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Banner Life Insurance Review
By Stephanie Colestock MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Since 1982, Banner Life has been an acting subsidiary of Legal & General America. The company underwrites term and universal life insurance policies in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Banner has more than 1.5 million policyholders across the United States with over $6.8 billion in assets. They offer term coverage for as little as $7 per month, with 40-year policies up to $10 million.
Keep reading to learn more about Banner Life, the life insurance coverage options they offer, and how to decide whether this carrier is right for you.
Banner life insurance overview
Legal & General America — which is currently the seventh-largest insurer in the world — is an umbrella company with more than 70 years of experience. It underwrites and issues policies under two life insurance provider names: Banner Life and William Penn Life Insurance Company. William Penn issues policies in New York state, while Banner Life provides policies in the other 49 states and DC.
Banner Life’s roots date back to 1949 when the company was known as GELICO; the name was officially changed to Banner Life in 1983. In 2011, Banner Life and Willian Penn joined forces as unified carriers under the Legal & General brand. They now serve a combined 1.5 million life insurance customers and boast top financial strength ratings from three separate rating agencies.
Banner’s services
Banner Life offers both universal and term insurance coverage to customers in all states except New York. A number of life insurance riders and features are available, providing additional protection at a competitive price.
What it offers
You can purchase both term life insurance and universal policies from Banner Life, depending on how long you want your coverage to last and what your budget allows for premiums.
Term life policies give you temporary coverage for a set number of years, with a premium that remains the same for the duration of the policy term. If you pass away during that coverage period, your beneficiaries will receive the death benefit from your policy. If you don’t pass away before your policy term expires, your loved ones won’t receive any benefits and you won’t be refunded for any premiums paid.
Banner Life term life policies are offered with:
- 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, or 40 years of coverage
- A death benefit ranging from $100,000 to $10 million
Depending on your age, no-exam insurance coverage may be available.
Certain term riders are also available. These policy add-ons give you and your beneficiaries added protection for a small increase in your premium. Optional term riders include:
- Term coverage riders — This allows you to hold additional term life insurance coverage for a specific period of time. Once this rider term expires, the coverage will drop off of your policy but the base coverage will remain. This could be beneficial if you have, say, 10 years remaining on your home mortgage loan, but want to buy a 40-year term policy. You could add a 10-year term rider to your 40-year policy, giving your loved ones extra protection until your mortgage is paid off.
- Child riders — This allows you to add protection for all of your children through age 25, without needing to purchase a separate policy. Children’s riders offer a smaller, limited death benefit.
- Waiver of premium rider – If you become disabled, this rider covers your monthly premiums for you through the remainder of your policy term, while keeping your coverage intact.
Banner life insurance coverage
| What is covered | What is not covered |
| Accidental death | Disability |
| Homicide | Dismemberment |
| Death due to illness or injury | Suicide (within the first two years) |
| Suicide (after the second year) |
Term and universal life coverage financially protect your loved ones if you pass away, whether as the result of an injury, illness, homicide, disease, accident, or even suicide (exclusions do apply). As long as your policy is in effect and in good standing when you die, your beneficiaries will receive the policy’s death benefit.
These funds are non-taxable and can be used to cover household expenses, medical bills, final expenses, and future life events, or simply to leave a legacy.
Universal life coverage is a type of permanent life insurance that also offers a cash benefit. This lifetime coverage will follow you for as long as you continue making premium payments and will never expire. A portion of the monthly premiums goes toward building an interest-bearing cash benefit, which can actually be withdrawn prior to your death if you decide to cancel the policy.
What it doesn’t offer
There are limitations to all life insurance policies and Banner Life is no different.
Most term life insurance policies are subject to a two-year contestability period. If you die within the first two years your policy is in effect, the carrier has the right to contest the claim if they have reason to believe you weren’t forthcoming in the application process or that the death was suspicious.
For example, if you pass away from lung cancer a year after buying the policy, but told the carrier that you had no health concerns and were a non-smoker, they may want to further investigate the claim before paying out a death benefit to your beneficiaries. This two-year contestability also applies to suicide; if you were to end your own life before that time, your beneficiaries’ claim would be denied.
There also aren’t any accelerated death benefits offered by Banner Life, such as a terminal illness rider. Your policy’s benefit can only be accessed if you pass away or, in the case of permanent coverage, if you cash out and close your policy.
Banner life insurance cost
Term life insurance policies are generally the most affordable form of comprehensive coverage. Depending on your specific factors, you could buy a policy for as little as $7 per month.
Your premiums are determined by your:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Occupation
- Health conditions and history
- Family medical history
- Tobacco, alcohol, and drug use
Of course, your premiums will also vary depending on how much coverage you need and how long you want the policy to be in effect.
Let’s say you’re a 35-year-old woman in great health with no known medical conditions and no history of smoking. You want to protect your family with $400,000 in term life coverage. Here’s an idea of what you might pay with Banner Life.
| Years | Cost per month | Cost per year |
| 10 | $13.86 | $166.32 |
| 20 | $19.97 | $239.64 |
| 30 | $31.92 | $383.04 |
| 40 | $62.20 | $746.40 |
If your kids will be grown and out of the house in 10 years, you might only need a shorter policy. In this case, you could buy coverage for less than $14 a month, which would protect your family for as long as your kids are minors.
