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Policyholders looking for a simple, uncomplicated term life or universal life insurance policy might consider Banner Life as their company of choice.
Between Banner Life and its sister company, William Penn Life Insurance, Banner may be a good choice for someone seeking a company available nationwide that has over 200 years in the life insurance industry.
Banner Life doesn’t offer many insurance riders, so they may not be a good fit for someone who needs to personalize their policy’s coverage.
Mailing address: Legal & General America, 3275 Bennett Creek Avenue, Frederick, Maryland 21704
State availability: Banner Life is available in 49 and Washington D.C., and William Penn is available in New York.
Banner Life insurance
Banner Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Legal & General America, sells insurance in 49 states and Washington. D.C., while its sister company, William Penn Life Insurance, sells insurance in New York. This gives the company, as a whole, national reach, making it available no matter where you live in the U.S.
Banner Life offers several types of life insurance. Term life insurance, which gives you coverage for a set number of years, is available in terms of 10 to 40 years. Banner also offers universal life insurance, which is a type of permanent coverage that stays with you until death. Compared to similar insurers, Banner's policies have few rider options, so it may not be the best choice if you are hoping to customize your policy to meet your specific needs.
Term life insurance: Banner’s term life insurance policies can be purchased with terms up to 40 years, making it potentially a good choice if your insurance needs extend well into the future. Banner is one of the few insurers that offers policies for 40 years — most companies max out at 30. You could also customize your coverage with term riders that allow you to stack shorter terms on top of your base policy. For family life insurance, there is also a child rider available that covers your child until the age of 25, a waiver-of-premium rider and an accelerated death benefit rider for all Banner policies, which lets you access some of the death benefit if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Permanent life insurance: Banner Life insurance also offers universal life, which is a type of permanent life insurance policy. Permanent life insurance offers lifelong coverage in most cases, as long as the premium is paid. Universal life is characterized by flexibility in premium payments, which allows you, for example, to pay more while you’re working and then less after you retire. Your account will have a guaranteed minimum interest rate, as well, which means the cash value of the policy should increase steadily. Although generally more expensive than term life insurance, universal life might be a good option if you need a flexible policy.
Pros and cons of Banner Life life insurance
Pros
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Whole life insurance combines life insurance with an investment component.
Coverage for life
Tax-deferred savings benefit if premiums are paid
3 variations of permanent insurance: whole life, universal life and variable life include investment component
Term life insurance is precisely what the name implies: an insurance policy that is good for a specific term of time.
Fixed premium over term
No savings benefits
Outliving policy or policy cancellation results in no money back
This advertising widget is powered by HomeInsurance.com, a licensed insurance producer (NPN: 8781838) and a corporate affiliate of Bankrate. HomeInsurance.com LLC services are only available in states where it is licensed and insurance coverage through HomeInsurance.com may not be available in all states. All insurance products are governed by the terms in the applicable insurance policy, and all related decisions (such as approval for coverage, premiums, commissions and fees) and policy obligations are the sole responsibility of the underwriting insurer. The information on this site does not modify any insurance policy terms in any way.
Depending on the type of Banner life insurance policy you have, you may have the option to customize it with different add-ons, called riders. Here are a few Banner Life riders you can consider:
This rider is an additional coverage amount on top of your base policy for a specific number of years. The rider term period needs to be shorter than the term of the base policy.
Adding this rider onto your term insurance policy could provide coverage for all of your children under age 18. You can choose between $5,000 or $10,000 in coverage, which applies to each eligible child. The rider coverage terminates when they turn 25 unless you choose to convert the rider into a permanent policy, which doesn’t require a medical exam for your child.
This rider allows earlier payouts from your life insurance policy if the policyholder develops a terminal illness. It can be added to permanent and term life insurance policies.
Compare Banner Life with other insurers
Life insurance can be complicated. Consider first how much life insurance you need (Bankrate’s life insurance calculator can help), before shopping around for life insurance quotes. If you have complex insurance needs and Banner’s two policy options don’t seem like a good fit, you may want to consider these other companies, which offer a broader range of well-considered policies that may work better for your circumstances.
Banner Life vs. State Farm
State Farm offers a variety of life insurance products, and sells home and auto insurance if you want to manage all of your insurance policies in one place. If strong customer service and policy options are a priority for you, it could be worth a look.
Also ranked highly on the J.D. Power Life Insurance study, Nationwide offers four types of life insurance along with riders such as long-term care. The company also has a network of local agents that could be helpful for finding personalized advice.
