Ameritas Life Insurance Review 2026

Ameritas is a mutual life insurance company that offers a diverse mix of term and permanent policies, though you’ll need to work with a financial professional to get one. Its wide range of choices and low rate of consumer complaints make it worth considering for many life insurance shoppers.

Ameritas life insurance earned 4.4 out of 5 stars for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account consumer experience, complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and financial strength ratings.

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Where Ameritas stands out

The company’s main selling point is its wide range of policy types, including a no-exam term policy for people who want quick coverage. Other offerings include whole life policies that can pay dividends, a term policy with living benefits and a universal policy that can cover two people.

Where Ameritas falls short

You’ll need to work with a financial professional to buy any Ameritas policy. The company’s website doesn’t offer many details to help with your research.

Term life insurance. The company offers three term policies:

• Ameritas Value Plus Term is available in 1-, 10-, 15-, 20- or 30-year term lengths. It is open to those ages 18 to 80, with coverage starting at $100,000. If you’d like to convert your coverage to permanent life insurance, you can do that during the first five years at no charge.

• Ameritas’ ClearEdge Living Benefits Term, which includes the option to access up to 90% of your death benefit if you’re diagnosed with a terminal, chronic or critical illness. The policy is available to applicants between 18 and 80.

• Instant Term is a type of instant life insurance that skips the medical exam, but requires you to fill out a health questionnaire. Most people get a decision within minutes of applying.

Ameritas also issues instant term policies for Ethos, an online life insurance company.

Whole life insurance. Ameritas has the following whole life insurance policies, all of which have the potential to earn dividends based on the company’s financial performance.

• Ameritas Access Whole Life allows you to pay premiums until age 75 or 25 years, whichever comes later.

• Ameritas Growth Whole Life has premiums payable until age 100.

• Ameritas Value Plus Whole Life is primarily designed for those who are looking for affordable whole life coverage. 

Universal life insurance. Ameritas’ Value Plus UL policy has flexible premiums and payouts, so you can adjust coverage to suit your changing needs. The amount of universal life insurance you can buy depends on your age and health, but coverage typically starts at $50,000 or $100,000.

Variable universal life insurance. With Ameritas’ Advisor ClearEdge II VUL policy, the cash value is invested in the options of your choice. You can log in to the online portal to track your investments and reallocate funds as you wish.

Indexed universal life insurance. Ameritas has four indexed universal life insurance policies on offer, including Value Plus Survivor IUL, which covers two people and pays out when the second person dies.

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Ameritas life insurance riders

Depending on the policy you buy, you might be able to customize your coverage with common life insurance riders. These may include:

• Waiver of premium. Pauses your premiums if you become disabled.

• Accidental death benefit. Pays your beneficiaries an additional sum if you die in an accident.

• Accelerated death benefit. Ameritas’ Care4Life rider allows you to access your policy’s payout if you’re diagnosed with a critical, chronic or terminal illness.

» MORE: Compare life insurance quotes

Below are monthly rates for a 20-year, $500,000 term life insurance policy from Ameritas. These are sample rates for a nonsmoking man and woman in excellent health — the final quote you’re offered will depend on factors like your age, health, lifestyle, occupation and driving record.

A strong sign of consumer satisfaction is how many people complain about their insurance company to state agencies. Over three years, Ameritas has drawn fewer than the expected number of complaints to state regulators for a company of its size, according to a NerdWallet analysis of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

How Ameritas’ customer experience stacks up

The Ameritas site is easy to navigate but offers few details about the company’s life insurance policies. The lengthy FAQ page targets existing policyholders rather than potential customers. Most life insurance pages have a link to the “find a professional” page, where you can enter your contact information. Ameritas says someone will reach out to you within two weeks.

We called Ameritas with a few questions about term life insurance. It took eight minutes of navigating the phone menus and waiting on hold before we were connected with a representative. She was able to give basic answers to our questions and offered to connect us with a financial advisor for more details.

Although Ameritas has mobile apps, it doesn’t have one that lets you manage your life insurance policies. But you can use the website for tasks such as changing beneficiaries, filing a claim or emailing the company.

What it’s like to apply for a policy with Ameritas

You can get a quick term life insurance quote on the Ameritas website by entering a few details about yourself, including your birthdate, gender and tobacco use. You’ll then see a range of potential prices for your coverage, based on how long a term you want and which life insurance rating category you fall into.

Screenshot captured by our editorial team on Oct. 31, 2025.

When you’re ready to buy a policy, you’ll need to work with a financial professional. To do that, fill out a form with your zip code and contact details and Ameritas will find you a match.

Along with individual life insurance, Ameritas offers these financial products:

• Annuities.

• Disability insurance.

• Dental and vision insurance, offered through the workplace.

• Group life insurance.

• Investing services, including financial planning and assets management.

Ameritas can be reached by:

• Phone: Call 800-745-1112 on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT.

• Email: No customer service email available.

• Live chat: Not available.