On the other hand, you could choose to purchase coverage that lasts well into your older years, buying a 40-year term period that follows you through age 75. This coverage is a bit more expensive each month but will protect your kids, spouse, and other loved ones for decades to come.
Universal life coverage costs
Banner Life does not offer online quotes for universal life coverage, so you’ll need to work with a life insurance agent to see which options and prices are available for your specific needs. Any form of permanent life insurance is more expensive than the same coverage with a term policy, as it cannot expire and follows you for life (or as long as you keep making payments). This feature, combined with the cash value that builds on the policy, might make Banner Life universal life insurance coverage the right pick for you.
Banner’s credentials
Banner Life and its parent company, Legal & General, hold top ratings from a number of different agencies and regulatory authorities.
Regulatory or legal actions
Banner Life currently holds an A+ (Superior) rating for financial strength from AM Best. This indicates that Banner Life is a financially stable carrier, and is likely to remain solvent if your loved ones ever need to file a claim in the future.
Banner Life also holds an AA- (Very strong) rating from both Fitch’s and Standard & Poor’s, two of the very best credit rating agencies in the world.
Banner’s accessibility
Banner Life is offered in nearly every state as well as the District of Columbia. The carrier’s website can be accessed at any time. Banner provides both phone and email support for new and existing customers.
Availability
Legal & General America is headquartered in Frederick, Maryland. Banner Life does not have any brick-and-mortar locations that you can visit.
The carrier offers policies to customers in 49 states (minus New York) and DC. Their presence is primarily online, where you can get a term life insurance quote or request to speak with an agent to finalize your policy.
Contact information
If you need to contact Banner Life, you can do so:
- By phone — Representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm ET, by calling 800-638-8428
- By email — Submit inquiries to customerservice@bannerlife.com
- Via online form — Once you have a free quote online, you can enter your email address and phone number to request that an agent reach out directly
User experience
Some carriers allow you to get policy quotes and purchase coverage entirely online. While Banner Life does offer online term life quotes, you will need to speak with a representative to finalize your policy. They also don’t offer universal life quotes online.
Limitations
At this time, Banner Life does not offer online live chat and doesn’t have local branches. Customer service teams are also only available by phone from 8am to 5pm five days a week.
Banner’s customer satisfaction
Banner Life seems to sit in the middle of the road in terms of customer satisfaction: they don’t have a large number of consumer complaints but they also aren’t listed as a top carrier in industry surveys.
Customer complaints
Banner Life received a complaint index of just 0.12 in 2021 from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The national standard complaint index is 1.00 for any company, once adjusted for factors like market share. An index of 0.12 indicates that Banner Life received far fewer consumer complaints than expected for its size and number of policies.
Third-Party ratings
Banner Life was not listed on the 2022 JD Power & Associates annual U.S. Individual Life Insurance & Individual Annuity Studies. This survey is highly respected and polls consumers to determine which carriers provide the best value, customer service, life insurance products, pricing, and interactions.
Exclusion from the JD Power survey doesn’t mean that Banner Life has poor third-party ratings, but it does mean that consumers didn’t consider it to be one of their top-ranked carriers.
Banner life insurance vs. the competition
Curious about how Banner Life measures up to other comparable life insurance carriers?
| Banner | Holstein | New York | AIG | |
| Coverage | $100,000 to $10 million | $10,000 to $150,000 | $100,000 to $2 million | |
| Term | 10 to 40 years | 5 to 20 years | Through age 80 | 10 to 20 years |
| Monthly cost | As low as $7/mo | No online quotes offered | As low as $13/mo | As low as $14/mo |
| Eligible ages | 18+ | 50-74 for term life coverage | 18 to 75 years |
To learn more about these companies, be sure to also check out our New York life insurance review and AIG review.
Banner life insurance FAQs
How we evaluated Banner life insurance
To evaluate Banner Life insurance company’s products and services, we considered a variety of criteria. We looked at factors such as the policies offered and where they are available. We also considered the policy coverage limits and term lengths, any optional riders offered, and whether customers could buy a policy online or without a medical exam. Lastly, we looked at the carrier’s regulatory status, third-party reviews, and consumer feedback to understand how they perform in the industry.
Summary of Miami Herald’s Banner review
- Term and universal life insurance policies available in 49 states and DC (excluding New York)
- Up to $10 million in life insurance coverage with terms as long as 40 years
- No exam coverage available to applicants under 50 or those who meet certain criteria
- Policies offered for as little as $7 per month
To learn more about your life insurance options or to find the right policy for you, be sure to visit our list of the best life insurance companies.
Stephanie Colestock is a DC-based personal finance writer with nearly 11 years of freelance writing experience. She covers a wide range of finance-related topics and is currently working toward her CFP®️ certification. Her work appears on sites such as Business Insider, MSN, Fox Business, CNET, Investopedia, and more.