Foresters Life Insurance Review 2025
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Foresters Financial
on Nerdwallet
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
on Nerdwallet
Foresters Financial
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
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About Foresters life insurance
Foresters life insurance earned 3 out of 5 stars for overall performance. Foresters Financial is a trade name of the Independent Order of Foresters, which was founded in 1874 as an international fraternal organization. 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.
Foresters stands out for its wide range of riders and additional benefits, such as financial guidance and legal support. However, you can’t get a quote, apply for a policy or buy coverage online — you have to speak to an agent first. And the organization draws more consumer complaints than expected to state regulators.
Long list of riders.
Fraternal benefits for policyholders.
Offers no-exam life insurance for type 2 diabetics.
No online application process.
Accepts mail-in claims only.
» MORE: Compare life insurance quotes
Foresters life insurance policies
Foresters offers a range of term and permanent life insurance policies through its network of agents across the country. You’ll need to contact one directly to apply for or buy coverage.
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 offers $50,000 to $10 million of coverage.
Strong Foundation Term provides $50,000 to $500,000 of coverage.
Whole life insurance. Foresters has three whole life insurance policies to suit different needs:
PlanRight Whole Life Insurance is open to people ages 50 to 85 and offers $5,000 to $35,000 of coverage to help pay for end-of-life and funeral expenses. It’s available in all states except New York.
Advantage Plus II Whole Life is a standard whole life policy that covers people ages 0 to 85 and accumulates cash value over time. This policy is available in all states except New York. You can purchase a policy worth up to $10 million, and you might earn annual dividends based on the organization’s financial performance.
BrightFuture Children's Whole Life is designed to protect children ages 0 to 17, though it’s not available in New York or Washington. 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 the child in the future, and thanks to the built-in guaranteed insurability rider, the child can boost the coverage amount later without taking a medical exam. Foresters made our list of the best life insurance for children in 2025.
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 in all states except New York, 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 purchase option rider. Gives you the chance to add up to $50,000 of 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 to keep your policy active, it won’t contribute to your cash value.
Waiver of premium rider. Pauses your premiums if you become disabled and cannot work.
Foresters customer complaints and satisfaction
Over three years, Foresters has drawn more 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: Best life insurance companies
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.
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.
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.
More about Foresters Financial
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, as long as you’re at least 18 years old. To access member benefits, you’ll need to create an account at MyForesters.com.
How to contact Foresters
Foresters can be reached by:
Phone: Call 800-828-1540 on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
Email: Send a message to [email protected] or fill out the form on Foresters’ contact page.
Live chat: Not available.
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 2021-2023. 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.
