If you’re considering life insurance, you may have heard of Ethos Life Insurance, but is Ethos worth your time and money? They are known for their easy online process, but the Ethos Life Insurance reviews tell a different story after policies are issued.
Through their ads, they claim to offer the “best online life insurance”, but how do they back that claim? Ethos’ online application is easy to fill out, but it’s difficult to determine rates before applying, highlighting a lack of transparency. We’ll go through their offerings, including their term and whole life insurance options.
Final Expense Benefits works with over 20 of the top life insurance providers, and our agents are dedicated to finding the life insurance option that works for your family and budget. If you’re seeing final expense insurance, call us at (866) 786-0725, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, or check out our free online quoting tool, available 24/7, to receive a free estimate.
Key takeaways
- Ethos Life Insurance specializes in term life insurance, which isn’t recommended for seniors.
- The Ethos Life Insurance reviews are mixed with people claiming that they are constantly called.
- Ethos Life Insurance is a brokerage, which means that they find life insurance policies for you instead of providing them outright.
- Their policies are legitimate, so you won’t have to worry if you are getting scammed from their policies.
What Is Ethos Life Insurance?
Ethos Life Insurance was founded in 2016 as an independent life insurance brokerage located in Austin, Texas, partnering with five providers. The online application for Ethos Life Insurance is easy to fill out; however, the rates are not among the lowest.
Their partners range from trusted options, such as Mutual of Omaha and Legal & General America, to less reliable ones, like John Hancock. While Ethos Life Insurance shares partner insurers, it is difficult to find insurance rates.
The only rate Ethos Life Insurance advertises is $60 per month for $2 million of term life coverage, though it is unclear which provider this comes from and what it covers. Without complete transparency, how can you be sure you’re getting a good deal? Additionally, you can’t choose your preferred carrier until you are assigned one.
Ethos Life Insurance Products & Coverage Options
Ethos offers term, whole, indexed universal, and burial life insurance options from a small selection of carriers. Ethos Life Insurance options include:
1
Ethos Term Life Insurance
Ethos’ specialty is term life insurance, which covers policyholders for a specific period. Terms usually range from 10 to 30 years, and these policies offer large death benefits and are typically used by young adults and other workers to cover loss of income in case of death.
Term policies claim to offer low rates. For instance, Ethos promotes a $60 monthly premium for a $2 million death benefit, but this offer requires near-perfect health.
Ethos states that this offer is for a 37-year-old female applicant for a 10-year term; this sample applicant is likely in great health.
Term life doesn’t work great for seniors. Health requirements set by underwriting are restrictive, and most applicants risk outliving their coverage. Once terms end, they must be renewed, usually at a higher cost. If you don’t renew, your policy lapses with no payout, a common outcome for term policies.
2
Ethos Whole Life Insurance
Whole life insurance provides coverage for your lifetime, if premiums are paid. Seniors trust whole life insurance because coverage and rates are locked in, benefits accumulate in cash value, and payouts are tailored to their specific needs.
Traditional whole life insurance gives great coverage, but high-value plans have restrictive health requirements that could exclude seniors with pre-existing conditions.
3
Ethos Indexed Universal Life
Related to whole life insurance, indexed universal life insurance offers lifetime coverage with investment upside. As premiums are paid, they are invested in an account managed by your insurer, allowing the death benefit to grow in value.
Indexed universal life insurance is a great choice for young adults, but it doesn’t work as well for seniors for several reasons. Seniors typically want guaranteed returns, so tying benefits to investment performance can be risky. Plus, universal life insurance plans generally require near-pristine health, excluding most seniors.
4
Ethos Burial Insurance
Also called final expense insurance, burial insurance is the most trusted whole life option for seniors. Offering all the upside of whole life policies like cash value growth, locked rates, and coverage, burial insurance is cheaper.
Burial insurance death benefits are lower, but these policies have simplified health requirements. However, rates are low, ranging from around $30 to $120 per month, depending on the health status and death benefit.
Seniors frequently use life insurance to cover funeral costs and end-of-life expenses ahead of time, so the lower death benefits don’t hurt.
For seniors with major pre-existing health concerns like cancer, dementia, or terminal illnesses, Ethos’ partners offer policies with guaranteed approval. These policies’ death benefits and rider options are more limited and cost extra.
Benefits typically range from $5,000 to $50,000, easily enough to cover funerals, which average around $10,000. Ethos burial insurance is their best option for seniors.
Not sure how much coverage you need? Try our free Funeral Cost Calculator, or check our online quoting tool.
