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Walnut life insurance review
A membership-based life insurance plan that keeps your everyday wellness in mind
finder.com's rating: 5 / 5
★★★★★
- Get a quote if… You have short-term financial responsibilities.
- Choose a different provider if… You can’t get the coverage amount you need.
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18 to 70
Issue Age
$50,000 to $1,000,000
Coverage
Not required
Medical Exam Required
Details
| Policies | |
|---|---|
| Coverage maximum | $1,000,000 |
| Term lengths | 10 years |
| Medical exam required | Not required |
| Available states | Not available in New York and North Carolina |
| Issue age | Not listed |
Pros
- Policies typically cost $10–$25
- Free wellness perks, including fitness classes
- No medical exam
- 100% online application, plus live chat support
- Backed by SBLI, which has 100+ years in the industry
Cons
- Only 10-year term life policies available
- Coverage amounts vary based on your individual factors
- High-risk applicants offered lower coverage, like $50,000
| Riders |
No info available |
|---|
Review by
Sarah George
sarah.george@finder.comSarah George is a personal finance writer at Finder who’s spent the last four years wielding her digital pen on all things banking and insurance. Her know-how has been featured in such publications as CBS, CNET and Reviews.com, and she was a panelist in Finder’s 2020 money-saving webinar. Sarah earned an English education degree and is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance.
Expert review
Walnut offers a unique spin on life insurance — it focuses on keeping its pricing static and affordable for most people. We also like that it has a no-exam requirement, which helps if you have health conditions or want to bypass the usual medical exam. Plus, its meditation and fitness class subscriptions help you justify its added cost in your budget.
However, Walnut’s 10-year term lengths aren’t long enough for most people. If you outlive that term, you’ll need to buy another policy, requalifying based on your current age and health. You also can’t control the amount of coverage you’re offered, which is based on your answers to the health questionnaire. You may want a $500,000 policy, but Walnut may offer you only a $100,000 or $300,000 policy.
Overall, Walnut’s life insurance works best as a secondary policy or if you don’t qualify for other options. Or you could consider it your fitness subscription with life insurance benefits attached. Either way, weigh the benefits of several life insurance options before making your final decision.
Walnut life insurance rates are fixed, but the coverage you’re offered fluctuates
Walnut has a unique pricing structure for its life insurance policies, usually quoting premiums of $10, $15, $20 or $25 per month. However, the coverage amounts vary based on your answers about your health, age and lifestyle in your application.
For example, when we used the profile of a healthy 25-year-old woman in California, Walnut quoted this pricing tier:
- $15 for a $334,000 policy
- $20 for a $720,000 policy
- $25 for a $990,000 policy
Coverage maximums depend on your age
The maximum amount of coverage available to you depends on your age:
- People 55 years old and younger are eligible for coverage up to $1,000,000.
- People 56 years old and older are eligible for coverage up to $499,999.
Walnut specializes in 10-year term life policies
Walnut focuses on 10-year term life policies at a low cost, which means that your policy expires 10 years from the day it begins. A 10-year term length works best if your largest financial responsibility ends around that time, if you already have life insurance but want to boost coverage or if you can’t qualify elsewhere.
You won’t find any riders, unlike most life insurance companies. That means you can’t add coverage for your spouse or living benefits for long-term care or terminal illness.
4 main factors that affect your rate and coverage with Walnut
Walnut asks basic questions about your health and lifestyle, although it doesn’t detail what’s required to get the preferred or elite health status. Be prepared to give this information about yourself:
- Your age — The older you are, the more risks you have for developing health conditions. You may be quoted lower coverage at higher ages.
- Height and weight — This helps insurers understand your general health, such as your body mass index.
- Gender — Insurers typically charge more for men because men have a lower life expectancy than women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At Walnut, men see lower coverage for the price of its policies.
- Whether you smoke or use tobacco — Walnut asks whether you smoke or use tobacco, as well as the last time you used these products.
Complete your application 100% online with Walnut
Walnut’s goal is that you’re able to finish the entire application and health questionnaire without reaching for your phone or car keys. The entire process should take about 10-15 minutes. However, you can contact an agent in several ways if you need extra help.
- Online quote tool — Start your application online with Walnut’s Coverage Estimator, answering a few questions to estimate your premium and coverage amount. Then, follow the prompts to finish the application.
- Live chat — If you get stuck with the application or have a quick question, tap the speech bubble on Walnut’s homepage and enter your question.
- Email — Reach out to support@gowalnut.com with life insurance questions.
- Virtual meeting — Want to go over your life insurance options? Find the link to Walnut’s meeting calendar in the frequently asked questions about its application.
Free membership perks that you can use every day
Walnut brings you health and wellbeing perks that you can use in your everyday life. Together, the value of these perks outweighs the cost of your life insurance membership.
For example, a Headspace membership costs $13 per month or $70 per year — about the price of Walnut’s lowest life insurance tier.
- Meditation. Walnut includes a Headspace Plus membership, bringing you meditation and audio experiences for your mental health.
- On-demand workouts. Get moving with your ClassPass Digital pass, also included with your Walnut membership. You get access to ClassPass’s library of Barre, HIIT or yoga workouts and more.
- Password protection. Use your new Dashlane Premium membership to store passwords, prefill online forms and log in to its VPN for an extra security layer.
Walnut life insurance reviews and complaints, backed by SBLI Insurance
Walnut is a fintech startup, so you won’t find many ratings directly for this insurance company. However, Walnut is backed by SBLI, a life insurance giant with over 100 years in the industry.
Customers agree that SBLI’s customer service is caring and helpful when they need to file a claim, and many customers enjoy talking to knowledgeable sales reps when they apply. However, several people weren’t notified that they were approved, having to follow up with customer service for this information.
Overall, over a thousand customers agree that they had an above-average experience with SBLI.
| AM Best financial rating |
A- |
| BBB accredited | Yes |
| Trustpilot score | 4.3/5 out of customer reviews |
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Our experts analyze life insurance companies to help you to find the strongest possible policy and premium for your family’s needs. We assess their financial strength, customer satisfaction, policy features and riders. We then give each insurer a score between one and five stars that reflects their offering and reputation in the industry.
