Life insurance can be a real challenge when you are shopping around trying to find the right policy to fit your needs and take care of your loved ones when you are no longer around. There is no lack of insurance companies or policies to choose from. What is the best life insurance company? Is Costco one of the best life insurance companies. We hope to answer these questions – so let’s find out what Costco Life Insurance is all about with our Costco Life Insurance Review!
Costco Life Insurance
Costco Wholesale is one of the most popular retailers in the United States and is known for it’s required memberships, bulk purchases, and low, low prices. Costco has now ventured out into the life insurance business as well, so we are going to delve into their products, financials, history, and ratings to see if this is the life insurance for you.
In reality, Costco decided to form a partnership with Protective Life Insurance to add value, stability and financial security for their life insurance. That said, will they be able to provide an inexpensive life insurance product for their members? Technically, we will have to review the product that Protective Life Insurance offers through Costco in order to know how this all works.
The Protective Life Insurance Company has been around for over 110 years, provides insurance policies to all states in the U.S., and has over seven million active policies to date. They pay out over two billion claims to beneficiaries every year which is very impressive. That said, now that they are in partnership with Costco, how will their numbers stack up against the best life insurance insurance companies across the country?
Protective’s Finances
Because it’s Protective that is actually providing the life insurance policies and not Costco, we need to look into their finances to see how well they are really doing. Their finances are actually really good as can be seen in the GAAP assets which have a value well over $3.2 billion dollars and the amount of life insurance to date is well over $773 billion which is extremely impressive!
Protective Life Insurance Rating
Because Costco is not a life insurance company, they would not have a rating from the different agencies that rate all insurance carriers. Therefore, we have to look into Protective’s ratings from these agencies.
- A.M. Best has been around for a very long time rating insurance companies which will show how well a particular company is able to pay all liabilities in the future. Costco, through Protective, has been awarded an “AA-” rating which is considered one of the best! This means they have excellent financial security that goes well beyond many other life insurance companies.
- Moody’s is an agency that considers debts, liabilities, and overall credit ratings for an insurance company and has given both companies an A2 rating. Both Costco Life Insurance and Protective Life Insurance are in a really good position with a debt rating that just recently rose from Baa1 to Baa2 which shows continual growth in the market.
- Standard And Poor’s, like Moody’s, S&P analyzes the financial abilities of a life insurance company to meet their insurance policy obligations in the future. Both of these companies have received an impressive AA- rating which is the fourth highest out of 21 ratings so there shouldn’t be any problems.
- Fitch analyzes a company’s financial ratings and they have awarded this insurance service an A+ rating which is the fifth strongest out of 22. Needless to say, this comes down to both companies have a very impressive, successful financial rating. Even though Costco Life Insurance is provided through Protective Life Insurance, it is a very secure company to get your life insurance policy from.
The Better Business Bureau might be last but not certainly not least. The BBB analyzes several customer service aspects. These factors include advertising issues, complaints, and a company’s history.
Both Costco Life Insurance and Protective have the very best possible rating with an A+! Just like the other agencies we have mentioned, there shouldn’t be any concerns on your part, for getting insurance. They are both very secure and provide an excellent service.
Costco Life Insurance Products
Anyone who has shopped at Costco knows they have a massive range of products for their members including everything from groceries to electronic devices. Now that they have joined the insurance industry, they have kept their policies quite simple. You will discover they have several insurance policies to choose from when it comes to home and auto coverage. Adding to that, they also have a great health insurance policy that you might want to look into.
What about life insurance through Costco? What are the various life insurance types that Costco offers?
Costco has only one simple life insurance policy that they have created. Unfortunately they are currently offering just one life insurance product and it’s called the Member Advantage Life UL Policy.
The question that most shoppers are likely asking: “Is Costco life insurance good?” Let’s take a closer look at the new Costco Life Insurance plan.
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Only 1 product
Costco Member Advantage Life UL
According to them, this policy has several benefits that come with their term life products and they are all very affordable. Costco claims you can save up to 20% on your policy in comparison to other products within the life insurance industry.
Costco is offering a very flexible universal life insurance policy that allows you to choose from 10 or 20 years, depending on what you are looking for. Also, should your needs change at any time throughout the policy, you will have the opportunity to extend your coverage before the policy ends.
