Ashlyn Brooks is a finance writer with more than half a decade of experience, known for her knowledge in areas such as taxes, insurance, investing, retirement, finance news, and banking products.
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At a glance
Bankrate's take
Policyholders looking for a simple, uncomplicated term life or universal life insurance policy might consider Banner Life as their company of choice.
Offers some of the longest term lengths in the market, up to 40 years
Strong financial ratings from AM Best (A+ Superior)
Wide availability in 49 states and D.C.
Limited customization with fewer rider options
No whole life, guaranteed issue or final expense options
Banner Life insurance review
Banner Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Legal & General America, sells insurance in 49 states and Washington. D.C., while its sister company, William Penn Life Insurance, sells insurance in New York. This gives the company, as a whole, national reach, making it available no matter where you live in the U.S.
Banner Life offers several types of life insurance. Term life insurance, which gives you coverage for a set number of years, is available in terms of 10 to 40 years. Banner also offers universal life insurance, which is a type of permanent coverage designed to stay with you until death.
Term life insurance: Banner’s term life insurance policies can be purchased with terms up to 40 years, making it potentially a good choice if your insurance needs extend well into the future. Banner is one of the few insurers that offers policies for 40 years — most companies max out at 30. Term policyholders can also choose to exchange their policy for a permanent one with Banner’s conversion option. While conversion premiums increase due to permanent being more expensive, they won’t increase due to any potential health issues.
Permanent life insurance: Banner Life insurance also offers universal life, which is a type of permanent life insurance policy. Permanent life insurance offers lifelong coverage in most cases, as long as the premium is paid. Universal life is characterized by flexibility in both premium payments and death benefits. For instance, you can choose to pay more upfront and less in your retirement days or decrease your death benefit if your needs change. Although generally more expensive than term life insurance, universal life might be a good option if you need a flexible policy and long-term coverage.
Pros and cons of Banner Life life insurance
When considering life insurance options, it’s crucial to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each provider. In our Banner Life insurance review, we found several key pros and cons to help you make an informed decision about your coverage.
Pros
Sells term life insurance and universal life policies
35- and 40-year term length options
Offers retirement annuities
Some policies do not require medical exams
Cons
Not an extensive selection of riders
No whole life insurance, guaranteed issue or final expense insurance
Limited conversion options
Banner Life insurance riders
Depending on the type of Banner life insurance policy you have, you may have the option to customize it with different add-ons, called riders. Here are a few Banner Life riders you can consider:
Term riders: This rider provides an additional coverage amount on top of your base policy for a specific number of years. The rider term period must be shorter than the term of the base policy.
Child term rider: This rider offers coverage for all your children under age 18, with options for $5,000 or $10,000 in coverage for each eligible child. The coverage ends when they turn 25 unless converted to a permanent policy, which does not require a medical exam for your child.
Accelerated death benefit rider: This rider allows earlier payouts from your life insurance policy if the policyholder develops a terminal illness. It can be added to both permanent and term life insurance policies.
Waiver of premium rider: With this rider, Banner Life will waive all premiums due during total disability for qualifying policyholders.
Banner Life customer satisfaction
Selecting the right policy isn’t just about finding the cheapest life insurance premium. Reviewing third-party ratings can help you find a life insurance company offering quality customer service and financial stability. Banner scores well with agencies that monitor financial soundness. It has a Comdex score of 95 out of 100 and an AA- rating from Fitch and Standard & Poor’s.
J.D. Power has not reviewed Banner Life, possibly because it is grouped under the Legal & General America umbrella with other life insurance options. When J.D. Power does rank a company, its positioning is based on a 1,000-point scale. AM Best assesses and ranks insurance companies based on their creditworthiness using a grade scale from A to D.
Banner Life insurance customer complaints
Banner Life Insurance reviews are generally positive, and the company has a solid NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) complaint index score. Anything under 1.00 indicates that the company has fewer complaints made against it than the industry standard, and Banner’s score indicates that the company takes customer service seriously.
