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Ethos Life Insurance Review: Term and Whole Life Insurance With No Medical Exam Required

Review Updated
Christy Bieber
By: Christy Bieber
Christy Bieber
Christy Bieber
Writer

Christy Bieber is a full-time personal finance and legal writer with more than a decade of experience. She has a JD from UCLA as well as a degree in English, Media and Communications with a Certificate in Business Management from the University of Rochester. In addition to writing for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, her work has also been featured regularly on MSN Money, CNBC, and USA Today. She also ghost writes textbooks, serves as a subject matter expert for online course design, and is a former college instructor.

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Our Insurance Expert

Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.

This life insurer is a good fit for: Consumers who want term or whole life coverage they can apply for online without a medical exam.

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Ethos
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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Full Ethos review

Pros

  • Easy online application process
  • Consumers have multiple coverage options
  • 30-day money back guarantee

Cons

  • Whole life coverage limits are low
  • Not everyone qualifies for coverage without an exam
  • Limited options for riders

Ethos life insurance at a glance

  • Average costs: $40 to $75 for 35-year-old female in excellent health who is not a smoker purchasing $500,000 in coverage for a 30-year term or $49 to $95 for 35-year-old male in excellent health who is not a smoker purchasing $500,000 in coverage for a 30-year term
  • Whole life policy limits: $1,000 - $30,000
  • Riders/Add-ons: Accelerated death benefit
  • Eligibility: Ages 20 to 65 for term life and 65 to 85 for whole life insurance coverage
  • Discounts available: None.
  • Other insurances offered: None

Top perks

Easy online application

Ethos offers consumers the option to get life insurance coverage through a simple online application process. Many applicants can get insured without a medical exam. Cover is typically available the same day through Ethos, rather than after a lengthy process. And, agents are available to offer help if needed.

Multiple coverage options

Ethos offers both whole and term life insurance coverage, giving consumers multiple options. Some competitors that offer a simplified online purchasing experience focus only on term life coverage and do not provide options for seniors looking for whole life policies.

Money back guarantee

Ethos offers a 30-day money back guarantee. For consumers who are unhappy with their coverage for any reason, a full refund is available. Policies can also be canceled with no fees at any time.

What could be improved

Higher limits for whole life insurance coverage

Ethos offers only a very limited amount of life insurance coverage. Seniors aged 66 to 85 can purchase between $1,000 and $30,000 in coverage. Other insurers offering guaranteed issue coverage have higher policy limits.

Pricing

The following price estimates are based on quotes from Ethos when using information for 35-year-old male and females in good health who are and are not smokers who want to purchase a $500,0000 policy with a 30-year term.

COST POLICYHOLDER
$40 to $75 35-year-old female in excellent health who is not a smoker purchasing $500,000 in coverage for a 30-year term
$49 to $95 35-year-old male in excellent health who is not a smoker purchasing $500,000 in coverage for a 30-year term
$70 to $193 35-year-old female in excellent health who smokes purchasing $500,000 in coverage for a 30-year-term
$95 to $277 35-year-old male in excellent health who smokes purchasing $500,000 in coverage for a 30-year-term
Data source: Ethos.

Alternatives to consider

If you want a life insurer who offers more whole life insurance coverage options: Northwestern Mutual offers more options for whole life insurance, including policies with higher death benefits. But, keep in mind, Northwestern Mutual typically requires a medical exam for most policies.

Read Northwestern Mutual review

If you want a life insurer with an online application process and cheaper premiums: Bestow has a similar all-digital approach to Ethos, but its premiums are slightly cheaper for the scenarios we tested, especially for smokers. Bestow also provides a more specific quote for insurance shoppers, rather than a range of pricing. However, Bestow only offers term life insurance -- there are no whole life options.

Read Bestow review

Policy options

Term life coverage

Ethos offers term life insurance with policies lasting 10, 15, 20, or 30 years. With term life insurance, a policy pays out only if the policyholder dies during the coverage term. Term policies are available from Ethos with death benefits ranging between $200,000 and $2 million.

Whole life coverage

Whole life coverage is available from Ethos to seniors ages 66 to 85. Whole life policies remain in effect indefinitely so the death benefit always pays out. The policies are guaranteed issue, so they are available regardless of health status. There is, however, up to a three-year waiting period after purchasing coverage before the full death benefit becomes available. Policies offer between $1,000 and $30,000 in coverage.

Riders/add-ons

Accelerated death benefit

Ethos offers a very limited number of riders. Some policies offer the option to add an accelerated death benefit rider. This enables the policy to pay out early when certain triggering events happen, such as diagnosis of a terminal illness.

Application process

Ethos has a simple online application process. Consumers can get a quote by providing their birth year, gender, information about their health, an estimate of their credit, and details on nicotine use.

Those who want to move forward will answer a few additional questions, including providing full contact information, and can get approved within minutes in most cases. However, a limited number of people, including those who want higher coverage limits, may need to go through a full underwriting process.

For most applicants, coverage is available the same day.

Who is eligible for Ethos life insurance?

Individuals between the ages of 20 and 65 can get term life insurance through Ethos if they are in good health. And seniors between the ages of 65 and 85 are eligible for whole life insurance coverage from Ethos regardless of health status.

Customer service and ratings

Ethos received an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and received 4.82 out of 5 stars among customer reviews on the BBB website.

This life insurer is a good choice for:

Ethos is best suited for people who:

  • Prefer an online application process
  • Want term life insurance or a small amount of whole life insurance coverage
  • Don't need a lot of customizable coverage options

But you may want to consider Northwestern Mutual if you want whole life coverage with higher policy limits or Bestow if you want slightly cheaper premium prices.