Foresters Life Insurance Review 2026

Foresters has a wide range of riders and additional benefits, such as financial guidance and legal support, but you can’t get a quote, apply for or buy a policy online.

Foresters life insurance earned 3.9 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 Foresters life insurance stands out

The company aims to make life insurance accessible and affordable for its members and offers a strong lineup of term and permanent life insurance policies with some options specifically for diabetics.

Where Foresters life insurance falls short

With Foresters, you have to speak to an agent to get a quote, let alone buy coverage. Additionally, the company draws more consumer complaints than expected to state regulators.

Term life insurance. Foresters offers two term policies to people ages 18 to 80 in all states except New York. You can choose a policy lasting 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years. If you want to upgrade your policy, you can convert to permanent coverage until five years before it’s set to expire or you turn 65 — whichever comes first.

• Your Term Level Term provides $50,000 to $10 million of coverage. The premiums are fixed, meaning they won’t change. Qualified applicants may be able to get coverage up to $400,000 without taking a medical exam.

• Strong Foundation Term offers $50,000 to $500,000 of coverage without a medical exam for former smokers or those living with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, as long as the applicant’s condition is well managed.

Whole life insurance. Foresters has whole life insurance policies to suit different needs.

• PlanRight Whole Life Insurance offers $5,000 to $35,000 of coverage to help pay for end-of-life and funeral expenses. It comes in three tiers: basic, standard, and preferred. Each provides different coverage amounts and some include riders such as accelerated death benefits, but the basic plan isn’t open to anyone over 80. 

• Advantage Plus II Whole Life is a standard whole life policy that covers people ages 0 to 85 and accumulates cash value over time. You can purchase a policy worth up to $10 million, and you might earn annual dividends based on the company’s financial performance. This policy may require a medical exam based on your answers to certain health questions.

• BrightFuture Children's Whole Life is designed to protect children ages 0 to 17. You can buy $5,000 to $75,000 in coverage, which accrues cash value over time. As the owner of the policy, you may transfer the policy to your child in the future. Thanks to the built-in guaranteed insurability rider, they can boost the coverage amount later without taking a medical exam. 

Universal life insurance. If you want the flexibility to adjust your premiums and death benefit, SMART Universal Life Insurance might fit the bill. It’s available to people ages 0 to 85, and you can purchase $10,000 to $10 million in coverage depending on your age.

Accidental death insurance. Foresters also offers an accidental death policy to applicants ages 18 to 70. The Prepared II Accidental Death Term pays out if you die in an accident and can cover you until you're 80.

Most of Foresters’ policies include a charity benefit provision. This means that for each claim, the insurer will pay an additional 1% of the value of the policy — up to a maximum of $100,000 — to a charity of the policyholder’s choice.

Foresters life insurance riders

Depending on your policy, you might be able to customize your coverage with life insurance riders.

• Accelerated death benefit rider. Allows you to tap into your death benefit if you’re diagnosed with a critical, chronic or terminal illness.

• Accidental death benefit rider. Offers an extra payout if you die in an accident.

• Child term rider. Covers a child or multiple children under your policy and can be converted to permanent life insurance later down the track.

• Common carrier accidental death benefit rider. Pays out an additional sum if you die in an accident while riding as a passenger on a plane, bus or train.

• Family health benefit rider. Helps pay the cost of an ambulance, emergency room exam or hospital stay if your health suffers due to catastrophic weather or a natural disaster.

• Guaranteed insurability rider. Gives you the chance to add coverage to your policy without taking another medical exam.

• Paid-up additions rider. Allows you to increase the cash value of your permanent policy.

• Return of premium rider. Reimburses you for the premiums you’ve paid if you outlive your accidental death policy.

• Term rider. Increases the payout on your policy for a set number of years.

• Waiver of monthly deductions rider. Available with some permanent policies, this rider pays part of your premium after you’ve been disabled for at least six months. While it helps keep your policy active, it won’t contribute to your cash value.

• Waiver of premium rider. Pauses your premiums if you become disabled and can’t work for a period of time.

A strong sign of consumer satisfaction is how many people complain about their insurance company to state agencies. Over three years, Foresters has drawn more 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 Foresters’ customer experience stacks up

The website has detailed information about each of the life insurance policies Foresters sells, though it’s not particularly clear how to buy them. For help, you can check out the site’s detailed FAQ section or click on the contact button at the top of each page. Foresters does not offer online quotes.

We called Foresters’ customer service line and were connected with a representative within four minutes. The rep was able to answer a couple of basic questions about term life insurance, and offered to connect us with a financial advisor for more specifics.

Foresters has a mobile app you can use to access policy details and member benefits. It’s available for Apple and Android. However, Foresters doesn’t support online claims or the ability to change beneficiaries online.

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

Foresters doesn’t offer an online policy application, nor does it provide a way to search for a life insurance agent to work with. But if you click on the “contact us” button at the top of the site, you can fill out a form, and someone from Foresters will reach out to you. You can also use the phone number on that page to contact the organization.

Since Foresters is a fraternal organization, all policyholders are eligible for member benefits. These include discounted legal services and deals on a range of items from gift cards and electronics to hotels and rental cars. Policyholders can also access the Foresters Go wellness app and apply for academic scholarships and community grants.

You automatically become a member when your life insurance policy goes into effect. To access member benefits, you’ll need to create an account at MyForesters.com.

Foresters can be reached by:

• Phone: Call 800-828-1540 on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

• Email: Send a message to service@foresters.com or fill out the form on Foresters’ contact page.

• Live chat: Not available.