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Primerica Life Insurance Review
By Jamela Adam MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Thinking about purchasing term life insurance for yourself or a loved one but don’t know where to start? Consider looking into Primerica — a life insurance company specializing in policies with a specific end date, also known as term life insurance. In this review, we’ll dive deep into Primerica’s product offerings, how their policies work, and what sets them apart from the competition.
Primerica life insurance overview
Primerica is a life insurance company that has been in business since 1977. Based in Duluth, Georgia, the company offers term life insurance to customers across the nation (including Guam and Puerto Rico) and Canada. With over four decades of service, Primerica has insured more than 5 million people across North America.
Primerica’s services
Primerica offers two types of term life insurance: TermNow and Custom Advantage. These policies both have a term duration of up to 35 years and are renewable until age 95 without needing a new application or health exam. There are also no terror or war exclusion clauses on either policy, which means beneficiaries can receive full benefits when an insured is killed in war or by acts of terrorism.
What it offers
Here’s a closer look at Primerica life insurance’s products to help you find the most suitable plan for your particular situation.
TermNow: TermNow is Primerica’s no medical exam life insurance policy. Instead of making applicants go through the traditional underwriting process, this policy uses quick data checks so applicants can obtain coverage faster (sometimes within minutes.) Keep in mind that TermNow’s coverage is limited to $300,000.
Custom Advantage: Unlike TermNow, this policy requires a medical exam and has a more complicated underwriting process that can take up to a few weeks. However, this extra time and effort could be worth it since qualifying applicants can often receive over $1 million in coverage. So if you need better financial protection and peace of mind, Custom Advantage could be worth considering.
Add-ons:
Primerica also offers a variety of riders you can add to your policy to customize your coverage.
- Terminal illness benefit rider: This rider allows you to receive the lesser of 40% of the death benefit or $250,000 when you’re still alive — provided that you were diagnosed with a terminal illness.
- Waiver of premium: With a waiver of premium rider, you can pause your premium payments if you experience a qualifying disability and cannot work.
- Child rider: This rider provides term coverage for the eligible children in your household.
- Increasing benefit rider: If you’re under age 56, the increasing benefit rider allows you to increase your death benefit by 10% each year for up to ten years.
Primerica life insurance coverage
| Term life insurance options | Coverage | Term lengths | Issue ages | Mandatory medical exam |
| Custom Advantage | $15,000 to over $1 million for qualifying applicants | 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 years | 18 to 70 years old | Yes |
| TermNow | Up to $250,000 ($300,000 for applicants younger than 45 years old) | 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 years | 18 to 70 years old | No |
What it doesn’t offer
Because Primerica only specializes in term life insurance, they don’t offer whole life insurance, universal life insurance, or permanent life insurance. So if you’re looking for more long-term coverage, Primerica’s products might not meet your needs. Also, the company’s term life policies do not build cash value or pay dividends, which isn’t ideal for those looking to build value or get returns from their life insurance policy.
Lastly, Primerica doesn’t have an online application. To apply for TermNow or Custom Advantage, you’ll have to go through their insurance agents.
Primerica life insurance cost
Primerica life insurance doesn’t provide pricing information on their website. The only way to determine how much your premiums will cost is to contact their licensed representatives. You can find a Primerica representative in your area by clicking the “contact a representative” button on the company’s homepage.
Primerica’s credentials
A life insurance company’s credentials help us determine whether it could deliver reliable coverage for its customers. We considered Primerica’s licenses, registrations, awards, certifications, and history of regulatory actions to gauge their trustworthiness.
Licenses and registrations
Primerica’s NMLS number is 1723477. NMLS, which stands for National Multistate Licensing System, is a standardized licensing and tracking system of financial services in the United States. We used the NMLS Consumer Access service to verify that Primerica is authorized to conduct business in each state.
Awards and certifications
Primerica has received various awards and recognition. Here are some of them:
- Forbes Top 50 Most Trustworthy U.S. Companies in 2015
- Bloomberg Gender-Quality Index in 2020, 2021, and 2022
- Forbes Best In-State Insurance Companies in 2021
- Fortune 1000 in 2020
- Forbes America’s Best Insurance Companies in 2022
Regulatory or legal actions
We scoured the internet and couldn’t find any legal actions against Primerica, which suggests that they’ve been compliant with laws and regulations in the states they operate.
Primerica’s accessibility
Customer service responsiveness, user experience, and availability of products or services can all affect a customer’s satisfaction level. We evaluated Primerica’s accessibility based on these factors to see effortless it is for their customers to get the help they need.
