Prudential Life Insurance Company Review
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Leslie Kasperowicz
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insur...
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
UPDATED: Dec 4, 2023
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Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different life insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about life insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything life insurance-related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by life insurance experts.
UPDATED: Dec 4, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right life insurance coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident life insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one life insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different life insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
Prudential life insurance has a reputation for providing a wide range of insurance policies to suit everyone no matter their age, income, or health conditions. From term life insurance to universal life insurance, the insurance company offers multiple solutions, including free living benefits and several other useful policy features.
Prudential life insurance products can cover almost every situation but do they have an option that covers your specific needs? The following Prudential Life Insurance Company review provides an in-depth look at its most popular insurance products and the company itself.
Prudential Life Insurance
- A+ Rated Company
- Largest U.S. Life Insurer
- Top Choice for High-Risk Underwriting
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Prudential Life Insurance Company History
Prudential Financial is the largest life insurer in the U.S. with assets exceeding $1.4 trillion. Besides life insurance, the company offers a wide range of products and services including workplace benefits, annuities, asset management, mutual funds, and securities brokerage services.
Prudential started as the Prudential Friendly Society in 1875. Over the years, the company acquired many other insurers. It is now comprised of hundreds of subsidiaries.
The company has also received numerous awards and accolades for its commitment to the well-being of its employees and policyholders. In fact, Fortune magazine ranked the company as the World’s Most Admired Company in 2016.
Prudential Rankings & Highlights:
- #1 Fortune Magazine 2019 World’s Most Admired Companies in the category of Life & Health
- #1 Forbes 2018 Just Capital in the category of Insurance.
- #1 Fortune Magazine 2018 Change the World in the category of Life Insurance.
- #1 largest life insurer in the United States based on total admitted assets.
- #2 largest insurer in the United States based on net premiums written.
- #7 largest asset manager worldwide.
- #3 largest seller of individual life insurance sales in the United States.
- Provides service to over 50 million customers in over 40 countries.
- $4 trillion of gross life insurance inforce worldwide.
- Employs 50,000 employees and sales associates worldwide.
- Trades under the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRU” since 2001.
Prudential life insurance is known for offering excellent coverage and underwriting for those with pre-existing health conditions including diabetes, height & weight, sleep apnea, past cancer history, and previous heart conditions. The company is also very favorable current tobacco users including e-cigarette users.
All of Prudential’s life insurance products include a living needs benefit rider, allowing the policyholder to receive an advance on part of the death benefit after diagnosis of a terminal illness or if required to be confined to a nursing home.
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Prudential Company Ratings and Financial Strength
Prudential maintains a strong financial rating, thanks to its massive accumulation of assets valued at over $1.4 trillion. Most rating agencies give Prudential high marks for financial strength.
AM Best gave Prudential an A+ rating while JD Power ranked Prudential 3 out of 5 for overall satisfaction.
Prudential also has high ratings from consumers. The company currently holds an “A” rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
These ratings and rankings give you a sense of the stability of the company. It helps to choose an insurer that you can count on to continue providing coverage throughout the life of your policy.
Prudential Life Insurance Products
Prudential offers many different individual life insurance products that are available to the public. These options include term life, universal life, variable life, and survivorship life insurance. The most popular products include:
- Term Essential (Term Life)
- Term Elite (Term Life)
- PruLife Return of Premium (ROP) (Term Life)
- PruLife Universal Protector (Universal Life)
The diverse selection of insurance products ensures that Prudential has an option for you at any stage of your life. Whether you need short-term protection or long-term coverage, Prudential has you covered.
Here is a closer look at the more popular life insurance options offered by Prudential:
Prudential Term Essential
The Term Essential policy is a popular choice due to its cost-effective premiums. Out of the available term life options, Term Essential will be the cheaper option. Consumers often purchase this policy to cover basic life insurance needs. These needs typically consist of income protection, mortgage protection and college funding for children.
This coverage is also ideal for business owners to cover a buy/sell agreement, cover a key employee or secure loan collteral.
Term Essential is available in contract lengths from 10-, 15-, 20-, or 30-year terms. This coverage is convertible to a permanent insurance policy such as the PruLife Universal Protector option.
