Primerica Life Insurance Review 2020

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, not all companies are accepting new life insurance applications. For the latest information on how to cope with financial stress during this emergency, see NerdWallet’s financial guide to COVID-19.

Primerica recruits people to sell its policies, encouraging these new insurance agents to start by selling to family members, friends and co-workers and recruiting them to join the business. Primerica agents also make money based on sales by agents they recruit, which is known as multilevel marketing.

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Primerica life insurance

Primerica earned 4 stars out of 5 for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and financial strength ratings from A.M. Best.

Primerica offers only term life insurance and does not provide life insurance quotes on its website, making it hard to compare its prices with other insurers.

Some insurance experts criticize Primerica for its multilevel marketing structure and lack of life insurance policy choices. For context, most other life insurance companies sell their products through full-time agents who make a career in life insurance sales.

Because of Primerica’s sales strategy, you may find friends or family members pitching the products. Your personal connection with these salespeople could create extra pressure to buy from Primerica, and perhaps pressure later to become a part-time Primerica agent. But it’s always a good idea to compare options and prices from several companies before committing to a personal finance product.

Primerica complaints and customer satisfaction

Over the last three years, Primerica has drawn fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for a company of its size, according to NerdWallet’s analysis of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Primerica ranks among “the rest” — the lowest rating possible — for overall customer satisfaction and policy offerings in research firm J.D. Power’s 2019 U.S. Life Insurance Study. The company ranks “about average” in four categories.

More about Primerica

Primerica offers additional financial products and services. Through other insurers, Primerica provides auto, long-term care and homeowners insurance. The company also offers investment accounts and other financial services, as well as prepaid legal and identity theft services provided by other companies.

Methodology: Life insurance ratings

NerdWallet’s life insurance ratings are based on weighted averages of complaint index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for individual life insurance, and financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, which indicate a company’s ability to pay future claims. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the NAIC and A.M. Best 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.

Methodology: Insurer complaints

NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2016-2018. To assess how insurers compare to 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. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.