Costco Life Insurance Services 2024 Review
Costco life insurance services are called Member Advantage Life UL, which covers what is covered in term life policies. You also get free additions with the policy and can purchase optional add-ons.
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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
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.
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.
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Costco Life Insurance is probably not the first thing that springs to mind when you think about the wholesale club. However, if you’re a member, you can take advantage of Costco life insurance services.
Provided by Protective Life Insurance since 2014, it offers term life insurance which can be extended to a permanent life insurance policy option.
Their major selling point is the price. Costco claims they can save their customers up to 20 percent on their life insurance premium if they have a Costco Gold Star or Business membership.
Are they as cost-effective and comprehensive as they claim? Find out in our Costco Life Insurance Review.
Looking to compare life insurance rates? We can help. Enter your ZIP code to get free and affordable life insurance quotes from multiple insurers. You may even be able to get a Costco insurance quote.
Who provides Costco term life insurance?
While Costco’s main business is its wholesale club, it works in partnership with Protective Life Insurance to offer its life insurance coverage options.
They’re a well-established firm, founded in 1907 and headquartered in Birmingham, AL. It has grown steadily over the years, merging in 1927 with the Alabama National Insurance Company.
It gradually increased its offering to cover all 50 states and acquired West Coast Life in 1997.
Following further acquisitions of the Chase Insurance Group and MONY Life Insurance Groups (in 2006 and 2013 respectively) it has positioned itself as one of the leading providers of life insurance in the United States.
Highly rated by all the major rating agencies, it is frequently listed among the top ten best life insurance companies in the US.
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What are the key features of Protective Life Insurance through Costco?
The life insurance coverage offered through Costco and provided by Protective is called Member Advantage Life UL.
Member Advantage Life UL is a universal life insurance policy with term life insurance features.
With Member Advantage Life UL, you are given the term option of either a 10-year level or 20-year level premium policy. Depending on what level contract you pick, the premiums and death benefits are guaranteed to remain the same throughout the level period.
For example, if you choose the 10-year level period, premiums will be guaranteed to remain the same for the next 10 years.
As you dig into the features of this plan, one aspect that stands out is that the premium payments are cheaper for the first 5 years for both the 10 or 20-year initial period plans.
After this, they will re-adjust and remain level for the remainder of the term period.
Once the level term period is completed, you will have the option to continue coverage at the same price, but the death benefit will be reduced every year until it reaches $10,000.
Once the policy reaches a benefit of $10,000 your premium will turn into an increasing annual rate.
As mentioned early, if you’re a Costco Gold Star or Business membership owner, you can also benefit from a 20 percent savings on your life insurance policy.
However, in the cited example, this only took the premium down from $9.55 to $9.10 per month and the discount is only for the first 5 years of the contract. After the 5th year, the premium will be re-adjusted to the actual cost of the life insurance and remain that price until the end of the level term period.
What are the available coverages with Costco life insurance services?
The major benefit you are paying for is the death benefit. The level of coverage is chosen by you and will be paid out on your death at no extra cost, providing that you have kept up to date with payments on the policy.
Available coverage ranges from a minimum of $100,000 and can go as high as $5 million. Now, for the sake of comparison, let’s take a look at the top 10 companies whose insurance offerings include burial insurance and the death benefit.
Top 10 Best Burial Insurance & Final Expense Insurance Companies| Companies | Issue Ages | Death Benefit Type | Coverage Amounts |
|---|---|---|---|
AMERICO | Ages 50-85 | Level & Graded | $2,000 - $30,000 |
ANICO | Ages 50-85 | Level, Modified & Graded | $2,000 - $50,000 |
American Continental | Ages 65-89 | Level, Modified & Graded | $3,000 - $35,000 |
Assurity | Ages 40-80 | Level, Modified & Graded | $5,000 - $50,000 |
Baltimore Life | Ages 50-80 | Level & Graded | $2,500 - $25,000 |
Foresters | Ages 50-85 | Level, Modified & Graded | $2,000 - $35,000 |
Gerber | Ages 50-80 | Guaranteed Acceptance | $5,000 - $25,000 |
Mutual of Omaha | Ages 45-85 | Level, Modified & Graded | $2,000 - $40,000 |
Transamerica | Up to age 85 | Level | $1,000 - $50,000 |
United Home Life | Up to age 80 | Level, Graded & Guaranteed Approval | $5,000 - $100,000 |
Costco Life Insurance also allows you to exchange your policy for another Protective Life policy at any point during the initial fixed term.
