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NerdWallet
at a glance
- NerdWallet ranking: No. 17 life insurance company.
- Does not sell permanent life insurance and offers no online term quotes.
- Uses a multilevel marketing structure for sales.
Overview
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.
» MORE: The best life insurance companies
Learn more about each of the elements that goes into our review of Primerica by clicking below.
NerdWallet rank: 17th
Primerica ranked No. 17 out of the 20 best life insurance companies as scored by NerdWallet. The rankings are based on A.M. Best financial strength ratings, J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction scores and volume of consumer complaints to state regulators. NerdWallet scores the largest national life insurers that sell policies to individuals.
A.M. Best financial strength rating: A+ (superior)
Primerica’s financial strength is “superior,” according to ratings agency A.M. Best.
Financial strength is important because it indicates how well an insurer can pay claims. It’s especially important when choosing a life insurance company, because claims might not be made until decades after a policy is purchased.
Consumer complaints: Better than the median
Primerica drew fewer than the median number of complaints to state regulators in 2017 for a company of its size, according to the latest data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The association assigns a complaint ratio score to insurance companies, based on the number of complaints to state insurance commissioners, adjusted for market share. The median score is 1, and a score less than 1 indicates fewer complaints when compared to other companies.
The average score, weighted for market share, for Primerica’s life insurance issuers in 2017 was 0.29.
J.D. Power ratings: Generally below average
Primerica ranks among “the rest” — the lowest rating possible — for overall customer satisfaction in research firm J.D. Power’s 2018 U.S. Life Insurance Study. The company had the third-lowest score overall among 23 life insurers evaluated by J.D. Power.
More about Primerica
Primerica’s sales strategy
Some insurance experts criticize Primerica for its multi-level marketing structure and lack of life insurance policy choices. Primerica doesn’t provide life insurance quotes on its website, making it hard to compare its prices with other insurers.
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.
For context, most other life insurance companies sell their products through full-time agents who make a career in life insurance sales.