As a mutual company, Northwestern is owned by its policyholders and offers participating whole life insurance, which has the potential to pay out dividends annually. The company writes term life, whole life and universal life insurance.
To help you decide if Banner Life is a good option for you, Bankrate's insurance editorial team created a life insurance guide that can help answer your questions about life insurance and point you toward a policy that works for your needs, whether it is with Banner or another life insurance company. Banner has a limited range of products, which does not include whole life, the most common permanent life insurance product. The various types of life insurance have different benefits when used as part of an overall financial strategy, so it may be worthwhile to talk to a financial consultant about the best insurance for you. You may, however, want to get a quote from Banner to determine the life insurance cost if you are interested in term insurance or universal life options.
Banner Life customer satisfaction
Selecting the right policy isn’t just about finding the cheapest life insurance premium. Reviewing third-party ratings can help you find a life insurance company offering quality customer service and financial stability. Banner scores well with agencies that monitor financial soundness. It has a Comdex score of 95 out of 100 and an AA- rating from Fitch and Standard & Poors.
J.D. Power has not reviewed Banner Life, possibly because it is grouped under the Legal & General America umbrella with other life insurance options. When J.D. Power does rank a company, its positioning is based on a 1,000-point scale. AM Best assesses and ranks insurance companies based on their creditworthiness using a grade scale from A to D.
Banner Life Insurance reviews are generally positive and the company has a solid NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) complaint index score. Anything under 1.00 indicates that the company has fewer complaints made against it than the industry standard, and Banner’s score indicates that the company takes customer service seriously.
Other Banner Life tools and benefits
If you’re looking for the best life insurance, it can help to evaluate the company as a whole. Here are some other unique features from Banner Life:
Annuities and retirement services: Banner helps you plan for retirement by offering annuities and retirement services, which pay out income after you are retired. There are several types to choose from, including life annuities, life annuities with cash refund, or installment refund and period certain annuities.
Informational website: Banner Life policyholders can find out more about the products they own by reviewing Banner’s extensive Articles & Guides section, which features information about insurance, money, technology and lifestyle issues.
Services for companies: Banner’s parent company, Legal & General America, offers pension risk transfer solutions to businesses.
Digital application: Apply online for insurance products with the company’s mobile-friendly app. Banner estimates that it takes 20 minutes or less to complete the digital application. Applying online allows for accelerated underwriting with quick approvals.
No-medical-exam options: Banner Life does offer an accelerated underwriting program that may mean you don’t need to submit to a medical exam. If approved, your rates will not be higher than if you had a medical exam, which is something that makes the company stand out. The company’s Lab Lift program also gives some clients the opportunity to submit health records from their own doctor or have a paramedical exam instead of an in-person doctor’s exam.
Frequently asked questions about Banner Life
Beneficiaries of a Banner life insurance policy can start a claim by going onto the company website or contacting the agent of record. When filing a claim, be sure to have an original copy of the Proof of Death Claimant's Statement, certified copy of the insured’s death certificate and the original policy.
Banner Life promotes sustainability within its corporation and its employees. Employees, aided by a company match, raise money for local charities. In 2022, the company collected nearly $1 million for their chosen initiatives. Banner Life also has an annual award celebration where employees are nominated based on their volunteerism.
Its parent company Legal & General, is a charter member of the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies Charitable Foundation and makes annual donations. Legal & General also participates in the Life Happens scholarship, which awards $20,000 scholarships to students who have lost a parent who had little or no life insurance. On the environmental side, Legal & General also routinely earns EPA Energy Star Certification awards.
Lastly, Banner Life's Frederick, MD headquarters is based in a building with a Silver LEED certification.
Banner Life offers an accelerated or lab-free underwriting process for its life insurance policies. Applicants who are generally healthy, have regular physical exams, have no history of severe or chronic illness and don't use too many prescription medications are more likely to qualify for a no-exam policy. Banner Life states these policies may be issued as quickly as under 48 hours and do not have higher premiums than life insurance policies with traditional underwriting.
On the company’s website, Banner Life states that once the claim is approved, they process the payment to the beneficiary within one business day.
Shannon Martin is a licensed insurance agent and Bankrate analyst with over 15 years of experience in the industry. She enjoys helping others navigate the insurance world by cutting through complex jargon and empowering readers to make strong financial decisions independently.