Also, depending on the length of your policy, an extended level payment period will match and the first 5 years of premiums will have an additional reduction. Adding to that, coverage amounts and premium payments can be adjusted throughout the life of the policy, which is very similar to a standard universal life policy.
As you might notice, these features have created a policy that is somewhere between a term life policy and a universal policy. Also, it is less expensive than other term life, whole life, and universal life products.
Costco Member Advantage Life UL Disadvantages
You know what they say, if something seems too good to be true, chances are it is. Costco said their members will save 20% on their life insurance, so let’s look at the fine print.
1. Rate Increases
Their 20% savings only applies to a Gold Star or Business Membership that is based on only the first 5 years of the premium. At the beginning of the sixth year of the Member Advantage Life, your monthly premiums will increase. After their initial level benefit period, the face amount will decrease until it reaches $10,000, then the premium will start to increase again.
2. Only 1 Option
Another downside to Costco Life Insurance, you are limited to one company and one policy. The problem with that, at some point in time you might want something more than a 10 year term or 20-year policy. You might decide that you would prefer a 30-year term life insurance instead. You might also discover that a whole life insurance or indexed universal life is a preferable choice for your financial needs.
3. Medical Exam
What about no exam life insurance with Costco? That also is one of the disadvantages. You’ll be required to have a Costco life insurance medical exam in order to be approved for their policy.
As we have said so many times before, it’s always wise to shop around for life insurance policies before making up your mind.
Costco Term Life Insurance
How about some Costco term life insurance reviews? Unfortunately, Costco Life Insurance only offers the Member Advantage Life UL universal life insurance policy. There are no Costco term life insurance products available right now. However, the Member Advantage UL has some term life features.
You are able to choose either a 10 year level or a 20 year level policy. If Costco provides a term option in the future, we’ll update those details with additional Costco term life insurance reviews.
The Benefits Of Being A Costco Member
Whether you are presently a Costco member or planning on becoming one, there are some nice benefits attached that might be worth getting a membership.
That said, it is never considered a good idea to choose any life insurance policy just for the benefits. Whatever policy you choose, it should meet your expectations and your future needs. If you have decided this policy is the perfect match for you, then you should take advantage of their added benefits.
Costco’s Customer Service
Customer service should be just as important as the policy you choose. Our Costco insurance reviews would be incomplete without addressing their customer service You need to know that if you have a problem or want to make changes to your policy, you will be connected with someone who will be there to help you out. The last thing you need is being directed to your local Costco store! That said, there really should not be a problem because they have multiple avenues to direct you to someone who will help you.
Protective’s website has an excellent FAQ section that will answer all your questions or concerns. Each question has an extensive answer or a link and email address if you need further assistance. Costco Life Insurance also has an email address along with a telephone number if you want to speak with a representative in person.
Another excellent alternative is their live chat called “Talk to an Agent” which is perfect if you need immediate help or immediate attention for an important issue. Also, you can stay up to date on the latest information from the company or would like to contact them on their social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
With their excellent A+ rating, there is no doubt that Protective has a very good customer service. Along with teaming up with Costco, you will always get help whenever you need it and that’s always an A+ in our book!
In A Nutshell
Costco is a great company when you want to buy food, drinks and other home items. The big question is do you want to buy your life insurance from Costco?
Costco and Protective Life Insurance is a great company for life insurance, but you’re only getting 1 product option available to you. Shop smart and make sure you’re comparing rates from multiple companies and products. At Life Insurance Blog, we review all the major carriers for our readers. Check out some of our other reviews like AAA Life Insurance, Genworth, ING Reliastar, and Liberty Bankers Life to name a few.
It’s always wise to shop around to find the best policy for you based on what’s available in the market. You always want to make sure you are getting exactly what you are looking for and will meet all your needs.
We hope this article has been helpful in your search for the best life insurance policy for you and your loved ones. Both Protective Life and Costco Life could be a good option that you might wish to consider.
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Costco Insurance Reviews
Thanks for reading our Costco life insurance reviews. To learn more about life insurance, make sure to visit our page Life Insurance 101 or find out how much you may end up paying for coverage on our Life Insurance Rates by Age page.
