at a glance
- NerdWallet ranking: No. 16 life insurance company (out of 23 evaluated).
- Prudential offers six types of term life policies and a wide variety of universal life policies.
- Was first U.S. life insurer to offer coverage to people living with HIV.
Overview
Prudential Financial offers a broad slate of term and universal life insurance policies. Extra features can be added to some policies to customize coverage.
» MORE: The best life insurance companies
Learn more about each element that goes into our Prudential review by clicking below.
More about Prudential
| Types of life insurance sold | Other products and services |
|---|---|
life insurance options
Several varieties of term life: They come with different features and options, and prices vary. The most basic and affordable is Term Essential. Other policies:
- MyTerm offers quick coverage of $50,000 to $250,000; no medical exam is required to apply. Prudential suspended sales of the product through Wells Fargo in December 2016 but continues to sell MyTerm policies through its own website. The suspension of sales through Wells Fargo came after allegations by former Prudential employees that some bank customers were signed up for policies without their permission.
- TermElite and Term Essential offer more options, such as the ability to add life insurance coverage for minor children. If you convert a TermElite policy to permanent coverage within the first five years, you get a one-year premium credit.
- PruTerm WorkLife 65 provides coverage up to age 65. If you become disabled, the policy waives the premium until you turn 65 or are no longer disabled. It also waives the premium for a year if you become unemployed.
- PruLife Return of Premium returns the premium at the end of the term if you’re still alive.
- PruTerm One offers coverage for one year at a time. This may work for small-business owners who want coverage as they pay off short-term loans.
Wide selection of universal life policies: There are 11 products: four types of universal life, three of indexed universal life and three of variable universal life. These permanent policies let you accumulate cash value. The potential for cash value growth varies among the products. The cash value growth in the indexed policies is based on the performance of a financial index, such as the S&P 500. With the variable policies, you pick the underlying investments that will be the basis for cash value growth.