The Term Essential policy, along with the policies discussed below, come with the Living Needs Benefit. As previously mentioned, this is a free built-in living benefit rider that allows for the full death benefit to be taken if diagnosed with:
- Diagnosed with a terminal illness and have less than six months to live
- Required to be permanently confined to a nursing home
This policy also comes with a few customization options known as policy riders. You may add an accidental death benefit, a waiver of premium (disability) rider, or a children’s protection rider.
| Prudential Term Essential | |
|---|---|
| ISSUE AGES: | 10 Year: 18-75 (18-75 Smokers) |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $100,000-$10,000,000 |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| RIDERS: | Accidental Death Benefit (Optional) |
| CONVERTIBLE: | Yes up to age 65 or before the end of the level premium period, whichever comes first. |
| RENEWABLE: | To age 95 |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES: | *Most affordable of all Prudential term options |
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Prudential Term Elite
Term Elite provides many of the same features included in the Term Essential policy. You can still choose from 10-, 15-, 20-, or 30-year terms, access living benefits, and convert your policy. Your premium remains guaranteed throughout the life of the policy.
The primary difference between the two policies is the conversion process. Term Elite offers a conversion credit if you decide to convert your term coverage to permanent life insurance within the first five policy years.
The conversion credit is equal to the term premiums paid during the 12 months before converting the policy. Your last 12 payments become credits toward your new permanent policy.
With this extra feature, Prudential charges a slightly higher premium compared to the Term Essential policy. For a 45-year old healthy non-smoker male seeking $250,000 guaranteed coverage, you may pay about $6 more per month for the Term Elite policy compared to Term Essential.
Prudential Term Elite |
|
|---|---|
| ISSUE AGES: | 10 Year: 18-75 (18-75 Smokers) |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $100,000-$10,000,000 |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| RIDERS: | Accidental Death Benefit (Optional) |
| CONVERTIBLE: | Yes up to age 65 or before the end of the level premium period, whichever comes first. |
| RENEWABLE: | To age 95 |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES: | *Most affordable of all Prudential term options |
PruLife Return of Premium (ROP)
When you choose a standard term life insurance policy, you receive temporary death benefit protection. If you die before the end of the policy’s term, your beneficiaries receive a payout.
With the PruLife ROP policy, you receive a payout that is equal to 100% of all premium payments if you outlive the policy’s term contract. Contracts are available in 15-, 20-, and 30-year premium periods.
Keep in mind that you only receive compensation for your out-of-pocket payments. Your policy does not earn interest, but the money you receive is tax-free.
Another option to consider instead of receiving a return of premium (ROP), you may choose to continue your coverage by converting your coverage into permanent protection. However, this comes with higher premiums.
The main benefit of this policy is the ability to receive money back if you outlive the term period. This feature also results in higher premiums compared to the Term Essential and Term Elite policies as this feature is not available on those two coverage options.
Coverage Outline for Prudential Return of Premium Term| Prudential Return of Premium Term | Information |
|---|---|
| Issue Ages: | ROP Term 15 Year: 18-65 (18-55 Smokers), ROP Term 20 Year: 18-60 (18-55 Smokers), ROP Term 30 Year: 18-50 (18-45 Smokers) |
| Death Benefit Amounts: | $100,000-$10,000,000 |
| Health Classes: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| Riders: | Living Needs Benefit (Included) |
| Convertible: | Yes; up to age 65 or before the end of the level premium period, whichever comes first. |
| Renewable: | To age 95 |
| Additional Features: | *15-Year ROP Option, *PruFast Track Accelerated Underwriting, *Living Needs Benefit Included |
PruLife Universal Protector
PruLife Universal Protector is guaranteed universal life insurance coverage with a no-lapse guarantee feature to ensure coverage lasts for a lifetime.
This coverage is ideal for anyone who is not primarily focused on cash value growth but instead concentrate on having an affordable payment for a permanent life insurance plan. If this is you, then PruLife Protector may be the coverage you definitely want to check out.
This coverage offers a guaranteed death benefit along with a fixed premium payment that will never increase regardless of the market conditions.
Since this is a universal life insurance coverage, it offers the flexibility to change the frequency of the premium payments if needed. Protector also includes various policy riders and benefits, such as:
- Living Needs Benefit
- Accidental Death Benefit
- Children Level Term Rider
- Enhanced Disability Benefit
- Benefit Access Rider
The Benefit Access Rider provides a monthly benefit payout of 2%-4% from death benefit if diagnosed with a qualifying chronic illness. 100% of the policy death benefit can be accelerated provided the medical condition hasn’t improved.
PruLife Universal Protector is available to anyone between the ages of 20-80 that can qualify. However, the coverage is priced very competitively for applicants who are age 55 and older. It is also one of the very few guaranteed universal life insurance options that are available to New York residents.
