Prudential Life Insurance Review: Wide Array of Term Policies With Customizable Riders

This life insurer is a good fit for: Policyholders looking for term and universal policies with a variety of life insurance riders so they can customize coverage.

• Average costs: $52.31/month for a 30-year $500,000 policy for a healthy 35-year-old male
• Term life policy limits: $100,000 to $1 million for SimplyTerm life insurance
• Whole life policy limits: N/A
• Riders/Add-ons: Accidental death benefit and terminal illness for SimplyTerm
• Eligibility: SimplyTerm coverage available for consumers ages 18 to 75
• Discounts available: N/A
• Other insurance offered: Health insurance

Top perks

A wide variety of options for support

Prudential offers multiple options for those in need of customer support. Consumers can meet with an advisor in person, or get support via phone. It's also possible to get instant term life insurance quotes online and to manage various aspects of a life insurance account online.

Customizable policies

Prudential offers many choices for customizing life insurance coverage. It has over 13 different riders consumers can add:

• BenefitAccess Rider
• Survivorship BenefitAccess Rider
• Living Needs Benefit
• Waiver of Premium
• Enhanced Disability Benefit Rider
• Waiver of Monthly Deductions
• Children's Protection Rider
• Children Level Term Rider
• Accidental Death Benefit
• Overloan Protection Rider
• Enhanced Cash Value Rider
• Guaranteed Policy Split Rider
• Estate Protection Rider

Not all riders are available with all policies, but the wide variety of options ensures consumers can get exactly the coverage they need.

Coverage available even with some chronic conditions

Prudential is one of few insurers that allows coverage for people diagnosed with certain conditions, including HIV. Many competitors exclude coverage for those who have chronic ailments before getting insured.

What could be improved?

Better customer service

In J.D. Power's Life Insurance Customer Satisfaction survey for 2022, Prudential ranked below average for overall customer satisfaction. Prudential was ranked No. 11 with a score of 773 out of 1000. The industry average score was 774.

A wider selection of insurance options

Prudential offers term life insurance; and several types of universal life insurance including indexed and variable universal life coverage. It also offers health insurance. But it doesn't offer other types of policies such as whole life coverage, home insurance, or auto insurance.

This means customers who want to address all their insurance needs with the same carrier -- or who hope to bundle coverage to qualify for discounts -- will need to look elsewhere. Competitors such as Geico and State Farm offer far more coverage types.

Prudential offers competitive rates on life insurance, with several plans specifically designed to offer affordable premiums including its SimplyTerm life insurance policy.

If you want a life insurer who offers multiple types of insurance: Both Geico and State Farm could be a better fit. They offer life insurance coverage, as well as other policies including home and auto so consumers can get multiple types of coverage from the same insurer. But both are more restrictive in their coverage options for those with chronic conditions.

Prudential offers several types of life insurance policies.

Term life insurance

This coverage provides protection for a set period of time such as 10 to 30 years. Prudential provides several different kinds of term life insurance including SimplyTerm which can be purchased online and offers up to $1 million in coverage for up to a 30-year term. Other options include:

• Term Essential and Term Elite: These level premium policies give policyholders the option to convert part of their policy to permanent life insurance if they'd prefer to do so.
• PruTerm One: This allows consumers to get coverage for up to one year at a time.

Universal life insurance

This offers permanent life insurance and acquires a cash value. Prudential offers several types of universal life coverage including:

• PruLife Essential UL, which is affordable and offers a guarantee that the policy will not lapse as long as premiums are paid.
• Prulife SUL protection, which offers coverage for two people and pays a death benefit only after both have passed on.

Indexed universal life insurance

This also offers permanent coverage and a cash value, but the value it acquires depends on the performance of a financial index coverage is linked to.

Prudential offers several types of indexed universal life insurance, including PruLife Founders Plus UL and PruLife Index Advantage UL. The differences between them relate to the financial index the policy is linked to. It also offers a Survivorship Index that covers two people's lives instead of just one.

Variable universal life insurance

This permanent life insurance acquires a cash value as well, but consumers have a wider selection of investment options and the performance of their investments determines how much value the policy accrues.

There are two options including PruLife Custom Premier which is for those focused on long-term growth and willing to accept higher risk, as well as PruLife SVUL Protector which insures two lives and pays out when the second person passes.

Prudential offers several riders and add-ons to its life insurance policies.

If you become seriously ill

Unlock the value of your policy for your own needs when you qualify. These riders let you take from some or all of your death benefit while you're still alive. These will reduce and may eliminate the death benefit for your beneficiaries:

• BenefitAccess Rider
• Survivorship BenefitAccess Rider
• Living Needs Benefit

If you become disabled

If you lose your ability to work, it might be hard to pay your premiums. These riders ensure your policy remains in effect:

• Waiver of Premium
• Enhanced Disability Benefit Rider
• Waiver of Monthly Deductions

If you want to provide your family with an extra death benefit

These riders are economical ways to provide life insurance for minor children or an extra death benefit if you have a fatal accident. Each is available for an additional cost:

• Children's Protection Rider
• Children Level Term Rider
• Accidental Death Benefit

If you plan to use the cash value

These riders can help keep your policy in force or increase the cash value under certain circumstances:

• Overloan Protection Rider
• Enhanced Cash Value Rider

If your policy is part of your estate planning with a spouse or partner

These riders can help you adapt your policy to changes in your life or the tax law and help protect your heirs, your beneficiaries, if both insured people die very early on:

• Guaranteed Policy Split Rider
• Estate Protection Rider

Prudential makes it quick and easy to get a term life insurance quote instantly online.

Consumers need to provide some very basic information including their gender; age; whether they are a smoker; what pre-existing conditions they have; and their zip code. A quote is provided instantly.

Some consumers may be approved based on the information they submit online. Others may receive a request for additional information about health status. A medical exam may also be required in many cases.

After underwriting is complete, consumers can determine if they are comfortable paying the quoted premiums for the coverage they've chosen.

Prudential offers a wide variety of insurance policies. The company's SimplyTerm coverage, -- which is available for purchase online and which provides up to $1 million in term life insurance coverage for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years -- is available to consumers ages 18 to 75 who meet underwriting criteria.

Unlike many insurers, Prudential is more accepting of certain chronic conditions such as HIV and will offer coverage as long as policyholders meet specific guidelines.

Prudential is ranked below average on J.D. Power's 2022 Life Insurance Customer Satisfaction Survey. However, it does have fewer than the expected number of complaints for an insurer of its size in the database maintained by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The complaint index is used to compare how a company performs compared to other companies. The complaint index is 1.00 and Prudential's score is 0.31, meaning it is about 70% less than that of the market. This suggests mixed results for customer service, with room for improvement.

• People with chronic conditions such as HIV who can't get coverage elsewhere
• Consumers who want in-person support in purchasing a policy or want to get quotes online.
• Consumers who want to add a variety of riders to their coverage

But consumers may want to consider Geico or State Farm if they would prefer to get multiple policy types from the same insurer.