grades Gerber Life Insurance at an A+, but customers rate Gerber at a negative 1.21 out of 5.
Gerber Life Insurance Customer Reviews
Conclusion
Gerber Life Insurance is hard for us at Final Expense Benefits to recommend. The Gerber Grow Up plan is interesting, but other options are available with other reputable life insurance providers. Their guaranteed-issue final expense plan has below-average rates for guaranteed policies, but may not be necessary. Their term life plan is their best option, but it’s overall an industry-standard term policy with the upside of high benefits that don’t require medical examinations.
To learn about alternatives to Gerber Life Insurance and review your life insurance options, call Final Expense Benefits at (866) 786-0725, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Our expert agents are happy to provide life insurance options that fit your needs. Check out our free online quoting tool for estimates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gerber Life Insurance legit?
Gerber Life Insurance is a legitimate life insurance provider with a small selection of whole life and term life insurance options.
Is Gerber Life Insurance good or bad?
Gerber life insurance’s options are overall average options in the life insurance market. We at Final Expense Benefits can’t recommend the Grow Up plan, and Gerber’s final expense whole life option is only recommended if you have serious health concerns and need a guaranteed-issue life insurance policy. Their Fabric term life policy is an average term life choice due to its industry-standard rates, high coverage amounts, and included riders.