The best instant life insurance companies at a glance
Lemonade: Best overall.
Lincoln Financial: Best for policy add-ons.
Erie: Best for instant whole life.
Until recently, it could take several weeks to get life insurance coverage. While that’s still true for traditional policies, a string of insurers now offer instant life insurance. Sometimes known as “fast life insurance,” these are policies you can apply for online and often get a decision on within minutes.
To create this list, our experts analyzed insurers who sell life insurance online and offer at least $100,000 in coverage. We then assessed policy features, age eligibility and available riders, as well as the amount of coverage you can buy without taking a medical exam.
Why trust NerdWallet
1,413 life insurance rates sets collected.
441 life insurers analyzed by our team of experts.
185 policies assessed.
Dive deeper: Ratings methodology for life insurance.
NerdWallet's life insurance content, including ratings and recommendations, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in life insurance. We follow strict editorial guidelines to ensure the content on our site is accurate and fair so you can make financial decisions with confidence and choose the products that work best for you.
The best online life insurance companies of May 2025
Instant coverage amount: Starting at $100,000. | ||
Instant coverage amount: $100,000 to $2.5 million. | ||
Instant coverage amount: $10,000 to $500,000. | ||
NerdWallet rates insurers at the company level, not the policy level. This means our star rating reflects the company as a whole, and not its instant life insurance policy specifically. | ||
Best instant life insurance companies: Pros and cons
BEST SAME-DAY TERM LIFE INSURANCE 2025
Lemonade
Bottom line: Lemonade sells term life insurance online, with many policies going into effect on the same day.- Wide range of term lengths available.
- Policies can be issued within minutes.
- Qualifying applicants can get millions in coverage online.
- Policies aren’t available nationwide.
- Coverage can’t be converted to permanent life insurance.
Pros
- Wide range of term lengths available.
- Policies can be issued within minutes.
- Qualifying applicants can get millions in coverage online.
Cons
- Policies aren’t available nationwide.
- Coverage can’t be converted to permanent life insurance.
Overview: Lemonade offers term life insurance lasting 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 or 40 years in all states except New York. To apply for coverage, you’ll fill out a sleek online application and answer a few basic questions about your health and lifestyle. If you’re approved, your policy may be issued within minutes. Eligible applicants can get coverage starting at $100,000 and going into the millions without a medical exam, and easily manage their policy via Lemonade’s user-friendly app.
The insurer is backed by Legal & General, a longstanding and financially strong insurer with a track record for low complaints.
- Lemonade instant policy details
Instant life policy: Lemonade Term Life Insurance.
Eligibility age range: 20 to 75.
Coverage amount: Starting at $100,000.
Availability: All states except New York.
Term lengths: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 or 40 years.
» Read the full review: Lemonade life insurance review
Best for policy add-ons
Lincoln Financial
Bottom line: Lincoln Financial allows you to customize your policy with three riders, which is unusual for instant life insurance policies.- Drew fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for a company of its size.
- Offers hybrid policies with life and long-term care coverage.
- Applicants must work with a financial advisor.
Pros
- Drew fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for a company of its size.
- Offers hybrid policies with life and long-term care coverage.
Cons
- Applicants must work with a financial advisor.
Overview: With Lincoln Financial, you can apply for a no-exam policy online or over the phone. Policyholders can upgrade to permanent coverage before their term policy expires or when they reach their 70th birthday, whichever comes first. The policy is guaranteed renewable up to age 95.
The insurer offers a child term rider that can cover multiple children. You can also choose to add a waiver of premium rider or accelerated death benefit rider to your coverage for an additional fee.
- Lincoln Financial instant policy details
Instant life policy: Lincoln TermAccel.
Eligibility age range: 18 to 60.
Coverage amount: $100,000 to $2.5 million.
Availability: All states except NY.
Term lengths: 10, 15, 20 or 30 years.
» Read the full review: Lincoln Financial life insurance review
Best for instant whole life
Erie
Bottom line: Erie offers a choice of term or whole life insurance, which is rare for instant policies.- Low customer complaints.
- Offers a variety of term and whole life options.
- Not available in most states.
Pros
- Low customer complaints.
- Offers a variety of term and whole life options.
Cons
- Not available in most states.
Overview: Erie’s instant life insurance policy is one of the most flexible on the market. If you qualify, the coverage can go into effect the same day you apply. Otherwise, you may need to take a medical exam. You can buy small amounts of coverage, starting at $10,000. An accelerated death benefit rider is automatically included at no extra charge.
- Erie instant policy details
Instant life policy: ERIExpress Life.
Eligibility age range: 18 to 55.
Coverage amount: $10,000 to $500,000.
Availability: District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Term lengths: 10, 15, 20 or 30 years.
» Read the full review: Erie auto, homeowners and life insurance review
How we ranked the top life insurers
NerdWallet’s life insurance ratings are determined by our editorial team. Star ratings are based on consumer experience, weighted averages of financial strength ratings, which indicate a company’s ability to pay future claims, and complaint index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for individual life insurance. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale.
These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare life insurance quotes from several companies to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.
- How we review life insurance companies
In our life insurance reviews, our editorial team considers both the customer and the insurer. These are some of the factors we take into account:
Policies offered. There are many types of life insurance on the market, and they fall into three key categories:
Term life insurance offers temporary coverage and a guaranteed payout if the policyholder dies during the term.
Permanent life insurance typically lasts a lifetime and builds cash value that can be borrowed against in the future.
No-exam life insurance issues coverage without the need for a medical exam.
Financial strength. We use A.M. Best ratings to confirm an insurer’s long-term financial stability and ability to pay claims. For life insurance, NerdWallet typically recommends considering insurers with ratings of A- or higher. Here’s the breakdown:
Exceptional: A+, A++
Strong: A-, A
Moderate: B, B+
Complaints. These ratings are based on complaints to state regulators relative to a company’s size, according to three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The best life insurance companies have fewer than the expected number of complaints.
Buy online. This indicates whether an insurer allows you to apply for and buy a policy completely online.
Dive deeper: Ratings methodology for life insurance
Alternatives to the best instant life insurance
If you’re not in a time crunch, consider applying for a traditional life insurance policy. You’ll most likely need to take a medical exam, but if you’re relatively healthy, you could end up paying less for your policy.
Term life insurance lasts a set number of years, while permanent life insurance offers lifelong coverage and builds cash value over time.
More about top-rated life insurance companies
Looking for a different type of life insurance policy? Check out NerdWallet’s top picks across these categories:
Life insurance ratings methodology
NerdWallet’s life insurance ratings are based on consumer experience, complaint index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for individual life insurance, and weighted averages of financial strength ratings, which indicate a company’s ability to pay future claims. Within the consumer experience category, we consider ease of communication and website transparency, which looks at the depth of policy details available online. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale.
These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.
Insurer complaints methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2021-2023. To assess how insurers compare with one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
