Ladder Life Insurance Review: A Step Up or Step Down?
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You may have seen the highly entertaining commercials for Ladder Life Insurance. Ladder Life is a digital life insurance company that focuses on providing term life insurance policies through a number of carriers. How does this all-digital company compare with industry giants that have been providing insurance for decades? Who are Ladder Life Insurance insurance products suitable for? We explore them and their policies in our in-depth analysis.
History of Ladder Life Insurance
Ladder Life Insurance is a young company in the life insurance world. The company was founded by Jamie Hale and began by selling insurance policies to California residents in 2017 before expanding availability within all 50 states. Their website states they want to revolutionize the insurance industry by providing a fast and easy digital experience for individuals and families looking for term life insurance. Ladder Life Insurance works by issuing term life insurance policies from other providers like Allianz and Fidelity Security Life Insurance.
Coverage Options with Ladder Life Insurance
Using its name as a verb, Ladder Life Insurance offers “Laddering” life insurance. This is their way of allowing customers to adjust their coverage. Ladder Insurance describes “ladder down” and “ladder up” as reducing or increasing your death benefit and premiums as your needs change. You are allowed to change your policy and premiums as often as you wish under Ladder Life Insurance. For example, if a young family were to get term coverage under Ladder Life insurance they could start with a $1 million coverage. If the household grows, the family can opt to “ladder up” and get more coverage in order to protect their new addition to the family. As years pass, however, and the child gets older the policyholders can then opt to reduce their coverage amount since they do not need as much protection.
Permanent Life Insurance
What is permanent or whole life insurance? Whole life insurance is a policy that lasts for as long as you pay the premiums. Usually, the policy has a clause to end if you live over 100 years old. Whole life insurance also has a cash value that grows over the lifetime of the policy. Unfortunately, Ladder Life Insurance does not offer any type of Permanent life insurance at all.
Term Life Insurance
Ladder Life Insurance offers only term life insurance policies with terms of 10,15,20,25 and 30 years. There are limits to their term life insurance, however. You are only eligible for their term life insurance if you are between the ages of 20 and 60. There is also a cap where your age cannot exceed 70 years of age. For example, if you are 40 years old you would be able to have the max amount of term life insurance. However, a 55-year-old would only be able to get 15 years’ worth of term life insurance. The renewability with Ladder Life Insurance is very limited due to its age range coverage. Ladder Life Insurance does not provide any type of life insurance for seniors or final expense life insurance.
Like with other term life insurance policies, Ladder Life does not offer any type of cash value benefit for their policies. You can get up to 3 million dollars in coverage without any type of medical exam, which can be useful for those with medical conditions. After 3 million, however, you are likely to have to submit to a medical exam in order to qualify.
Does Ladder Life Insurance Have Rider Options?
No, life insurance with Ladder Life insurance is incredibly limited in that you cannot customize your insurance with riders. Not even an accelerated death benefit is available, allowing you to access your death benefit should you suffer from a qualifying terminal illness. You will be getting the absolute bare minimum of life insurance with Ladder Life.
Ladder Life Insurance Term Insurance Rates
Below is an example of a 20-year policy with no medical exam. The rates change depending on the amount of coverage as well as how old you are.
| Coverage | Annual Premium Rate Age 30 | Annual Premium Rate Age 40 | Annual Premium Rate Age 50 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$500,000 |
$299 |
$460 |
$1,077 |
|
$1 Million |
$515 |
$825 |
$1,989 |
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.
Rider Options with Other Companies
If not being able to customize your life insurance policy with different is a deal breaker, there are a number of other insurance companies that offer a wide variety of riders. Final Expense Benefits offers policies with other Some of these riders at other companies include:
Children’s Rider
A child rider provides supplemental life insurance for children for an additional cost. These riders allow your child to change this term coverage into a whole life insurance policy of their own once they reach adulthood.
Additional Insurance Rider
Taking this rider allows you to buy more life insurance later in life without needing a medical exam. However, there is an age limit on this rider and you must be younger than 40 in order to get it. If you wait too long this rider option will expire and you will be unable to purchase it later.
Waiver of Premium Rider
Choosing to pay into this rider will allow you to pause your premiums should you become completely disabled. This rider is available until you turn 55 and paying for this only lasts until you are 65 years old.
Accelerated Benefits Rider: Terminal Illness
Should you get diagnosed with a terminal illness and are expected to live for less than 24 months, this rider will allow you to withdraw either 90% or $ 1 million dollars. Whichever is less. This rider can be added to your insurance policy at no additional premium cost.
Chronic Illness Rider
Similar to the Terminal Illness rider, this option does not have any additional cost. With this rider should you be diagnosed with a qualifying chronic condition, you can collect up to 24% of the policy’s face value.
Critical Illness Rider
If you have this rider and experience a medical emergency, you can claim up to 25% of your death benefit in order to pay for things like medical bills. You have to file a claim within one year of the diagnosis and it must be considered a qualifying critical illness or emergency.
Ladder Life Insurance Pros and Cons
Pros
- Great Digital Interface
Ladder Life Insurance is truly for the young. It has a great and easy way to apply for life insurance either on desktop or mobile.
- No Medical Exams
If you are interested in getting a life insurance policy worth under $ 3 million, you do not have to submit to a medical exam.
- Very High Coverage Amounts
The maximum amount of coverage you can get through Ladder Life Insurance is 8 million dollars with a medical exam.
Cons
- No Whole Life Option
Ladder life insurance does not offer any kind of permanent life insurance for its customers.
- Barebones Coverage
Ladder Life Insurance does not offer riders to add onto your policy, has a maximum renewal age of 70, and renewal is only available for 5 years after the initial term policy ends.
- Not an Ideal Option for Seniors
There are no final expense or burial insurance options with Ladder Life Insurance and the specific age range of cover is low; only up until 60 years old.
- Rates Are Higher For No-Exam Term
Compared to other life insurance companies that offer term life insurance, Ladder has more expensive premium rates for their death benefit amounts.
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.
The companies in which Ladder Life sells policies, Allianz and Fidelity, all have AM Best ratings of A+. A rating of A+ is superior and means they are on track to keep up with all financial 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, Ladder Life Insurance was not selected to participate in the survey.
NAIC Rating
The National Complaint Index (NAIC) records complaint trends for companies every year. Their rating system has anything above 1.0 as above average for complaints and anything below would be below average for complaints. At Final Expense Insurance, we noticed that Ladder Life Insurance has no recorded complaints under NAIC.
Our Review and Final Thoughts
While Ladder Life Insurance may be an okay choice for young families, their high price point coupled with their lack of options may mean you can find better options elsewhere. Their term life insurance policies are okay but there are better options with other carriers. Seniors will not be able to find suitable coverage under Ladder Life and will not be able to use them in order to find a way to pay for their funeral. For these reasons, we recommend you look elsewhere and compare your rates. You may find that there are better options elsewhere.
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, Final Expense Benefits experts 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.
Can I borrow from my Ladder Life Insurance policy?
Policyholders can only borrow from life insurance policies that accumulate a cash value. Because Ladder Life only sells term life insurance, none of these policies will have a cash value component. You will not be able to borrow any money against your policy.
Is Ladder Life Insurance a good insurance company?
While it may be an acceptable insurance option for some, Ladder Life Insurance’s limited options mean it is not the best fit for everyone. The company has no customization with its policies other than to add or decrease coverage and has no whole life insurance option. The companies that underwrite Ladder Life have options that may be worth looking into if you want more than a barebones term life policy.
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.