American Life Insurance: A Limited Choice & Here's Why
Easy Navigation
American Family Insurance sells a number of different insurance from home, auto, and life insurance. Their motto is that they protect “dreamers” and that your dreams are the most valuable thing you’ll ever own. But what is the reality of American Family Life Insurance? While it seems they do a lot of good for the people of Milwaukee, how do they help Americans around the country? We will look at their life insurance policies and coverage options to see how well they protect you.
History of American Family Life Insurance
The story of American Life began back in the 1920s when Herman Wittwer launched Farmers Mutual Automobile Insurance company in Madison, WI. After several years of name changes and expansion of coverage to meet the needs of its consumers, American Family Mutual Insurance came to be in 1963. Over the years, American Family has made numerous social and charitable contributions to different organizations and established an ambassador program to encourage people to pursue their dreams. Today, American Family Insurance group is the 13th largest property and casualty insurance group and sells its products in 19 states. Since 2021, they have recorded $36.3 billion dollars in assets and are comprised of 14 different companies.
Coverage Options with American Family Life Insurance
American Family Life Insurance has several different insurance plans to choose from. Most of them must be purchased through a dedicated American Family life Insurance agent and are unavailable to be purchased online.
American Family Term Life Insurance: DreamSecure and Simplified
Term life insurance is a type of life insurance that does not last your whole lifetime and instead has a set time limit that is set to end. Like most term insurances, the American Family Life Insurance term policy has no value outside of the death benefit and has no saving component like with whole life insurance policies. While term life insurance coverage is typically less expensive, your beneficiaries will receive no benefit should you pass away after the term policy ends without renewal. Renewing any term policy, not just one under American Family life insurance, will result in a higher premium during your next set of coverage years. Coverage lengths are typically 10, 15, 20, and 30-year periods.
American Family Life Insurance offers two different term insurance policies; DreamSecure and Simplified. Their DreamSecure term life insurance policy can only be purchased through one of their licensed agents. It offers a higher coverage rate than their Simplified Term option but at a higher premium rate.
American Family Whole Life Insurance Options
What is whole life insurance? Whole, or permanent life insurance, is a long-term insurance option for those looking to protect themselves and their loved ones. When you pass away with whole life coverage, the people you named as your beneficiaries will receive a death benefit. This death benefit is a sum of money that you have been paying with your monthly premiums that can go towards final expenses. Any loans or outstanding debts will be dedicated from the time you claim your death benefit, so keep that in mind.
DreamSecure Whole Life and Dream Secure 15 Pay
Like other whole life insurance options, American Family Life Insurance offers permanent policies that accumulate cash value over time with fixed premium rates. Their whole life insurance policies are essentially the same except that their DreamSecure pay is a type of limited pay policy. This policy provides coverage throughout the policyholder’s lifetime after paying the policy in full after 15 years. Unfortunately, these may require a medical exam and you will need to speak with an agent to get an accurate quote.
DreamSecure Senior Whole Life
American Family Life Insurance offers a dedicated plan for seniors looking for whole life coverage that is dedicated to seniors between the ages of 50 – 80. Their senior life insurance policy does not have a medical exam but there are health questions that determine your eligibility for coverage. American Family Life Insurance caps the senior’s whole life death benefit amount at $15,000 which means if you are looking for more protection you will need to either find a different carrier or find supplemental coverage.
Children’s Whole Life Insurance
Life insurance for children is generally a good idea for those who can afford it as it grants long-term protection at a much lower cost than standard life insurance for adults. Cash value builds over time during the life of the policy which will allow for a future nest egg or can be used towards future premium payments. American Family life insurance for children has three coverage levels for children with payment plans of 10 or 20-year periods.
DreamSecure Flexible Life Insurance
While American Family life insurance does not offer universal life insurance they do offer something similar with their DreamSecure Flexible Life Insurance plan. Similar to the other whole life options on this list, their Flexible life insurance option builds cash value over time. What is different is the level of flexibility this insurance offers, allowing you the option to pay-up insurance and to change your policy as situations in your life change. It should be noted, however, that this flexibility comes at the expense of your monthly premiums. You would be paying far more than you would with a standard term life insurance plan.
American Family Life Insurance Riders
Child Rider
Some of the policy options come with the ability to add the Child Rider which acts as an additional supplemental insurance for your children. Stepchildren and adopted children are also covered under this rider.
Guaranteed Purchase Rider
American Family Life Insurance offers this rider which allows you to buy more coverage in the future. A guaranteed purchase allows you to buy as much additional coverage as you want later without needing any medical questions or exams.
Disability Waiver Premium
A disability waiver rider allows for a safety net should the policyholder find themselves disabled. It allows you to keep your insurance coverage without paying the monthly premium, allowing you to stay insured.