Compare life insurance providers quickly and easily
Answer a few questions to check availability with Banner Life
Please select age
The amount of coverage you need depends on many factors, including your age, income, mortgage and other debts and anticipated funeral expenses.
Please select Coverage amount
Whole life insurance combines life insurance with an investment component.
Coverage for life
Tax-deferred savings benefit if premiums are paid
3 variations of permanent insurance: whole life, universal life and variable life include investment component
Term life insurance is precisely what the name implies: an insurance policy that is good for a specific term of time.
Fixed premium over term
No savings benefits
Outliving policy or policy cancellation results in no money back
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Life insurance can be complicated. Consider first how much life insurance you need (Bankrate’s life insurance calculator can help), before shopping around for life insurance quotes. If you have complex insurance needs and Banner’s two policy options don’t seem like a good fit, you may want to consider these other companies, which offer a broader range of well-considered policies that may work better for your circumstances.
Banner Life vs. State Farm
State Farm offers a variety of life insurance products and sells home and auto insurance if you want to manage all of your insurance policies in one place. If strong customer service and policy options are a priority for you, it could be worth a look.
Also ranked highly on the J.D. Power Life Insurance study, Nationwide offers four types of life insurance along with riders such as long-term care. The company also has a network of local agents that could be helpful for finding personalized advice.
As a mutual company, Northwestern is owned by its policyholders. It offers participating whole life insurance, which has the potential to pay out dividends annually. The company also writes term life, whole life and universal life insurance.
Our insurance editorial team includes licensed agents with decades of combined experience, and we used our intimate knowledge of the industry to conduct this in-depth Banner Life insurance review.
46
years of industry expertise
122
carriers reviewed
20.7K
ZIP codes examined
1.2M
quotes analyzed
Is Banner Life a good insurance company?
To help you decide if Banner Life is a good option for you, Bankrate's insurance editorial team created a life insurance guide that can help answer your questions about life insurance and point you toward a policy that works for your needs, whether it is with Banner or another life insurance company. Banner has a limited range of products, which does not include whole life, the most common permanent life insurance product. The various types of life insurance have different benefits when used as part of an overall financial strategy, so it may be worthwhile to talk to a financial consultant about the best insurance for you. You may, however, want to get a quote from Banner to determine the life insurance cost if you are interested in term insurance or universal life options.
What are real-life customers saying about Banner Life?
To provide a more comprehensive view of Banner Life's customer experience, we sourced feedback from Reddit and Trustpilot. These platforms offer insights into how policyholders interact with Banner Life, highlighting its services' positive and negative aspects.
Overall, Reddit users mention that Banner Life could be a good option for those looking for the most affordable policies, but it might not be ideal for those seeking extensive options or premium customer service. Trustpilot reviews reflect mixed experiences; some customers appreciate the transparency and ease of the application process, while others feel that the policy details and options were not thoroughly discussed upfront.
Reddit User 1*
Aug 3, 2023
Good rates; slow process
“Banner tends to have excellent rates at Preferred Plus and Preferred rate classes. Their underwriting can be slow and getting a Preferred rate class with them means you must me in excellent health and family history. I stopped writing with them just out of frustration with their undertaking. Well rated carrier overall. Once you get past the underwriting, not much to complain about.”
“Legal & General- Banner Life is a great carrier, especially if you want fast and easy coverage with no "bells and whistles" like chronic and critical illness living benefits or an excellent conversion option. They can require you to complete an exam if they deem it necessary, i.e. if you have not had a checkup and blood test with your own Dr. in previous 18 months. They are A+ (Superior) AM Best rated and I would 100% buy a policy from Banner if they made me best offer, again, if living benefits and excellent conversion was not important to me.”
“I used their subsidiary Banner Life under Zander to purchase life insurance and because they are vetted by Dave Ramsay. The entire process from application to health exam to phone interview was quick and easy. I highly recommend them. They are transparent through every step and you trust that your family’s future is safe.”
