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Brighthouse Financial life insurance review 2023

Updated Mar 09, 2023
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Bottom Line

If you are looking for long-term care and traditional life insurance, Brighthouse Financial’s SmartCare policy might be worth considering for your situation. The company offers limited policy options, though, and received low J.D. Power customer satisfaction ratings.

Pros
  • Offers a unique hybrid policy with life insurance and long-term care insurance

  • Excellent financial strength ratings

  • Several riders available for personalization

  • Strong commitment to social responsibility

Cons
  • Must purchase a policy through a Brighthouse financial professional

  • Few life insurance products offered

  • Below-average customer satisfaction rating from J.D. Power

Brighthouse Financial life insurance

Brighthouse Financial offers term life insurance and permanent life insurance. Its unique policy offering, called Brighthouse SmartCare, combines traditional life insurance with long-term care insurance. Some customers may have the option to get a policy with simplified underwriting, depending on their age, which does not require a medical exam.

Here are the types of life insurance coverage you can purchase through Brighthouse Financial Life Insurance:

  • Term life insurance: There are two options available for term life insurance — Brighthouse SimplySelect and Brighthouse One Year Term. The SimplySelect term policy provides affordable coverage for 10, 20 or 30 years, with coverage ranging from $100,000 to $2 million. For this policy, a medical exam is not a requirement, plus you have the option to add an Acceleration of Death Benefit Rider for added protection. The Brighthouse One Year Term policy provides the flexibility of short-term coverage for one year only, but you may use a convertible and renewable rider to extend your coverage to five years. One-year term policy availability and conditions vary by state.
  • Whole life insurance: If you have a term life insurance policy from Brighthouse Financial, you could opt to convert it to a whole life policy before the term ends if you have selected that option when initially purchasing your policy. Brighthouse Financial’s whole life policies have level premiums for your lifetime, guaranteed coverage as long as the premium is paid, and guaranteed cash value growth. However, keep in mind that Brighthouse Financial only offers whole policies to those who already have term life insurance with it and want to convert, so you will first need to have a term policy in place that is nearing its end.
  • Long-term care insurance: Brighthouse Financial Smart Care coverage combines whole life insurance and long-term care insurance. It includes a guaranteed death benefit and a cash value component protected from market downswings if you choose the indexed option. Long-term care insurance can cover the cost of nursing home care, skilled nursing care, home health care and hospice for older policyholders. Every policy includes a lapse prevention provision and terminal illness benefit rider.
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Brighthouse Financial life insurance endorsements

Brighthouse Financial does not list all the life insurance endorsements available for different policy types on its websites. If interested to see how you can personalize your policy, as well as how much life insurance might cost with Brighthouse Financial, contacting an agent or company representative will be helpful.

Brighthouse Financial life tools and benefits

In addition to life insurance, Brighthouse Financial also offers various annuities, including both index-linked, fixed-rate and variable annuity options. You must work with a Brighthouse Financial professional to purchase an annuity.

Brighthouse Financial customer satisfaction

Brighthouse Financial ranked below average in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, which evaluates different life insurance carriers on customer satisfaction aspects like communication and interaction, price points, product availability and statements. The segment average was 774 out of 1,000 points, whereas Brighthouse Financial was far below that at 741 out of 1,000 points. This may show that its customers were less satisfied with the service received compared to those of Brighthouse Financial’s competitors.

How to file a claim with Brighthouse Financial

Beneficiaries of a Brighthouse Financial life insurance policy can file a death claim by calling one of the numbers below. Be prepared to share the policy number when calling to file a claim.

  • Life insurance policies ending with BI, BLT, BLW, USU, USV, UT: 1-800-882-1292
  • Life insurance products ending with US and FM: 1-833-208-3017
  • Former New England Financial policies: 1-800-388-4000

Brighthouse Financial availability

Brighthouse Financial sells life insurance policies and annuities in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Other Brighthouse Financial perks worth considering

Brighthouse Financial exclusively offers life insurance products and annuities. However, the company has a large library of online resources for learning about purchasing the right amount of life insurance coverage, planning for retirement and estate planning, as well as life insurance coverage calculators. If you are new to life insurance or not yet sure how much coverage you will need, how long you want an active policy or if you have other financial planning goals, Brighthouse’s resources may be a good starting place for your research.

Brighthouse Financial corporate sustainability

When it comes to corporate social responsibility, Brighthouse Financial is committed to giving back to the community. It frequently partners with organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, Habitat for Humanity and Heart Math Tutoring.

The company also established the Brighthouse Financial Foundation, which awards grants to nonprofits that support women, children, veterans and the arts. In 2020, the company provided grants to more than 40 organizations through the Foundation.

If you are in the market for life insurance and are not certain Brighthouse will be the best fit, want options for cheap life insurance, or something else entirely, here are a few other life insurance companies that are worth looking into:

Brighthouse Financial vs. Pacific Life

Pacific Life offers a wide variety of insurance policies, including two types of universal life insurance. The company is rated above-average for overall customer satisfaction by J.D. Power in the 2022 Life Insurance Study.

Learn more: Pacific Life Insurance Review

Brighthouse Financial vs. Mutual of Omaha

Mutual of Omaha offers robust long-term care insurance policies. Its wide range of available riders also made it a standout in the 2022 Bankrate Awards for the best term life insurance companies.

Learn more: Mutual of Omaha

Brighthouse Financial vs. Globe Life

Globe Life Insurance offers many types of life insurance. Additionally, there are policies for accidental death insurance, mortgage protection insurance and children’s life insurance.

Learn more: Globe Life Insurance review

Is Brighthouse Financial a good insurance company?

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Brighthouse Financial is a solid life insurance provider overall, based on available metrics reviewed by our Bankrate insurance editorial team. With almost ten years of life insurance expertise and more than fifty carriers reviewed, our team can help you find the best life insurance company for your needs and give you an overview of how life insurance works.

Based on Bankrate’s Brighthouse Financial life insurance review and its offerings, it may be considered a decent life insurance option for many customers. The company offers a couple of standard policies to cover basic life insurance needs, including its signature SmartCare coverage, but it falls short in terms of accessibility and customer satisfaction ratings. It also does not offer an online life insurance quote option. However, if you are looking for long-term care and traditional life insurance, Brighthouse Financial’s SmartCare policy might be worth considering for your situation.

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