This means that you will not have to go through the underwriting process again, so medical exams will not be necessary. This applies up to the age of 70.
What are the additional and optional policy benefits?
The Costco Life Insurance Policy offers some additional benefits, which we have broken down into those that are included, and those that carry an additional fee.
Included with all policies at no extra charge:
- Terminal Illness Accelerated Death Benefit Endorsement
This will pay out a lump sum of up to 60% of the death benefit on diagnosis of terminal illness, to help cover immediate expenses. The balance of this will be deducted from the final benefits paid on death.
- Income Provider Option Endorsement
Rather than simply paying an entire lump sum to the beneficiary on death, this allows an initial smaller lump sum payment, followed by an income to be paid for up to 30 years following your death.
Optional add-ons that increase your rate:
- Children’s Term Life Insurance Rider
This allows you to add natural and adopted children to your policy, up to the age of 18 years. This covers them up to $20,000 of coverage until they are 25, at which point they can convert this coverage to their own policy.
- Disability Benefit Rider
This rider helps you to maintain your premium payments in the event of becoming disabled and not being able to work. After six months of total disability, monthly payments will be credited to the life insurance policy to keep it active while disabled.
- Accidental Death Benefit Rider
Should your death result from an accident, this additional level of cover will provide a higher level of payout for your beneficiaries.
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Are there any drawbacks to Costco life insurance services?
Even though Costco life insurance is being offered through a top life insurance company, there are several drawbacks to consider when comparing policies.
- Costco only offers one life insurance company making it impossible to know you’re getting the best price when there are several competing companies out there to choose from.
- Being limited to only one company makes it very difficult to know if you’re applying with the best company should you have any pre-existing conditions that may have an effect on the overall underwriting process.
- Costco life insurance is only available in term lengths of 10 or 20 years while other companies can offer the options of 15, 25, and even 30 years for term life policies.
- Costco life insurance is limited to only term insurance with the option to convert to universal insurance. This means no return of premium life insurance, indexed universal life insurance, or whole life insurance options.
- Costco’s life insurance coverage does not offer new exciting policy features such as life insurance with living benefits.
- They are not an independent life insurance agency nor are they life insurance agents.
It’s also important to mention that you will need to be a Costco member to apply, meaning if you aren’t already, you need to factor the cost of membership into any premium calculations.
What do Costco Protective life insurance reviews say?
As Costco has only been offering life insurance through Protective since 2014 there is limited customer feedback available, as most policies will have not as yet been paid out.
Looking at Costco life insurance reviews across the board, though, shows strong levels of customer satisfaction.
While Protective Life Insurance is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (this accreditation is voluntary) they still gave it an A+ rating.
They currently list just 39 closed complaints in total, to which the firm has responded. For a company of this size, this is a modest number.
Whether Costco Life Insurance proves to be the right product for you or not, the reviews for Protective Life Insurance mean it may be worth investigating.
What other products are available from Protective Life Insurance?
In addition to Costco Life Insurance, Protective Life Insurance offer a range of both term and permanent life insurance options.
They have two types of permanent life insurance options:
These permanent options have a cash value that can increase and be drawn on during the term of the policy.
This wider range of premiums may offer greater choice than the Costco product offering, which is just limited to an extendable fixed-term policy Your one-stop online guide for life insurance quotes. Get free quotes now!
Your one-stop online guide for life insurance quotes. Get free quotes now!
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Should you buy Costco life insurance?
Costco may be a no-brainer for groceries, electronics, and other household products, but are they a company you want to purchase your life insurance coverage from?
Although Costco offers a very good life insurance product from a highly reputable company, we feel that there may be better options available to you.
The life insurance offered through Costco is offered by many other independent life insurance providers.
Working with an independent life insurance agency, such as Top Quote Life Insurance, to search the marketplace can make sure you are getting the best price for your life insurance coverage.
In addition to getting the best price, an independent agency will be able to fit you with coverage that makes the most sense based on your financial needs and lifestyle. This takes the guesswork off of you.
At Top Quote Life Insurance, we review all the major players in the life insurance industry to help you make the best choice. We also know which life insurance companies are favorable to certain health and medical conditions.
Even if you like what Costco has to offer we also provide quotes from Costco’s life insurance provider Protective Life Insurance, along with a panel of other great insurers, to ensure you get the best deal.
Looking to compare life insurance prices? We can help. Enter your ZIP code to get free and affordable life insurance quotes from multiple insurers. You may even be able to get Costco life insurance quotes.
Your one-stop online guide for life insurance quotes. Get free quotes now!
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
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.