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If you have dependents — others who rely on your income, whether that's children, a spouse, or aging parents — you probably need life insurance. The good news is that with the rise of online companies that sell life insurance, it's not nearly as hard as it sounds to get hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars in life insurance to protect your family should you die unexpectedly.
Bestow is one of those companies.
Types of Life Insurance Plans from Bestow
Bestow Bestow Life is an online company with the mission of "helping people protect their people." It connects customers with North American Company for Life and Health Insurance®. However, all quotes are done online with a short quoting process followed by a basic application.
Bestow offers term life insurance plans that are valid for a specific period of time. Term life insurance, as opposed to whole or permanent life insurance, may offer larger death benefits for lower rates. However, the policy eventually expires. Some companies offer conversion options to go permanent. Bestow does not.
Bestow life insurance policies can be as long as 30 years with limits of $1.5 million for qualifying applicants. Because the value expires, term life insurance monthly premiums are lower than permanent plans. However, the long-term cost is higher. All Bestow plans we saw have fixed payments for the term you choose.
Additional Coverage Options
Many life insurance companies offer riders to customize coverage. Guaranteed conversion riders, accelerated death benefit, and other upgrades are common for many term companies. It's a simple way for term life insurance companies to give customers peace of mind. In short, your plan may expire, but the company will ensure you can convert. Remember guaranteed conversion does not guarantee your rates at that time or the amount of coverage you'll qualify for.
Similarly, an accelerated death benefit rider allows buyers to withdraw money to pay for medical bills and other costs in the event of a terminal illness. However, it does not allow buyers to use term policies as investment vehicles or enjoy other early withdrawal options.
Bestow does not offer any riders to customize policies or offer peace of mind. Some financial experts may recommend cheap term policies if that's your only option (it's better than nothing). But even relatively new financial professionals may hesitate to recommend a policy virtually guaranteed to expire with no additional protection.
How Much Does Bestow Life Insurance Cost?
Bestow offers 10 to 30-year term life insurance plans. Coverage limits may range from $100,000 to $1.5 million. When we quoted a healthy 33-year-old female buyer with no nicotine use, we got a sliding scale. On the high side, a 30-year $1.5 million policy would cost $103.52 per month. On the low end, a $100,000 10-year policy would cost $9.93 per month. Costs would decrease for younger buyers who are also non-nicotine users. Likewise, costs rise with age, nicotine use, excess weight, and other factors.
Inevitably, a term life insurance policy does expire if you outlive the term. Expert estimates suggest that 99% of term life insurance policies never pay a benefit. Without any riders offering safeguards or conversion options, any money you spend on Bestow policies will be unlikely to be paid out at any point. It's an uncommon life insurance product that resembles other types of insurance (auto, home, etc.) rather than the increasingly popular investment vehicles you might find with other life insurance companies.
How to File a Claim
Beneficiaries can file a claim via Bestow's online claim form. It requests the deceased's name, date of birth, date of death, cause of death, manner of death, and the country the death occurred in. It may ask other questions. So we recommend having your ducks in a row to make the claims process as simple as possible.
For example, beneficiaries should also have things like the deceased's social security number and last address. If you're buying a Bestow policy, make sure your information is up-to-date and share it with beneficiaries.
Bestow Life Insurance FAQs
Bestow has a long history of providing term life insurance products. It has an A+ (Superior) rating with AM Best, meaning the company will likely be around for decades to come. However, it only offers term life insurance policies with no option to convert to permanent life insurance, meaning the likelihood of it paying claims is low.
Many life insurance companies offer online calculators. We recommend talking to a licensed insurance agent. Agents can advise you on common issues for people of your age, familial status, etc. Then you can get a customized quote that makes sense for you.
Seniors have more limited life insurance options compared to 20-year-olds. Some companies only offer small death benefit policies. But even small policies have significant benefits for funeral and other costs.
Your college years are one of the best times to buy life insurance. You may qualify for small no-medical exam policies. Qualification will be easier if you want a larger policy, and monthly premiums are naturally lower.
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State Farm Life Insurance
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USAA Life Insurance
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New York Life Insurance
Compare Bestow Life Insurance vs. State Farm
Bestow focuses on term life insurance products with minimal hassle. The average buyer can get a quote in seconds with easy answers. State Farm Life Insurance customers must speak to a State Farm life insurance agent to get a quote and bind their policy. However, State Farm offers a full portfolio of term, whole, and other permanent life insurance products.
State Farm's policies are often bundled with its auto, home, and other insurance products. So buyers enjoy discounts while also choosing a policy that makes sense for their family. It has riders such as an accelerated death benefit option. State Farm's life insurance products are relatively modest. So you won't find multi-million dollar investment policies for a comfortable retirement. But policyholders can enjoy the benefits of a whole or other permanent life insurance plan while they're still alive. More importantly for some, as long as you make the scheduled payments, your beneficiaries will have a guaranteed death benefit regardless of when you pass away.
Compare Bestow Life Insurance vs. USAA
USAA Life Insurance has traditionally sold only to military members and their families. Its life insurance is available to the general public with underwriting restrictions for preexisting conditions, age, and other factors. Like State Farm, its policies are modestly sized while offering some level of permanence. Importantly, USAA is the only life insurance company we've heard of offering life insurance for active duty military members. Unlike military group coverage, USAA's life insurance follows you even after you separate from the military.
Again, Bestow only offers bare-bones term life insurance policies. Even when comparing term policies exclusively, USAA offers limits up to $10 million for qualified buyers with universal (permanent) life insurance plans with limits of $50,000 and up. The primary benefit of Bestow is its quick application process, which may not matter when looking at the long-term implications of larger term and permanent options with USAA.
Compare Bestow Life Insurance vs. New York Life
New York Life Insurance is known for its knowledgeable life insurance agents and comprehensive investment, retirement, and death benefit options. It offers term and permanent life insurance products, many of which are much larger than Bestow's largest term life insurance options. As buyers have to speak to a New York Life agent, the application process is extended. However, knowledgeable agents can get to the root of buyers' needs to find a life insurance product that makes sense for them. In the long-term, this could translate to happier buyers and greater use.
New York Life would be the only company between the two for buyers who are looking for retirement planning and other financial planning options while they're still alive.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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