Ethos Life Insurance Rates: What Can You Actually Expect to Pay?
Like with all life insurance policies, your monthly premium amount will depend on your age, gender, health, and the amount of coverage you’re looking to receive. Ethos uses MoneyGeek to determine the average price of its life insurance options. Here’s what you can expect. It’s important to note that these rates can change based on your health.
1
Ethos Life Insurance $10,000 Final Expense Insurance Premiums
| Age | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
|
50 |
$30 |
$38 |
|
60 |
$42 |
$53 |
|
70 |
$64 |
$84 |
|
80 |
$125 |
$164 |
2
Ethos Life Insurance $100,000 Whole Life Insurance Premiums
| Age | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
|
30 |
$80 |
$89 |
|
40 |
$121 |
$133 |
|
50 |
$205 |
$229 |
|
60 |
$348 |
$410 |
3
Ethos Life Insurance 10-Year Term Life Insurance with $1,000,000 Benefit
| Age | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
|
35 |
$29 |
$37 |
|
40 |
$41 |
$54 |
|
45 |
$59 |
$73 |
|
50 |
$90 |
$113 |
Is Ethos Life Insurance Good for Seniors?
It depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re seeking to be covered as soon as possible, Ethos Life Insurance might be the solution you need. However, Ethos specializes in term life insurance policies, so while they offer whole life insurance, their agents and online application will recommend term life insurance policies first.
Seniors seeking burial insurance to cover their funeral costs, final expenses, or a small inheritance should work with insurance brokerages specializing in final expense insurance.
Ethos Life Insurance Pros & Cons
Pros
- Simplified application process
Ethos’ online application is great for saving time, simplifying the complicated parts of life insurance applications. - No medical exams
Not needing to take a medical exam as part of the application is convenient. - Free will consultation
Ethos offers free will consultation services with qualified life insurance purchases.
Cons
- Mixed customer reviews
Ethos Life Insurance reviews on Trustpilot are overall positive, but Better Business Bureau complaints are plentiful. Many customer reviews mention frustration at being unable to select rates or plans. Some customers complain that payouts are unexpectedly withheld, a serious issue.
- Little control
Ethos focuses on term life insurance, but their overall simplified process takes a lot of control out of the applicants’ hands. You should be able to collaborate with an agent to find the coverage that you want, rather than what Ethos thinks you need.
- Rates may not be ideal
Although Ethos usually doesn’t require medical exams for applications, many term and indexed universal life policies require a medical exam to get the best rates. If you apply for an Ethos term or universal policy without a medical exam, chances are high that you won’t get ideal rates. - Poor transparency
While Ethos shares their partner insurers, they don’t provide many real rate estimates. Transparency is a key service of a life insurance brokerage, and obscuring a part of the process is suspicious. We stand by our providers, proudly displaying our partners and rates that you can really expect.
Ethos Life Insurance Reviews: Third-Party Rating Services
Ethos Life Insurance AM Best Rating
1
AM Best is an agency that assesses insurance companies’ credit and financial ability. Because Ethos Life Insurance is a brokerage and not an insurer, they aren’t rated by AM Best.
However, Ethos’ life insurance partners each have high financial trustworthiness ratings from AM Best.
Ethos Life Insurance NAIC Rating
2
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) records insurance company complaint trends yearly. They only review insurance providers, so Ethos Insurance isn’t rated on NAIC’s scale.
Ethos’ partners have mixed customer complaint ratings; in particular, Ameritas and John Hancock are poorly rated by the NAIC.
Ethos Life Insurance BBB Rating
3
The Better Business Bureau evaluates how trustworthy businesses are by tracking customer complaints and resolutions. They also provide complaint resolution services for customers and businesses. Based on those complaints, they rate companies A+ to F.
Ethos is rated A- and is BBB accredited, indicating a strong ability to handle customer complaints. However, Ethos Insurance’s current BBB customer rating is 1.8/5.
Ethos Life Insurance Reviews: Customer Ratings
Lisa V
1/5
I realized there was a few hundred dollar price difference between what I applied for and what I actually needed. I can’t not afford the higher price currently, so I cancelled. I’m now being told that I hit a “wrong button” and they can’t cancel. Do not recall doing this. Also I was told that since then there has been an update to their “policy” to provide full disclosure. HA! I feel more like trying to cover their back side. I also asked if someone could at least tell me about future charges – this site seems to have a mind of it’s own – didn’t hurt to ask…. NO ANSWER! They got my money and they’re done. Use at your own risk – one wrong button can cost BIG! (I would give zero stars is that was possible.)