Availability
Primerica offers term life insurance nationwide (including Puerto Rico and Guam), but you’ll need to contact their local licensed representatives to apply for or purchase a policy. Besides the U.S., the company also has locations in all Canadian provinces and territories.
Contact information
To contact Primerica regarding general policy information, policy changes, and cancellations, call 1-800-257-4725 or email plic@primerica.com. To file claims, you can call 1-888-893-9858 or email us_lifeclaims@primerica.com.
Another way to contact Primerica is through sending a physical mail. Their mailing address is Primerica Life Insurance Company, 1 Primerica Parkway, Duluth, GA 30099.
User experience
Primerica fails to provide the same quality website user experience that its competitors do. Navigation is clunky, and finding the information you need can be challenging. Plus, there aren’t many product details available on their website. Instead, you must contact Primerica’s licensed representatives by phone or email to learn more about the insurance policies.
However, unlike the website, Primerica’s online client portal is much more user-friendly. You can easily access various financial guidance tools from the dashboard, update your contact information, download your policy, and contact Primerica representatives.
Limitations
Primerica falls short in several areas when it comes to accessibility. First, the company doesn’t have a 24/7 live chat tool on the website for customers to get instant help when they need it. Furthermore, their customer support hours for telephone or email inquiries are nowhere to be found. This inconvenience can be frustrating for customers since it limits their options when they have pressing concerns about their policy.
And perhaps the biggest limitation of Primerica is its lack of transparency. While most life insurance companies offer quick access to pricing estimates online, Primerica requires customers to get in touch with an agent to learn more about pricing and detailed product information. This extra step can be a hindrance for those not willing to commit one-on-one time with Primerica agents.
Primerica’s customer satisfaction
A company’s customer satisfaction level is one of the most important factors to consider when shopping for life insurance. After all, subpar customer service can quickly ruin your experience and cause major headaches. With that in mind, we evaluated Primerica life insurance’s customer satisfaction to see how their policyholders feel about the service they’ve received.
Customer complaints
Customers filed 168 complaints against Primerica in the past three years, many regarding payment issues, the company’s cancellation policy, and lack of communication. However, it’s worth noting that Primerica has resolved 100% of these complaints by suggesting practical resolutions.
We also considered the NAIC complaint index to help us objectively assess Primerica’s customer satisfaction. This complaint index by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners compares a company’s performance to its competitors in the market. An index of above 1 indicates that a company has received more complaints than expected, given its size. And an index below 1 shows that the company has fewer complaints than expected, given its size.
In the past three years, Primerica’s NAIC complaint index has stayed within the range of 0.33 to 0.36, which shows that the company has received significantly fewer complaints than similar businesses.
Third-Party ratings
Primerica has garnered an impressive A+ (superior) rating from AM Best, one of the largest credit rating agencies in the world. This high rating suggests that Primerica is a reliable and financially-stable business.
However, Primerica was ranked number 18 (out of 21 companies) in the 2021 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study by J.D.Power — a global leader in consumer insights. This study measured overall customer satisfaction based on five factors: Communication, interaction, price, product offerings, and statements.
Primerica vs. the competition
| Primerica | State Farm | Mutual of Omaha | |
| AM best rating | A+ | A++ | A+ |
| J.D. Power Ranking | 18 | 1 | 5 |
| Online application | Unavailable | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Types of insurance | Term life | Term life, universal life, final expense, whole life | Term life, whole life, universal life |
| Term life insurance lengths | 10,15, 20, 25, 30, or 35 years | 10, 20, or 30 years | 10, 15, 20, or 30 years |
Though Primerica offers great term life insurance options and add-ons, their competitors like Mutual of Omaha may provide more comprehensive life insurance products that better suit your needs. Check out our recent Mutual of Omaha Life Insurance Review to see how this company stacks up against Primerica.
Primerica life insurance FAQs
Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Primerica life insurance to help you better understand how it works.
To provide an unbiased review of Primerica life insurance, we assessed the company based on five factors: product offerings, customer satisfaction, accessibility, credentials, and pricing transparency. Since these are all crucial aspects to consider when shopping for life insurance, we looked carefully at each one so our readers can make an informed decision about whether Primerica is right for them.
Summary of Miami Herald’s Primerica review
While Primerica has an impressive financial strength rating and fewer customer complaints than companies its size, its lack of pricing transparency and limited range of products might be a deal-breaker for potential customers. Despite these drawbacks, Primerica is still well worth considering for those who only need term life insurance and are willing to go through an agent to purchase it.
Before committing to Primerica, we encourage you to shop around and compare different life insurance policies. Perform your due diligence by researching each company’s credentials and checking online reviews. And finally, don’t forget to read the fine print before signing on the dotted line.
