We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Investopedia’s Rating 4.0 Our Take Prudential is a solid choice if you’re looking for term life insurance with generous conversion options and living benefits. Prudential’s term policies aren't the cheapest compared to several industry peers, but they come with a wide range of riders that you can use to enhance and customize your coverage. The company also has an impressive menu of permanent life insurance policies with high face amounts. It has fewer consumer complaints for a company its size, but Prudential’s customer satisfaction ratings leave something to be desired. Pros & Cons Pros Few customer complaints Generous term conversion options Living benefit riders included with coverage No-medical-exam life insurance to $3 million Cons Expensive term coverage Below average customer satisfaction ratings Company Overview Prudential was founded in 1875 and was the first company to offer affordable life insurance policies to working-class families. Prudential has a presence in 23 locations worldwide and is the fourth largest life insurance company in the United States. It has more than $10.54 billion in direct premiums, according to the NAIC. The company is headquartered in Newark, NJ. specifications AM Best Rating A+ NAIC Score (avg.) N/A Years In Business N/A Policy Types Indexed Universal (IUL), Term, Universal (UL), Variable Universal (VUL) Accepts Credit Cards No Why Trust Us 91 Companies reviewed 55 Features considered 5,005 Data points analyzed We collected over 5,000 data points from 91 life insurance companies to measure financial stability, customer satisfaction, product and feature variety, and the overall buying experience. We then evaluated each company based on 55 metrics to develop unbiased, comprehensive reviews. Table of Contents Prudential Life Insurance Review Pros Explained Cons Explained Complaint Index Third-Party Ratings Competition Policies Available Available Riders Customer Service Price Final Verdict FAQs Methodology The NAIC calculates a complaint index for every insurance company each year based on the number of complaints it receives relative to its size. An index of 1.0 means a company received the expected number of complaints given its size. Most of the top companies we review don’t score over 1.0 in any given year. The average complaint index for Prudential was 0.34 in 2022, indicating that the company received fewer complaints than expected given its size. Prudential has an A+ financial strength rating from AM Best, an independent rating agency that's focused on the insurance industry. An A+ rating from AM Best means it thinks the company has a superior ability to pay claims in the future, an important factor for buyers to consider given the long-term nature of life insurance. We typically don’t recommend any insurance providers that are rated below an A-. But Prudential does less well when it comes to customer satisfaction. The company was ranked below average in the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Life Insurance Study. It received a score of 753 out of 1,000. The industry average was 776. Fourteen of 21 major life insurance companies scored higher than Prudential in this study. Accelerated underwriting with most of Prudential’s term and permanent life insurance products is available to healthy applicants between ages 18 and 60 who are applying for $100,000 to $3 million in life insurance. Survivorship policies are an exception. An interview is required, but a medical exam is not. And you won’t know if you qualify for the accelerated underwriting path until you apply. You can still get life insurance from Prudential with a medical exam if you're not eligible. Term life insurance is designed to protect your family during a defined period of financial obligation, such as while you're saving for college or paying off a mortgage. Your family won’t receive a death benefit if you die outside the term you choose, but term life insurance is much more affordable than permanent life insurance and is sufficient for most people. A living needs benefit rider can be added to this policy at no cost. The policy can be converted to a permanent policy in the first five years. PruTerm won’t be the right choice for you if you’re looking for coverage for a period of ten years or more. Premiums increase each year, so this policy can get extremely costly. Universal life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that offers a guaranteed death benefit as long as premiums are paid. This type of policy also builds cash value that you can borrow against if necessary. It allows you to adjust your premium payments based on your financial situation as long as the cash value is sufficient to pay premiums and maintain the policy. Indexed universal life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance with flexible premiums and the option to assign cash value to both an account with a fixed and declared interest rate and an account that follows an index such as the S&P 500. Holding an indexed universal life insurance policy isn't the same as investing in the stock market. You’ll be protected from losses, but your returns will be moderate. Variable universal life insurance is a type of permanent policy that allows for flexible premium payments and gives you the option to invest the cash value component of your policy in the market. You take a degree of risk with this type of policy because the cash value could decline. Survivorship policies from Prudential are not available without a medical exam. Riders are add-on endorsem*nts that help you customize your coverage. Prudential offers a wide variety of riders, some of which are included at no additional cost. This rider makes the death benefit available to you while you’re alive if you should be diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness. It’s available at an additional cost with the following policies: This rider is available with the PruLife Survivorship Index UL policy. It provides access to the death benefit if both insureds become chronically or terminally ill at the same time, or if the survivor becomes chronically or terminally ill. This rider is included at no additional cost, but there's a charge if you use it. It allows you to access the death benefit while you’re alive if you become terminally ill, if you must be permanently confined to a nursing home, or you need a vital organ transplant in some states. It’s available with the following policies: This rider is included in SimplyTerm policies at no additional premium charge. It provides access to the death benefit in the event that you become terminally ill. A one-time fee applies for using the rider. Available with Term Essential, this rider lets you pause premium payments if you become disabled and are unable to work. Similar to the waiver of premium rider, this rider is available with PruLife Index Advantage UL, VUL Protector, and PruLife Custom Premier II. You must be totally disabled for a waiting period of six months before Prudential will start covering monthly charges with