When looking for the best life insurance it is important to understand that there are over 800 life insurance companies in the United States as of 2017. With so many companies it can be easy to get overwhelmed. As a result, we have created various reviews of the best final expense and burial insurance companies in the marketplace.
2023 Review of 5 Star Life Insurance Company
Over the years, we have seen the introduction of some fantastic new life insurance companies that have gone on to join the biggest names at the top of the market. Often, the choice that we now have in the life insurance industry is seen as a negative but there are many reasons as to why this is wrong. Not only do you have options when it comes to finding the lowest price, there are numerous companies fighting to offer you the best life insurance policies out there.
For the most part, it is intimidation that exists for people looking for life insurance. However, this is an unnecessary feeling because you should be turning the sheer amount of choice in your favor. Recently, we have been reviewing some of the most famous life insurance companies in the industry so you can take back the control in your decisions. Today, we have 5 Star Life Insurance Company and we will take you through their official ratings, history, products, and more.
About 5 Star Life Insurance Company
Considering some of the oldest and most popular life insurance companies date back over a century and some even 150 years years, a company being founded in 1996 can be considered ‘young’. Although it has twenty years of experience now, it still cannot compare with its competitors in terms of time.
This being said, it isn’t an independent company but instead an enterprise from the Armed Forces Benefit Association (AFBA). With headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, the AFBA were founded in 1947 with more than a helping hand from Dwight D Eisenhower. Over time, the AFBA has been protecting those who serve the nation and the company is still growing even today. In the middle of the 1990s, they diversified into the life insurance market and haven’t looked back since.
Nowadays, the business has many different offices around the US and has around 800,000 people insured to their products. In total, this accounts for over $40 billion worth of insurance which means that the AFBA’s venture into life insurance can be considered a success. Using independent brokers, the company looks to focus on helping as many people as possible and is actually known for its flexibility in customizing insurance policies for clients.
Official Ratings
Whenever you look towards an insurance company, especially one that doesn’t boast the same history as some of the older insurers, it is very important to take a look at some of the official ratings. From this, you can see what sort of position they are in financially as well as how good they are towards customers. Ultimately, a company could offer the best products on the market at the very best rates but this all becomes useless if 65% of their customers have complained at some point.
A.M. Best Rating – As per normal, we will start with A.M. Best as this will tell us whether they are in a position to pay all claims that come their way. Back towards the end of 2015, 5 Star Life Insurance Company were awarded an ‘A-’ rating for the first time in their history. Not only did this grant them an ‘Excellent’ classification, it meant that they moved up to the fourth highest grade from a possible 16. Just three months later, in March 2016, this rating was reconfirmed and it looks as though the company will remain an ‘A’ company for some time to come and the only way is up.
BBB Rating – Next up, we have the rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Strangely, many large life insurance companies are not accredited but 5 Star Life Insurance Company is and has been since the beginning of 2003. Somewhat similar to the scale from A.M. Best, the BBB uses various different factors to come up with a grade between A+ and F. With a rating of ‘A’, it’s fair to say that you will have nothing to worry about with their treatment of customers and ability to resolve any problems that may occur.
According to the BBB, there has been a total of 20 complaints for the company in the last three years. Whilst over half of these relate to the products on offer, there were also complaints for billing, advertising, and the warranty. Aside from this small handful, 5 Star Life Insurance Company has built a happy customer base that continues to grow each and every year.
5 Star Life Insurance Policies
As you can imagine, 5 Star Life Insurance Company has a number of different policy options depending on your needs. As well as the basic policies, they allow insurance through employers and various supplemental products. In addition to this, they have become known for their final expense and critical illness policies in recent times since they are both simplified issue – this means that there is no medical examination required within the application process.
Silver Premium Choice Plan
As part of the Silver Premier Choice Plan – their main final expense burial insurance policy – there are two different types available.
