Prudential Life Insurance Review 2025
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Prudential
on Nerdwallet
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
on Nerdwallet
Prudential
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
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About Prudential life insurance
Prudential earned 4 stars out of 5 for overall performance. Founded in 1875, Prudential Financial is one of the largest life insurance companies in the U.S. and has an excellent financial strength rating. The company offers a broad slate of universal and term life insurance policies, plus a no-exam final expense policy. Policyholders can customize their coverage with a range of riders.
Variety of term and universal life options.
Lower complaint ratio than expected for a company of its size.
Ranked below average in a recent customer satisfaction survey.
No live chat or email options for customer service.
» MORE: Compare life insurance quotes
Prudential life insurance policies
To buy a policy with Prudential, you’ll need to work with a life insurance agent or broker. Some applicants 18 to 60 years old may qualify for a streamlined application process that doesn’t require blood tests or a medical exam.
Term life insurance. Prudential's main term life insurance policies have level premiums for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years — your choice. When the term ends, you can opt to keep your policy, but premiums may go up or the amount of coverage may go down. All policies include a free accelerated death benefit rider, and you can convert your term policy to any of Prudential’s permanent life insurance options
There are key differences between the policies:
Term Essential offers higher coverage amounts, starting at $250,000. Policies of $10 million or more are available, and applicants in good health may qualify for up to $3 million in coverage without medical tests. In most cases, you can convert to any of Prudential’s permanent policies throughout your term or until age 65.
Prudential EssentialTerm Value aims for a quicker application process, and it’s limited to coverage of $249,999 or less. For the first seven years after buying, you can convert to any permanent policy Prudential offers.
Prudential EssentialTerm Plus allows you to convert to any Prudential permanent policy until your level premiums end — whether that’s 10, 15, 20 or 30 years — or until you turn 70, whichever comes first.
Prudential also offers annual renewable life insurance called PruTerm One. You’ll need to take a life insurance medical exam to apply, and you’ll then get coverage for one year at a time, with the option to renew at a higher rate when the term ends.
Permanent life insurance. Prudential sells several types of universal life insurance, indexed universal life insurance and variable universal life insurance, including survivorship policies. Survivorship life insurance insures two people on the same policy. The policy pays out when the second person dies.
Permanent life insurance policies typically build cash value. 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.
Prudential doesn’t sell traditional whole life insurance policies, but it does offer final expense insurance. This form of whole life pays a small death benefit to cover funeral costs and other final expenses when an insured person dies. The policy skips the medical exam but requires a health questionnaire. It’s open to applicants ages 50 to 85, with maximum coverage ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 depending on your health.
Prudential customer complaints and satisfaction
Over three years, Prudential has drawn fewer 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.
Prudential ranked No. 17 out of 21 companies in J.D. Power's 2024 U.S. Life Insurance Study for overall customer satisfaction.
» MORE: Best life insurance companies
Prudential life insurance rates
Below are monthly rates for a 20-year, $500,000 term life insurance policy from Prudential. These are sample rates for a nonsmoking man and woman in excellent health — the final quote you’re offered will depend on factors like your age, health, lifestyle, occupation and driving record.
Age | Monthly rate - man | Monthly rate - woman |
|---|---|---|
20 | $25.38 | $18.38 |
30 | $26.25 | $22.32 |
40 | $37.19 | $32.38 |
50 | $81.38 | $64.32 |
60 | $253.75 | $178.07 |
Source: Direct from insurer. Rates reflect the super preferred class and were generated on 10/24/24. | ||
Where Prudential stands out
Prudential stands out for two term policy features that many competitors don’t offer. Its term life policies don’t simply expire at the end of the term — instead, policyholders can continue their term coverage at higher rates or reduced amounts. And Prudential allows its term policies to be converted to any permanent policy the company offers. Some insurers don’t allow conversion or provide only one option.
Where Prudential falls short
You can’t buy a Prudential life insurance policy online on your own, and the website doesn’t provide a customer service email address or live chat. Consumers rated Prudential below average for overall customer satisfaction in the 2024 J.D. Power U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. And if you’re shopping for whole life insurance, you’ll find more options elsewhere.
How Prudential compares to other insurers
Prudential | New York Life | Guardian | |
|---|---|---|---|
Star rating | |||
Financial strength | Exceptional. | Exceptional. | Exceptional. |
NAIC complaints | Fewer than expected. | Fewer than expected. | Far fewer than expected. |
J.D. Power ranking | #17 out of 21. | #15 out of 21. | #2 out of 21. |
Policy types offered | Term, permanent & no-exam. | Term & permanent. | Term & permanent. |
Read full reviews |
More about Prudential
On the Prudential website, you can learn about life insurance basics, update your personal details, change your beneficiary and make premium payments.
In addition to life insurance, Prudential offers a suite of financial products, like annuities, investments and workplace benefits.
Prudential also made our list of the best accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance policies.
How to contact Prudential
Prudential can be reached by:
Phone: Call 800-778-2255 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, and a representative will direct your call to the right department.
Email: No customer service email available.
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.