this rider. It’s available with PruLife Essential UL and PruLife Founders Plus UL. Available with Term Essential for an additional cost, this rider provides life insurance for your children. It can be converted to a permanent individual policy at certain ages. This is similar to the Children’s Protection Rider, but it can be added to plans at an additional cost: This rider pays an additional death benefit if you die in an accident. It’s available at an additional cost with: This helps keep your policy from lapsing if you have an outstanding loan against it. There’s a one-time charge to use it. It comes with these policies: These riders give you higher cash surrender values if you have to cancel your policy in the early years. It’s not available in New York. It comes with the following policies: This rider is available with survivorship policies. It allows you to split the policy into two in the event of divorce or a change in estate laws. Available at an additional cost with survivorship policies, this rider increases the death benefit by up to 100% if both insureds die within the first four years. You can call 1-800-PRU-HELP on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET if you need assistance with online account access. Use one of the following phone numbers if you need help with your policy: You can also file a claim online 24/7. Pricing for Prudential’s term policies is relatively expensive when compared to other life insurance providers. We gathered premium information for 30-year term policies with a face value of $250,000 for different ages. These quotes are for applicants in excellent health. These are the resulting monthly premiums: Significantly cheaper rates are available elsewhere for all ages and genders. A 40-year-old male would pay only $28.44 for the same coverage through Protective. Prudential Life Insurance offers numerous term and permanent life policies along with an assortment of riders that can enhance and customize your coverage. You'll also find a broad selection of permanent policies here, including universal life coverages with many investment options. The company hasn't received many customer complaints, and it doesn't require medical exams for many people. That said, Prudential’s term policies are priced on the high side compared to many of its peers. And its customer satisfaction ranking comes in 15th out of 21 companies despite its few customer complaints. Deciding whether this insurer is right for you can come down to how much you're willing to pay for a customized policy and investment options. Prudential's enhanced cash value riders give you higher cash surrender values if you have to cancel your policy in the early years, but this option isn't available in New York. The universal policy builds cash value that you can borrow against if you don't want to cash in entirely, and you can adjust your premiums to accommodate the loan. The Prudential website asks, "How long does it take to receive a life insurance payout?" But it doesn't answer this question. It simply mentions various steps that must be taken after a death is reported to the insurer, including submission of a claims form and death certificate, and the company's investigation into whether the death was by suicide or illegal means. Most insurance companies can accomplish this and pay out claims in 14 to 60 days. Prudential isn't one single enterprise or company. One arm of Prudential changed ownership in 2022. It's full-service retirement business was sold to Empower in April. The "best" life insurance comes down to your own personal needs. What might be best for someone else could be a poor match for you. Keep in mind that Prudential policies are pricey. The available riders might not be suitable for someone with basic estate-planning needs. We designed a comprehensive rating methodology based on consumer priorities and life insurance company fundamentals to rank more than 90 insurers across five general categories: financial stability, customer satisfaction, product and feature variety, the overall buying experience, and cost. We collected over 5,000 data points and scored each company based on 55 metrics to do this. We grouped metrics by category to see how insurers performed in each. We then weighted category scores to determine how companies performed overall. Read our full Life Insurance Methodology to learn more. Article Sources Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in oureditorial policy. National Association of Insurance Commissioners. "Prudential Ins Co Of Amer National Complaint Index Report." Prudential. “FAQs: PruFast Track,” Pages 1-2. J.D. Power. "Pandemic and Tax Code Change Spur Interest in Life Insurance, J.D. Power Finds." AM Best. “AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Prudential Financial, Inc. and Its Life/Health Subsidiaries. Prudential. “SimplyTerm,” Pages 1-2. Prudential. “Fast Facts: Term Essential,” Page 1. Prudential. “Fast Facts: PruTerm One,” Pages 1-2. Prudential. “Fast Facts: PruLife Essential UL,” Pages 1-2. Prudential. “PruLife SUL Protector,” Page 3. Prudential. “Fast Facts: PruLife Index Advantage UL,” Pages 1-3. Prudential. “Fast Facts: PruLife Survivorship Index UL,” Pages 1-4. Prudential. “Fast Facts: VUL Protector,” Pages 1-5. Prudential. “Fast Facts: PruLife SVUL Protector,” Pages 1-2. Prudential. “Customize Your Policy with Riders.” Prudential. "Life Insurance Payout: How Does It Work?" Prudential Financial. "Prudential Financial Completes Sale to Empower of Full-Service Retirement Business." Pros Explained
Cons Explained
Complaint Index
Third-Party Ratings
Competition
Prudential MassMutual New York Life Types of coverage Term, universal, indexed universal, variable universal Term, whole, universal, variable universal Term, whole, universal, variable universal Online application Available Available Not available AM Best rating A+ A++ A++ Price for term policies Poor Better than average Unknown NAIC complaint index in 2022 0.34 0.04 0.25 J.D. Power ranking 15 7 9 Policies Available
Term Life Insurance
Universal Life Insurance
Indexed Universal Life Insurance
Variable Universal Life Insurance
Available Riders
BenefitAccess Rider
Survivorship BenefitAccess Rider
Living Needs Benefit
Terminal Illness Rider
Waiver of Premium
Enhanced Disability Benefit Rider
Waiver of Monthly Deductions
Children’s Protection Rider
Children Level Term Rider
Accidental Death Benefit
Overloan Protection Rider
Enhanced Cash Value Riders
Guaranteed Policy Split Rider
Estate Protection Rider
Customer Service
Price
Male Female Age 25 $23.84 $21 Age 40 $39.81 $33.91 Age 55 $188.13 $132.78 Final Verdict
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I cash in my prudential life insurance policy?
How long does it take for Prudential to pay out life insurance claims?
Who took over Prudential Life Insurance?
Is Prudential Life Insurance the best life insurance?
Methodology
See Also
Policy Payouts - Payouts Related FAQs | ICICI PrulifeFrequently Asked QuestionsClaims | Pru Life UK PhilippinesCan I Withdraw Cash From My Life Insurance Policy? | Guardian