“I believe all the provisions of the policy should be discussed upfront. Questions should be asked about exactly what the consumer is looking for. This experience was draining. You provided a basic policy without discussing any options with the consumer which led me to have weeks of discussions on what Banner could provide me. I should not have to wait until I receive the document to know exactly what coverage I'm getting.”
*The quotes and citations included on this page have been verified by our editorial team and are accurate as of the posting date. Outlinked content may contain views and opinions that do not reflect the views and opinions of Bankrate.
Banner Life company details
If you are needed to get in contact with Banner Life, here are a few ways to do so:
Mailing address: Legal & General America, 3275 Bennett Creek Avenue, Frederick, Maryland 21704
State availability
Banner Life is available in 49 and Washington D.C., and William Penn is available in New York.
Banner Life tools and benefits
If you’re looking for the best life insurance, it can help to evaluate the company as a whole. Here are some other unique features from Banner Life:
Annuities and retirement services: Banner helps you plan for retirement by offering annuities and retirement services, which pay out income after you are retired. There are several types to choose from, including life annuities, life annuities with cash refund, or installment refund and period certain annuities.
Informational website: Banner Life policyholders can find out more about the products they own by reviewing Banner’s extensive Articles & Guides section, which features information about insurance, money, technology and lifestyle issues.
Services for companies: Banner’s parent company, Legal & General America, offers pension risk transfer solutions to businesses.
Digital application: Apply online for insurance products with the company’s mobile-friendly app. Banner estimates that it takes 20 minutes or less to complete the digital application. Applying online allows for accelerated underwriting with quick approvals.
No-medical-exam options: Banner Life does offer an accelerated underwriting program that may mean you don’t need to submit to a medical exam. If approved, your rates will not be higher than if you had a medical exam, which is something that makes the company stand out. The company’s Lab Lift program also gives some clients the opportunity to submit health records from their own doctor or have a paramedical exam instead of an in-person doctor’s exam.
Frequently asked questions about Banner Life
Beneficiaries of a Banner life insurance policy can start a claim by going onto the company website or contacting the agent of record. When filing a claim, be sure to have an original copy of the Proof of Death Claimant's Statement, a certified copy of the insured’s death certificate and the original policy.
Banner Life promotes sustainability within its corporation and its employees. In 2023, through employees’ efforts and company matches, they raised over $884,900 through its Annual Charitable Giving Campaign. Banner Life also has an annual award celebration where employees are nominated based on their volunteerism. Additionally, its parent company Legal & General is a charter member of the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies Charitable Foundation and makes annual donations. Legal & General also participates in the Life Happens scholarship, which awards $20,000 scholarships to students who have lost a parent who had little or no life insurance.
On the environmental side, they have been recognized and rewarded for several years with the EPA’s Energy Star Certification award (2013-2023) and the Indoor Environmental Quality Certification (2014-2023). As a global company, they have extensive social and economic goals to create a more sustainable world.
Banner Life offers an accelerated or lab-free underwriting process for its life insurance policies. Applicants who are generally healthy, have regular physical exams, have no history of severe or chronic illness and don't use too many prescription medications are more likely to qualify for a no-exam policy. Banner Life states these policies may be issued as quickly as under 48 hours and do not have higher premiums than life insurance policies with traditional underwriting.
On the company’s website, Banner Life states that once the claim is approved, they process the payment to the beneficiary within one business day.
We strive to provide comprehensive reviews for as many companies as possible. However, some insurers do not receive a Bankrate Score. This can occur for a variety of reasons. For example, companies that utilize multiple underwriting partners for their policies may present challenges in assessing the overall quality of the coverage. Additionally, the personalized nature of life insurance rates, which depend heavily on individual health and lifestyle factors, can make applying a uniform rating system difficult. Consequently, certain insurers, including Banner Life, may not have a Bankrate Score.
Ashlyn Brooks is a finance writer with more than half a decade of experience, known for her knowledge in areas such as taxes, insurance, investing, retirement, finance news, and banking products.