Best $10,000 Burial Insurance Companies
These $10,000 coverage policies have steady and affordable premiums for the life of the policy. If you are looking for great coverage with low monthly premiums, we recommend these top carriers for all of your final expense needs. This is Final Expense Benefits’ best $10,000 insurance policies for seniors.
| Company | 50 y/o Male | 50 y/o Female | 60 y/o Male | 60 y/o Female | 70 y/o Male | 70 y/o Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$34 |
$27 |
$51 |
$40 |
$73 |
$58 |
|
|
$39 |
$34 |
$52 |
$41 |
$86 |
$65 |
|
|
$30 |
$24 |
$43 |
$32 |
$74 |
$53 |
|
|
$36 |
$30 |
$47 |
$37 |
$81 |
$60 |
|
|
$55 |
$38 |
$68 |
$53 |
$106 |
$80 |
These figures were obtained from the NFDA and are estimates only. For a detailed quote, please contact an agent.
American Family Life Insurance Pros and Cons
Pros
- No Medical Exam Options
American Family Life insurance offers simplified issue insurance policies. This means that those who are applying do not have to submit to a medical exam and fully underwritten policies can take a much longer time to go into effect. Simplified plans allow people to get life insurance coverage more quickly so long as they are eligible.
- Guaranteed Issue Option
American Family Insurance has a rider option that allows people to get guaranteed additional coverage later should they need it. Should your health wane in the future, it will not negatively impact the type of life insurance you get in the future. Your rates will not go up because of your poor health and you can get the coverage you need without answering questions or an exam.
Cons
- Poor Digital Experience
Most of the insurance policies available are only available by calling a live agent. There is no online quote tool to show you how much coverage would cost and how much you need. American Family Life Insurance also ranked poorly for its digital experience for customers according to JD Power.
- Limited Policy Limits
Depending on the type of insurance you get, you may find that your coverage options are fairly limited. The senior whole life, for example, only goes up to $15,000 for its death benefit. While that would cover funeral expenses, it may not cover other final expenses like medical bills and nursing home bills.
- Only Available in 19 States
Right now, American Family Life Insurance is not available in all states. This means that not everyone will be able to find coverage under them.
Ratings for Credit and Customer Service Satisfaction
AM Best Rating
AM Best can best be described as a rating agency focused on the creditworthiness of insurance companies worldwide. Their grading system is similar to the education system where they go from A+ to F. They measure the likelihood of a company defaulting on its financial obligations to its consumers.
American Family Life Insurance received an “A” financial strength rating. This rating of “excellent” shows a stable financial outlook and ability to meet its ongoing insurance and contractual obligations.
JD Power Rating
JD Power uses data and AI (artificial intelligence) to understand complex consumer behavior. They are committed to providing unbiased information and embody the highest ethical and professional standards.
Unfortunately, American Family Life Insurance was not chosen to be a part of JD Power’s ongoing customer satisfaction study. However, they were part of the 2022 Insurance Digital Experience Study. This study measured user experience online, digital customer support, and the use of digital tools on insurance websites. American Family Life Insurance ranked below average when it came to customer satisfaction with their digital experience for both shopping and service.
NAIC Rating
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) records complaint trends for companies every year on their Complaint Index. At Final Expense Insurance, we noticed that John Hancock Insurance ranked above average in the number of complaints. In fact, with a 2.49 index rating, their complaints were twice as high as expected within the insurance market.
American Family Life Insurance has an impressive NAIC score of 0.06, which means it has relatively few complaints compared to the national average.
American Family Life Insurance Reviews
Our Review and Final Thoughts
Is American Family Insurance a good company? While it seems they are not particularly bad, they are not particularly great either. While they may be a good fit should you need small coverage amounts, there are many more companies that offer more coverage options for the same price or cheaper. For this reason, we recommend looking elsewhere for your life insurance and final expense insurance needs.
Final Expense Benefits partners with over 20 carriers with customer satisfaction guaranteed. They offer no medical exam options at much more affordable rates that fit your needs. Some of our highly-rated carriers include:
If you are looking for trusted and affordable final expense insurance, the experts at Final Expense Benefits have got you covered. Call one of our talented agents today at 1 (866) 311-4338 to get an affordable quote with one of our highly-rated insurance carriers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Final Expense Life Insurance?
Final expense insurance, also known as burial insurance or funeral insurance, is a type of life insurance policy that specifically assists with end-of-life expenses. From funeral services to final medical bills, these fixed-rate policies last as long as the insured lives.
Do I Need a Medical Exam?
Most final expense insurance policies do not require a health exam. You will have to answer some simple health questions in their application.
How Quickly Will My Death Benefits Be Paid to My Loved Ones?
Death benefits from a burial insurance policy are not held in probate. So your loved ones should receive the death benefit very quickly.