The PruLife Universal Protector policy is a top choice for income protection for you and your loved ones. With the optional riders, you can receive a payout if you become disabled or diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness.
| ISSUE AGES: | 0-85 |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $100,000-$10,000,000 |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| GUARANTEED MINIMUM INTEREST RATES: | 1% |
| NO-LAPSE GUARANTEE PERIOD: | Age 121 |
| RIDERS: | Accidental Death Benefit |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | *Guaranteed death benefit |
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Prudential Cash Value Life Insurance Options
Interested in a cash value life insurance plan? The below Prudential insurance products can offer permanent protection along with the potential to accumulate cash value growth.
These options include single-life coverage and joint-life (survivorship) coverage. The survivorship options protect the lives of two individuals with a single policy. However, PruLife Universal Protector is one of the more popular permanent life insurance options that the insurance company offers.
PruLife Founders Plus UL
| ISSUE AGES: | 0-85 |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $100,000-$10,000,000 |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| GUARANTEED MINIMUM INTEREST RATES: | Index Accounts: 0% |
| INTEREST CREDITING CAP RATE: | 9.5% |
| INDEX ACCOUNTS: | S&P 500 Index |
| RIDERS: |
|
PruLife Essential UL
| ISSUE AGES: | 0-90 |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $25,000-$10,000,000 |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| GUARANTEED MINIMUM INTEREST RATES: | 2% |
| RIDERS: |
|
PruLife Index Advantage UL
| ISSUE AGES: | 0-85 |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $100,000-$10,000,000 |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| GUARANTEED MINIMUM INTEREST RATES: | Index Accounts: 0% |
| INTEREST CREDITING CAP RATE: | Never less than 3% |
| INDEX ACCOUNTS: | *S&P 500 Index |
| RIDERS: |
|
Other Products and Services
Besides the term life and universal life products discussed, Prudential has many other products and services such as:
- Investments
- Retirement annuities
- Workplace benefits
- Asset management
- Securities brokerage services
With Prudential investments, including mutual funds, you have more options available for long-term financial planning. Use these long-term investment options to prepare for retirement or a more secure financial future.
Prudential Life Insurance Underwriting Strengths
| Preferred Plus | Preferred | Standard Plus | Standard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobacco Use | None Past 5 Years | None Past 3 Years | None Past 1 Years | None Past 1 Years |
| Cholesterol | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 |
| Chol/HDL | 5.0 or less | 6.0 or less | 7.0 or less | 7.0 or less |
| Blood Pressure | 140/85 | 145/90 | 145/90 | 145/90 |
One of the benefits of Prudential is the dynamic underwriting process. The company has fewer requirements compared to most insurance carriers, including no treadmill ECG, MD exam, or inspection reports.
If you have applied with another company within the last 12 months and are below the age of 70, Prudential will not require you to take a new medical exam.
Prudential uses its own underwriting manual to provide the best possible rates to its customers. In cases where an applicants medical risk would be considered at the standard health class with other companies, Prudential can potentially approve at Non-Smoker Plus health class. A Non-Smoker Plus health class can provide a much more affordable rate for coverage versus a standard health class approval. We should also mention that well-controlled type 2 diabetics may also qualify non-smoker plus rating.
To give you the most affordable rate, Prudential also uses competitive build charts with favorable ratings for certain types of cancer and over two dozen impairments. The company is also an “age last” insurance company, which makes you one year younger for pricing.
Prudential is a top choice when it comes to providing life insurance to customers with a health history that some companies may find a higher risk. The following are just a few risks that Prudential will provide coverage to. If you have a health condition past or present, contact us to see if Prudential or any of the other companies we can offer will be a fit.
Cancer: Prefered consideration for successfully treated cancer of Cervical, Prostate, Testicular, and Thyroid.
Commercial & Business Pilots: May qualify for Prefered Plus rates if employed by a U.S. airline.
Depression/Anxiety: if mild, with no suicide attempts or anti-psychotics, possible preferred consideration.
Height & Weight: Offers one of the most generous build charts in the insurance industry.
Diabetes: May qualify for Non-Smoker Plus rates for adult-onset diabetes, excellent control, and no other health factors.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV): Potential consideration for applicants who are between the ages 30-60 in good health. Must have complied with physician’s recommendations for treatments, follow-ups and any testing.
Marijuana: Admitted recreational use with positive THC in urine may qualify for non-smoker rates if use is no more than 3x per week.
Sleep Apnea: Preferred consideration if the condition is mild to moderate with CPAP use.
Tobacco: Cigar, Chew & E-Cigarette use can qualify for non-smoker rates even with positive nicotine in the urine.
