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finder.com's rating: 3 / 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
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 |
Riders |
Accelerated death benefit rider Child rider Decreasing term rider Estate protection rider Guaranteed insurability rider Return-of-premium rider Spouse rider Waiver-of-premium rider |
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Review by
Katia 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).
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.
We pulled sample quotes from the Transamerica website for a 20-year term with $150,000 in coverage for a healthy man and woman.
Age | Man | Woman |
---|---|---|
20 | $14.06 | $10.97 |
30 | $12.13 | $10.97 |
40 | $15.61 | $13.80 |
50 | $31.86 | $25.80 |
60 | $78.17 | $66.18 |
To qualify for Transamerica’s preferred rate class, you have to meet some requirements, typical of most life insurers:
You can reach Transamerica by phone at 800-797-2643, or follow these steps to apply through a local agent:
Transamerica offers a wide selection of policies, high coverage and extra features like converting term to permanent life insurance. You can choose from:
Depending on your policy, you can choose from a variety of add-ons that boost your coverage:
On TrustPilot, customers complain about a lack of communication and poor customer service. Over at the Better Business Bureau, customer reviews echo a low rating for billing issues and less than helpful customer service reps, although Transamerica promptly addresses all reviews with low star ratings.
AM Best financial rating |
A+ |
BBB accredited | No |
BBB rating | A- 1.36/5 out of 63 customer reviews |
Trustpilot score | 2/5 out of 11 customer reviews |
JD Power score | 734 |
Customer reviews verified as of | 25 January 2021 |
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.
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.
See how Transamerica policies fare against other companies’ coverage and benefits. Check the Compare box to see up to four companies side by side.
★★★★★ — 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.