With ‘graded’, the full coverage will not be available until two full years have passed. This means that the beneficiary will not receive the full death benefit if you were to pass within the first two years. However, the policy does pay out 30% of the death benefit in year one and 70% of the death benefit in year two.
There is also ‘preferred’ which sees the death benefit active from the very first day of coverage. With this policy, there is a maximum coverage amount of $25,000. As long as you are between the ages of 50 and 85, you will qualify for the policy.
Regardless of which one you choose, the premiums will remain fixed from the first day to the last as well as the death benefit.
Silver Premium Choice Plan snapshot:
- $5,000 – $25,000 face amounts
- Level death benefit
- Fixed premiums
- Cash value whole life insurance
Life Insurance Riders
Depending on which policy you choose, you may also have an option to add particular riders to the policy. If you have never heard of these before, they are small caveats that place certain conditions upon a policy. For an extra fee, the rider will be attached to the policy and come into effect whenever necessary.
Most commonly, people choose the spouse, critical illness, and employee’s children riders as they seem to have the largest benefit.
- Quality of Life – If the insured is involved in an accident or suffering from a chronic condition that needs constant attention, a certain percentage of the death benefit will come as an advance. If done correctly, around 75% of the death benefit can be received by the insured.
- Terminal Illness – With this rider on your policy, you will receive up to 30% of the death benefit if you were to be diagnosed with a terminal illness. Sometimes, there is confusion as to how this is measured and how they decide whether people qualify but it is normally achievable if you have been given a predicted lifespan of 12 months or less. In addition to a life-threatening type of cancer, this could also include strokes, heart attacks, and various other diagnoses.
- Waiver of Premium – Finally, another popular choice seems to be the waiver of premium which will see all premiums waived on a policy should you be disabled due to an accident or illness. However, it is important to note that you will need to wait six months before claiming.
Family Plan
Finally, we should also note their Family Protection Plan as this is another popular option. Although there is no medical exam nor a database check, there are some simple health questions to answer. However, the application is very simple and people can normally have their policy in place in under a week.
Up to the age of 100 years, the premiums will remain level and there is a critical illness rider built in to the policy automatically. As the name suggests, this policy allows the addition of children and perhaps even grandchildren.
Pros to Choosing 5 Star Life
As with all life insurance companies, there are some benefits to choosing 5 Star Life Insurance Company and this starts with the lack of medical examination. If you have previously been declined by another company, you will have a great opportunity for coverage here since they don’t always ask questions and you can avoid the medical exam.
Furthermore, you also have a good choice for coverage which is something that cannot be said for all insurers. Since the company seems to place a lot of emphasis on their final expense option, we should concentrate on this too. With coverage of up to $25,000, this should be more than enough to cover the average funeral costs, medical bills, and any other expenses that may arise.
Also, the riders available give you a little freedom and control over your policy. If you were to come down with an illness or be involved with an unfortunate accident, these riders will ensure that you can receive some money early or that the premiums will be waived for a certain period of time. Although this will cause an increase in your premiums or upfront costs, they provide peace of mind and keep you in a strong position moving forward.
Drawbacks
So you can get the full picture and make wise decisions, we also have some drawbacks to choosing 5 Star Life Insurance Company. Firstly, it is important to note that they are a much smaller company and brand name than some of your other options. With this, you might not have the same level of support or long-term security. This being said, 5 Star Life Insurance Company are growing each year, their financial ratings are always improving, and you could see the size as a benefit because they can give you more attention than the multinational businesses.
Finally, we should also note that they have one main focus – final expense policies. If you are currently well below the lower age limit or are looking for a more extensive coverage option, 5 Star Life Insurance Company might not be for you. As we always say, it always comes down to your needs as to whether or not you choose this provider.
5 Star Life Review Conclusion
All in all, 5 Star Life Insurance Company is growing seemingly by the day so it does now represent a solid choice. However, the best route to take when looking for the right coverage is to contact an agency that can shop around to find you the best product and features. Give JustBuryMe a call today!