PruFast Track Accelerated Underwriting
Along with an underwriting process that is already simple and fast, Prudential offers PruFast Track. PruFast Track is a new accelerated underwriting program being offered to select individuals. It includes no paper applications, no medical exams, and approval timeframes as fast as 48 hours.
Most of the insurance products from Prudential include the option for the accelerated underwriting process. After a short telephone interview, Prudential determines if the customer qualifies for PruFast Track.
If the applicant does not qualify for the PruFast Accelerated underwriting, traditional underwriting along with a medical exam will be required.
Who’s Eligible?
- Applicants ages 18-60
- Applying for coverage $100,000 up to $1,000,000
- Non-Smokers
- Must meet Preferred Health Class guidelines
- Healthy applicants with minor to no medical history
Prudential is one of many life insurance companies to offer no medical exam life insurance. Be sure to check out all your options.
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Pros and Cons of Prudential Life Insurance Products
Prudential aims to provide an insurance product for every consumer. However, you have many other companies to consider. To gain a better sense of how Prudential stacks up, here is an overview of the main advantages and disadvantages
Pros:
- Diverse Selection
- Competitive Rates
- Accelerated Underwriting
- Living Benefits
- Strong Financial Ratings
- A Long History of Stability
Cons:
- No whole life insurance option
- Continued reliance on paper forms
The first detail to stand out is the variety of insurance products. In fact, with so many choices, you may find it hard to decide which option best suits your needs.
No matter which option you select, you are likely to enjoy low premiums. Prudential products tend to come with competitive rates, especially for the Term Essential policy and PruLife Universal Protector policy.
To ensure that you receive the lowest premium possible, Prudential also uses your age at your last birthday instead of your nearest. Most life insurance companies will round your age up if you’re within six months of your birthday.
Underwriting is another benefit. Prudential processes applications faster compared to the competition. The average processing time is just 23 days. However, with PruFast Track, Prudential may issue your policy in only 48 hours.
As mentioned, PruFast Track is an accelerated underwriting process. It allows qualified consumers to apply online without the need for medical exams.
Every life insurance Prudential plan comes with Living Needs Benefit Rider to help pay for an unexpected illness.
If you opt for a permanent plan, consider adding the Benefit Access Rider which can significantly help when dealing with a sudden illness. It allows you to access cash now instead of after you die. You may also use the living benefits to supplement your retirement income or for any other unexpected financial burden. The payout for the living benefits is not taxable.
Prudential is a stable company with a long history and strong financial scores. It is currently the largest life insurance company in the U.S. and receives high marks for its financial strength. This ensures that your policy remains in effect throughout the rest of your life or the term of the policy.
When researching Prudential reviews from current and past customers, there are not many negatives. At most people discuss the company’s reliance on paper forms.
While you can submit your application online and access your account details through an online portal, you still need to provide most forms via fax or mail. For example, Prudential life insurance claims typically involve paperwork that you need to sign and send instead of handling the request online.
The need to send forms instead of emails may irritate some customers, but it is a minor inconvenience. Additionally, you only need to deal with paper forms when making changes to your policy, such as canceling your plan.
A second and probably the most significant downside about Prudential is the lack of a whole life insurance policy. Prudential discontinued all whole life insurance plans but continues to provide service to those who have purchased one in the past.
If you’re a senior looking for a final expense plan, Prudential will not be able to help you as these fall under the category of whole life insurance.
Conclusion: Should You Get a Quote from Prudential?
As long as you do not require a whole life insurance policy, Prudential can provide insurance options for everyone. The main advantages include a faster-than-average underwriting process, living benefits, lenient underwriting to high-risk health conditions, and most importantly, affordable premiums. They even have an expedited underwriting process with no medical exams for those who qualify.
Anyone searching for a low-cost insurance policy should consider looking into these products. The universal life policies, including the PruLife Universal Protector policy, ensure coverage for life.
If you’re looking for a permanent life insurance plan with cash value accumulation potential, consider exploring one of the many Prudential universal life plans or indexed plans.
With the term life policies, you get lower premiums and several term contract lengths. The term policies also include the option to convert coverage to a universal life policy after the end of the term.
Both universal life and term life provide suitable choices for those with existing medical conditions. Prudential is known for using a favorable rating system when calculating premiums for tobacco users, diabetics, and those with high cholesterol.
If you want a policy with competitive premiums and flexible features, get your Prudential life insurance quote today.
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Leslie Kasperowicz
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insur...
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about life insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything life insurance-related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by life insurance experts.