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Ladder Life Insurance Review 2022

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An African-American father playing with his little daughter on a swing set.
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Written by
Mandy Sleight
  • /
  • 4 min read
Edited by
Mariah Posey
  • /
  • 4 min read
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Bottom line: Ladder Life offers a completely digital interface for purchasing and managing your Ladder Life insurance policy and has term policies with up to $8 million in coverage. The term life policy is fairly streamlined, without optional riders or perks. If you’re looking to obtain easy, quick and affordable term coverage you can get entirely online, Ladder Life may be worth considering.

Perks Drawbacks
Fully digital platform for life insurance No riders, perks or additional features available
Partner underwriting companies rated A (Excellent) or better by AM Best Policies underwritten by multiple partner insurance companies
Coverage options range from $100,000 to $8 million Only adults between 20-60 can apply
No medical exam required if applying for up to $3 million. Maximum term defined by age plus term, without exceeding 70 years
Option to ladder coverage up or down as life situations change Customer support available from 8am-5pm PST
30-day money-back guarantee and no cancellation fees

Ladder Life’s insurance offerings are primarily intended to provide a way for policyholders to “ladder” or adjust their coverage up or down as life changes. Although Ladder is not the first FinTech company offering life insurance on a digital platform, this modern approach provides consumers full control over their coverage via their online accounts — a standout feature among other life insurance companies.

The company was founded in 2015 and currently offers term life insurance nationwide through a 100% online interface. This enables prospective insureds to complete everything from comparing or obtaining a life insurance quote to filling out an application and obtaining coverage conveniently. Eligibility requirements indicate that applicants must be between 20 and 60 years old, but a medical exam is not required for those who apply for $3 million or less in coverage.

Weigh the pros and cons of this Ladder Life insurance review if you are considering purchasing term life insurance on this digital platform.

Ladder Life insurance coverage types

There are no options for other types of life insurance from Ladder Life outside of term life insurance, such as whole life or guaranteed issue life insurance. Life insurance for children is also not available through Ladder. However, applicants can apply for up to $8 million in term life coverage — one of the highest coverage limits on a 100% digital platform.

Only people applying for more than $3 million are subject to medical exams based on answers to the online application health questions. Ladder Life offers a unique approach to term life insurance, allowing customers to increase or decrease their coverage as needed throughout the duration of the policy term.

The companies issuing and underwriting Ladder Life policies have Excellent or better AM Best financial strength ratings and are well-known names in the life insurance industry. Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York issues policies in New York, while Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company issues policies for the rest of the country.

  • Term: Applicants can choose a term life insurance policy lasting 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years with Ladder. Coverage starts at a minimum of $100,000 and extends up to a limit of $8 million. The company takes a simplistic approach to term life insurance, with no riders or additional customizations available. Ladder term life insurance policies have an age limit of 60-years-old, meaning these policies will be best suited for younger, healthy individuals or families looking for fast approval and affordable coverage.

    Applicants may have to complete a medical exam if applying for over $3 million in coverage. Employers can also offer individual Ladder Life life insurance policies through Ladder @ Work. The same coverage amounts and underwriting requirements apply and if employees leave the company, they can take their Ladder Life life insurance policy with them.

Ladder Life services

Ladder partnered with SoFi to offer its members a quick and convenient way to purchase adequate life insurance, which has expanded to estate planning. SoFi members who purchase life insurance through the SoFi Protect homepage can now get a step-by-step guide to gathering estate planning documents with the ability to draft and execute wills at no cost through NetLaw’s legal document platform.

Other Ladder Life perks worth considering

Ladder Life’s goal is to provide ease and simplicity to policyholders, offering the option to get approved for term life insurance online in minutes. To help make insurance more accessible, its term life insurance coverage comes without additional perks, riders or other add-ons, aside from the ability to adjust your coverage as your needs change.

To help determine how much coverage you need, Ladder offers a life insurance calculator. You may also be able to speak with a customer service representative to discuss coverage recommendations for your term policy.

Ladder Life insurance customer and claims satisfaction

As a broker, Ladder Life does not hold an insurance license, so is not rated by companies like AM Best, J.D. Power or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. However, both Allianz Life Insurance Company and Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company have lower-than-average NAIC complaint index scores. Compared to the industry baseline of 1.0, Allianz’s complaint index is just 0.48 for individual life insurance while Fidelity’s is 0, meaning that both life insurers get fewer complaints compared to similar-sized insurers. Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York also has 0 complaints.

Both Allianz partners have an A (Excellent) AM best rating and Fidelity holds a rating of A+ (Superior). These financial strength ratings show each company has historically been able to satisfy its financial obligations to shareholders.

Ladder Life social responsibility

In 2019, Ladder Life donated 17,000 meals to Feeding America. This was an exceptional increase from its 2018 donation of just 250 meals. Although the company has limited publicity for its social responsibility endeavors, Ladder Life makes a point to prioritize the positive treatment of its employees.

Ladder Life has been included in Fortune’s Annual List of Best Workplaces for two straight years for 2020 and 2021, with 100% of employees naming it a great place to work based on culture, benefits and management actions. Ladder has also placed in the annual Best Places to Work Awards by Built In for 2022. Built In focuses on tech companies, determining winners based on benefits, compensation and programming.

Not sure if Ladder Life is right for you? Consider these alternatives

If you’re looking for different types of life insurance policies but are still interested in a digital insurance experience, you may find these companies worth investigating:

  • Bestow: Another digital life, Bestow offers up to $1.5 million in term life insurance without a medical exam.
  • Ethos: Ethos uses algorithmic underwriting to offer many instant life insurance approvals for term or whole life through five highly-rated life insurance companies.
  • Lemonade: Customers can apply for up to $1.5 million in term life insurance through a 100% digital platform, with leftover company profits donated annually to a charity of your choice.

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Written by
Mandy Sleight
Insurance Contributor
Mandy Sleight has been a licensed insurance agent since 2005. She has three years of experience writing for insurance websites such as Bankrate, MoneyGeek and The Simple Dollar. Mandy writes about auto, homeowners, renters, life insurance, disability and supplemental insurance products.
Edited by
Mariah Posey
Insurance Editor

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