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Transamerica life insurance review 2021
Buy up to $10 million in term or permanent coverage with an insurer who's known for competitive rates.
finder.com's rating: 4 / 5 ★★★★★
Bottom line: Transamerica has generous final expense policies and good rates for people without perfect health, though it doesn’t offer variable life insurance.
18 to 75
Issue Age
$25,000 to $10,000,000
Coverage
Depends on policy
Medical Exam Required
Details
| Policies | Term, Whole, Universal, Index universal, Final expense |
|---|---|
| Coverage maximum | $10,000,000 |
| Term lengths | 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years |
| Medical exam required | Depends on policy |
| Available states | Certain policies not available in New York |
| Issue age | 18 - 75 years old |
Pros
- High policy limits
- No-exam policies
- Lenient underwriting
- Financial strength
Cons
- No online claims form
- Many customer complaints
| Riders |
No info available |
|---|
Review by
Katia Iervasi
katia.iervasi@finder.comKatia Iervasi is a staff writer who hails from Australia and now calls New York home. Her writing and analysis has been featured on sites like Forbes, Best Company and Financial Advisor around the world. Armed with a BA in Communication and a journalistic eye for detail, she navigates insurance and finance topics for Finder, so you can splash your cash smartly (and be a pro when the subject pops up at dinner parties).
Expert review
Transamerica offers life insurance policies that you can’t find with every company, like universal life or a final expense policy for end-of-life costs. You can get death benefits worth millions of dollars on whole or term life policies, much higher than the typical $250,000 to $500,000 payouts.
And thanks to lenient approvals, Transamerica opens coverage to people considered risky to insure, like seniors and smokers.
However, Transamerica doesn’t get the best customer reviews or satisfaction scores from top rating sites like J.D. Power.
If you prefer a better customer experience, it’s worth comparing life insurance companies to get the best premium. But if you want low rates on wide coverage, consider Transamerica’s options.
This article was reviewed by Andrew Flueckiger, a member of the Finder Editorial Review Board and certified insurance counselor and licensed insurance agent in five states.
Transamerica life insurance rates
We pulled sample quotes from the Transamerica website for a 20-year term with $500,000 in coverage for a healthy man and woman.
| Age | Man | Woman |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | $19.35 | $15.91 |
| 25 | $19.35 | $15.91 |
| 30 | $19.78 | $16.77 |
| 35 | $22.36 | $18.49 |
| 40 | $35.26 | $27.52 |
| 45 | $47.73 | $37.84 |
| 50 | $73.53 | $56.33 |
| 55 | $118.68 | $86.00 |
| 60 | $253.70 | $204.68 |
Factors that affect your rates
To qualify for Transamerica’s preferred rate class, you have to meet some requirements, typical of most life insurers:
- Driving record free of violations like DUIs or suspensions.
- Healthy blood pressure and BMI.
- Low-risk occupation and hobbies.
- Minimal or no history of tobacco use.
- No alcohol or substance abuse.
- No family medical history with specific diseases.
How to get a quote from Transamerica life insurance
You can reach Transamerica by phone at 800-797-2643, or follow these steps to apply through a local agent:
- From Transamerica’s homepage, select What We Offer > Insurance.
- Choose the type of life insurance you’re interested in.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page, enter your ZIP and tap Locate An Agent.
- Next, enter your location and contact details.
- Tap Search to see a list of insurance agents that you can contact.
Transamerica offers term and permanent life insurance
Transamerica offers a wide selection of policies, high coverage and extra features like converting term to permanent life insurance. You can choose from:
- Index universal. Offers a flexible death benefit and cash value that grows based on the stock market.
- Final expense. Covers end-of-life expenses like burial costs, available as soon as it’s approved.
- Term. Transamerica offers two types of term life called trendsetter super, or trendsetter lb. One is convertible to permanent life while the other offers living benefit riders. Each policy lasts 10 to 30 years with coverage from $25,000 to $10 million, plus your choice of fixed, decreasing or increasing death benefits.
- Universal. Offers lifelong coverage, flexible premiums and death benefits while earning cash value. Get indexed universal policies tied to an index like the S&P, or variable universal coverage for the highest possible investment returns.
- Whole. Features lifelong coverage, fixed premiums and accumulating cash value. Coverage goes from $2,000 to $3 million for individual or $25,000 for group policies.
Transamerica life insurance riders
Depending on your policy, you can choose from a variety of add-ons that boost your coverage:
- Accelerated death benefit. Pays some of your death benefit early if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness.
- Child rider and spouse. Adds coverage for a spouse and child without buying a separate policy.
- Decreasing term. Lowers your coverage as you pay off debt or lower your living expenses.
- Estate protection. Adds coverage for estate taxes if they’re applied to your death benefit.
- Guaranteed insurability. Convert to a whole life policy without medical exams, only available at major milestones like having children.
- Return of premium. Returns your premiums paid if you outlive your policy term, only available for 20- and 30-year terms.
- Waiver of premium. Your premiums are waived if you become disabled for over six months.
Transamerica life insurance reviews are mixed
Transamerica isn’t accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), but it holds an A- rating for the way it interacts with customers, pointing to room for improvement. The BBB has recorded 339 complaints over the last three years, which is pretty high for an insurance company. Many complaints had to do with billing issues and slow claims payouts, so be wary of that as a beneficiary.
On TrustPilot, customers complain about a lack of communication and poor customer service. They award the insurer 1.6 out of 5 stars, though that’s based on a handful of reviews.
| AM Best financial rating |
A |
| BBB accredited | No |
| BBB rating | A- 1.09/5 out of 67 customer reviews |
| Trustpilot score | 1.6/5 out of 20 customer reviews |
| JD Power score | 734 |
| Customer reviews verified as of | 30 June 2021 |
Case study: Sarah's experience
Sarah George
Writer, Insurance
I had never heard of Transamerica until I signed up for term life insurance through my financial adviser. I had a policy with State Farm before that because it was my car insurance company.
My adviser helped me realize that the State Farm policy was expensive for $100,000 in coverage. With Transamerica, I get 4X that coverage while paying less than my previous life insurance.
I also like the accelerated death benefit. Knowing that I could use my policy early if needed is a benefit, especially if a qualifying illness has expensive medical bills.
Last, while some people have a hard time contacting Transamerica, I just use my financial adviser to make account updates.
How Transamerica life insurance compares to other companies
With Transamerica, you can choose options that fit nearly any need, including permanent life with low to high investment risk to grow your cash value. Other companies shy from offering indexed universal policies.
The company also offers millions of dollars worth in coverage for term and whole life, a high dollar amount to find especially for whole life insurance.
However, you can’t get quotes online, a convenience that other companies offer. And Transamerica’s customer experience is lacking since customers have difficulty dealing with claims and billing issues.
This company works best if you need high coverage, universal life insurance or if you have pre-existing health conditions.
Compare term and permanent policies from life insurance companies like Transamerica
See how Transamerica policies fare against other companies’ coverage and benefits. Check the Compare box to see up to four companies side by side.
Life insurance ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
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. Transamerica receives three out of five stars for a low customer experience rating and fewer policy customization options than its competitors.