Angeline P
1/5
It’s false advertisement with this company. Not understanding how they have an A+ rating when so many people have had very similar bad experiences. Bottom line, they say one thing and do another. Put your money into a company with integrity.
William T
1/5
I am strongly considering reporting your company to the Federal Insurance Office because my experience has bordered between possibly illegal and at best, complete apathy.
I initially signed up for a 1.1 million life insurance policy. I was aware that I could modify the policy, which I had intended to do because I was waiting for confirmation from my employer on how much they would cover. However, I did not receive any access to the policy until the actual start date of the policy 3 weeks later, so I was charged the full monthly amount.
Then, I called multiple times (twice no callback) and the third time I finally got a rep who said I would get a call from an agent to reduce my plan.
That didn’t happen, so I called again this time to cancel. Another promise I would get a call and a cancel contract within a couple days. It has now been a week, with no resolution.
Now I am back on the phone (on hold for 15 min now) with your abysmal company.
Is Ethos Life Insurance a Scam?
No, Ethos Life Insurance is not a scam. Ethos Life Insurance is an insurance brokerage, and they can find you a reputable life insurance policy. However, with their low reviews, it’s hard to recommend their service unless you are seeking a term life insurance policy.
If you choose to seek a policy through Ethos, you will be getting a legitimate policy. Just make sure to review your policy.
Ethos Life Insurance vs. Alternatives
If you’re looking for a burial insurance policy with $10,000 in coverage that remains in force throughout the remainder of your life at the premium you locked in at, we would like to recommend a few providers that may be of interest to you and your wallet.
Below is a chart with sample rates for $10,000 policies from our top-rated providers for non-smoking applicants with no preexisting health conditions:
| Company |
Male 50y/o |
Female 50y/o |
Male 60y/o |
Female 60y/o |
Male 70y/o |
Female 70y/o |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$34 |
$27 |
$50 |
$40 |
$70 |
$56 |
|
|
$31 |
$26 |
$43 |
$35 |
$71 |
$53 |
|
|
$31 |
$24 |
$44 |
$33 |
$75 |
$53 |
|
|
$34 |
$29 |
$45 |
$35 |
$79 |
$59 |
|
|
$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.
If you’re interested in these or any of our other life insurance options, call us at (866) 786-0725 to learn more and check our free online quoting tool for personalized pricing estimates.
Final Thoughts
Ethos Life Insurance is not only more expensive than other trusted providers, but the customer reviews are extremely mixed. Ethos Life Insurance currently has a score of 1.8/5 on BBB, with many customers detailing difficulties they faced in trying to get their payout from Ethos.
On the other hand, Ethos Life Insurance offers a straightforward online application process, and most applicants are exempt from a medical exam. This is a great option if you have been denied life insurance coverage or have a preexisting medical condition. You are unable to choose the insurance company Ethos assigns to you, and you cannot customize coverage with riders.
However, we argue that you have plenty of other options that are more affordable and have better customer reviews. Final Expense Benefits partners with the following:
Final Expense Benefits only partners with the best carriers to provide you and your loved ones with the coverage you need. For help finding a plan that fits your needs, call Final Expense Benefits at (866) 786-0725 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, or check our free online quoting tool for a personalized pricing estimate.
FAQ
Is Ethos a legit life insurance company?
Ethos is a legitimate life insurance brokerage, and they will assign a life insurance company to you. Ethos Life Insurance does not provide full details as to the plan you will get or the pricing.
How does Ethos Life Insurance pay out?
Because Ethos is not a life insurance provider, they don’t pay policy benefits, which are instead paid by their partnered providers.
Who owns Ethos Life Insurance?
Ethos is an independent company, owned by a group of investors.
What is final expense insurance?
Final expense insurance is whole life insurance designed to help seniors cover end-of-life expenses like funerals and burial plot costs.
How much does a funeral cost?
The average funeral cost in the United States is about $10,000, which is why most burial insurance quotes are for $10,000 policies. Our free funeral cost calculator can estimate the coverage amount you may need.
Is Ethos good for seniors?
Ethos is not good for seniors since they specialize on term life insurance.
What happens if I don't qualify for Ethos Life Insurance?
If you don’t qualify for Ethos Life Insurance, there are other options to choose from. Contact other brokerages, like Final Expense Benefits, to discuss your options.
Why does Ethos need my Social Security number?
Ethos checks all your information to ensure that they are able to provide you with the most accurate prices.