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Ameritas Life Insurance Review 2024
Assistant Assigning Editor | Life insurance, disability insurance, health care
Katia Iervasi is an assistant assigning editor at NerdWallet. An insurance authority, she previously spent over six years covering insurance topics as a writer, where she loved untangling complicated topics and answering readers’ burning money questions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication and has studied writing, fact-checking and editing with Poynter. Her writing and analysis has been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, Yahoo, Entrepreneur, Best Company and FT Advisor. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Katia currently lives in New York City.
Assigning Editor
Erica Corbin is a former assigning editor at NerdWallet. Erica joined NerdWallet in 2020 as an assistant assigning editor at large. In 2023, she was promoted to assigning editor and helped lead the credit cards vertical at NerdWallet Canada. She previously wrote and edited content at companies such as GOBankingRates and Nasdaq. Her work has been syndicated to USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN and more.
Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.
Ameritas
3.5
on Nerdwallet
Financial strength ratingThese ratings indicate an insurer’s ability to pay future claims.
Online purchaseThis indicates whether the company offers a way to apply for and purchase policies entirely online.
NAIC complaintsRatings 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. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC.
Policies offeredTerm policies last a set number of years, while permanent policies typically last a lifetime. No-exam policies don’t require a medical exam.
Pros
- Offers various permanent life insurance policies.
- Has a long list of life insurance riders.
- Most policies available nationwide.
Cons
- Potential customers can't apply online.
on Nerdwallet
Ameritas
3.5
Financial strength ratingThese ratings indicate an insurer’s ability to pay future claims.
Online purchaseThis indicates whether the company offers a way to apply for and purchase policies entirely online.
NAIC complaintsRatings 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. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC.
Policies offeredTerm policies last a set number of years, while permanent policies typically last a lifetime. No-exam policies don’t require a medical exam.
Pros
- Offers various permanent life insurance policies.
- Has a long list of life insurance riders.
- Most policies available nationwide.
Cons
- Potential customers can't apply online.
In our life insurance reviews, our editorial team considers 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 AM 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
Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, Ameritas is a mutual life insurance company that offers a mix of term and permanent policies. It has a network of financial professionals across the country, and you’ll need to contact one to apply for a policy.
» MORE: Compare life insurance quotes
Ameritas life insurance rating
3.5
NerdWallet ratingAmeritas life insurance earned 3.5 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.
» MORE: Best life insurance companies
Ameritas life insurance policies
Ameritas sells a suite of term and permanent life insurance policies.
Term life insurance. The company offers two term policies:
Ameritas Value Plus Term, which, depending on your age, comes in 1-, 10-, 15-, 20- or 30-year term lengths. It is open to those ages 18 to 80, with coverage starting at $100,000. If you’d like to convert your coverage to permanent life insurance, you can do that during the first five years at no charge.
Ameritas’ FLX Term, which doesn't require a life insurance medical exam for coverage amounts of $300,000 or less.
Whole life insurance. Ameritas has the following whole life options to choose from:
Ameritas Access Whole Life, which allows you to pay premiums until age 75 or for 25 years, whichever comes first.
Ameritas Growth Whole Life, which has premiums payable until age 100.
Ameritas Growth 10 Pay Whole Life, which is a similar policy to Ameritas Growth Whole Life, except you’ll pay it off in 10 years.
Ameritas Value Plus Whole Life, which is primarily designed for those who want less than $25,000 in coverage, though higher amounts are available.
Since Ameritas is a mutual company, whole life insurance policyholders may earn dividends based on the insurer’s financial performance.
Universal life insurance. Ameritas’ Value Plus UL policy has flexible premiums and payouts, so you can adjust coverage to suit your changing needs. The amount of universal life insurance you can buy depends on your age and health, but coverage typically starts at $50,000 or $100,000.
Variable universal life insurance. With variable universal life insurance, the cash value is invested in the options of your choice. You can log in to the online portal to track your investments and reallocate funds as you wish. Ameritas has two policies: Performance II VUL and Advisor II VUL.
Indexed universal life insurance. Ameritas has two indexed universal life insurance policies on offer, including Value Plus Survivor IUL, which covers two people and pays out when the second person dies.
Policies available through partnerships
Instant life insurance. Ameritas also issues two instant life insurance policies for its partner companies:
Simplified Issue Term, available via Ethos.
Ash Instant Term, available via Ash Brokerage.
Ameritas life insurance riders
You can customize your coverage with common life insurance riders. These include a waiver of premium rider that pauses your premiums if you become disabled. You can also choose an accidental death benefit rider. In this case, your life insurance beneficiaries would receive an additional sum if you die in an accident.
Ameritas also offers a Care4Life accelerated death benefit rider, which allows you to access your policy’s payout if you’re diagnosed with a critical, chronic or terminal illness.
Ameritas customer complaints and satisfaction
Over three years, Ameritas has drawn fewer than the expected number of complaints to state regulators for a company of its size, according to NerdWallet’s analysis of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
More about Ameritas
In addition to individual life insurance, Ameritas sells these financial products:
Annuities.
Dental and vision insurance, offered through the workplace.
Investing services, including financial planning and assets management.
Life insurance buying guide
Before you start comparing companies, choose the type of life insurance you want, such as term or whole life. Decide which life insurance riders, if any, you want the policy to include. Calculate how much life insurance you need and how long you want the coverage to last. Check that the insurers you’re considering offer the coverage you’re looking for.
When comparing rates, be sure the quotes are for the same amount of coverage over the same period of time. It’s also important to make sure the policy’s medical requirements match your needs. For example, if you want to skip the life insurance medical exam but don’t mind answering health questions, confirm that the application process for each policy you're comparing aligns with that.
Price may not be the biggest driver behind your decision to buy. Look at the number of consumer complaints each company receives, as high numbers can be a red flag about the quality of service.
For more guidance, see our life insurance buying guide.
Methodology
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 2020-2022. 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.