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Costco offers one life insurance product through Protective Life Insurance. Protective is a reputable insurance provider and the term life policy they offer is exclusive to Costco members.
Protective is a financially stable life insurance company boasting “AA” ratings from both Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s. They also have an “A+” from the Better Business Bureau. With that in mind, their insurance reputation should speak for itself.
On the surface, their offering with Costco sounds like it could be a sweet, exclusive deal. But, you’ll want to dig in and see everything their policy offers before you make your final choice.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Costco’s Life Insurance Offering
Member Advantage Life UL Insurance
Policy Details:
- 10 & 20-year terms offered
- Potential universal life insurance component available
- Applicable for ages 18-75 (18-65 for a 20-year term)
- Exclusive for Costco members
- Easy online quote
- Short phone call required to complete application
- Medical exam required (but covered by Protective)
- Premium discount for the first five years
Considerations:
When considering Protective’s life insurance through Costco, you have to consider what kind of deal you’re actually getting. While Protective is a reputable insurer, they’re only offering you one kind of policy, versus the full breadth of Protective’s offerings. The terms they offer are surprisingly short compared to other insurers, at either 10 or 20 years. This is likely a way for Protective to keep costs down and offer discounts on their policy.
Plus, despite its name, the policy Protective is offering is less of a standard universal policy and more of a term policy with the potential to become universal.
Alongside this, a medical exam is part of the underwriting process, although it’s covered by Protective. To sweeten the deal for Costco members, Protective also offers a discount on premiums for the first five years the policy is in force. Outside of a selection of additional riders, this is really all that their term life insurance policy has to offer.
None of this is to say that Protective’s insurance product is bad. On the contrary, True Blue sells nearly the same product from Protective, but we only put customers in it about 1% of the time. You have t0 make sure the policy is the right fit for you and your best value, so you don’t wind up paying more than necessary. This is especially true if you can possibly get a better deal from a different insurer based on your health history.
A note about buying from a singular life insurance provider:
Since Protective is only selling one policy through Costco, you don’t have many options if they decline you or the rates come back higher than expected. There’s nothing else they can offer you.
If you were using an independent agent or brokerage instead, they could take the results of that medical exam and shop it around to other insurers and find you a better fit. As noted before, Protective is offering a good product as a Costco exclusive, but that doesn’t mean it’s a one-size-fits-all policy.
For example, if you have a history of heart disease or stroke in your family, you could likely save 25% on premiums with a provider like Banner over Protective’s Costco policy.
Again, this isn’t a knock against Protective, but more a warning about choosing a convenient option over the right option. Every company is going to fit your needs differently with varying levels of underwriting flexibility.
Alternatives to Protective’s Costco life insurance:
If you need help comparing and shopping around, here’s a list of some of the alternatives to Protective, both with and without medical exams, you should also consider:
| Medical exam required | No Medical exam |
|---|---|
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Want to talk to real people who can help you sort through these alternatives and find the policy that best fits your needs? Give us a call at (866) 816-2100 or click here let our knowledgable agents shop for you!
After reviewing all of these alternatives, you decide to go with Protective’s offering through Costco, here’s what you need to know about applying:
How does the application process for Protective’s Costco life insurance work?
In order to get a policy from Protective through Costco, you’ll start by filling out their online application to get a quote. From there, they will get your member number and help set up payment options. Then a customer service representative will reach out and help guide prospective insureds through the next steps. On a 20-minute phone call, they’ll talk to you about getting a paramedical exam, your medical history, and the underwriting process at large.
Does Protective offer any additional riders for their Costco policy?
At the same time, this process will involve going through and deciding what riders they’d like to add to their policy. These additional riders include:
- Terminal Illness Accelerated Death Benefits Rider (w/ no extra charge)
- In the event you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness, this allows you up to 60% of your policy’s death benefits to cope with emotional and financial costs.
- Income Provider Option Endorsement Rider (w/ no extra charge)
- This allows the insured to select whether the death benefit is paid out as a lump sum or over 30 years.
- Disability Benefit Rider (w/ extra charge)
- In the event you’re hit with a disability, this rider allows you access to coverage as an add-on to your existing life insurance policy.
- Accidental Death Benefits Rider (w/ extra charge)
- This rider allows for a greater death benefit to be paid out if the insured’s death is ruled an accident.
- Children’s Term Life insurance Rider (w/ extra charge)
- If you want to add your children to your life insurance policy, this rider will cover them up to the age of 25. After that point, they can either terminate the policy or pick up the policy from protective on their own.
After all of that, they will review your application and analyze your medical history, exam results and perform a background check. They will use that information to make their final decision about accepting your application.
Is Protective’s Costco life insurance your best deal?
Protective’s offering through Costco can be a good deal, but it really depends on your situation.
As noted before, Protective can only sell you this singular policy, versus an independent agent’s breadth of policies. While they’re selling a quality policy, it is also inherently limited and may not be your best fit.
Although, if you find that Protective’s Member Advantage Life policy best fits your needs, we encourage you to apply through Costco. They can give the best possible deal, offering discounts for the first five years of your policy.
On the other hand, if you’d like to explore your options further and talk with a True Blue independent life insurance agent, who represents over 30 companies, we’re here to help. You can click here to use our questionnaire and quote engine to compare and find the best policy.
Or, if you’d like to speak with one of our knowledgable agents directly, you can follow the contact links below:
Toll-Free: (866) 816-2100
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact us page
Let us be your personal shopper
Schedule an appointment with a True Blue agent
As the largest nonprofit organization in the United States, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) charges its members a monthly fee of $16. In exchange, you receive discounts on restaurants, travel, even healthcare providers.
AARP also provides life insurance through a 3rd party. It’s important to note that you must be an active member in order to be eligible for their life insurance plans.
Two things you need to know about AARP
The first thing you need to know before buying life insurance from AARP is that they do not write their own policies.
- All of AARP’s life insurance policies are written by New York Life.
It’s worth noting that New York Life is a reputable company in the world of insurance. In addition, they are the third largest life insurance company in the United States and boast an A+ BBB rating. (Although they are not currently accredited by the BBB at the time of publication.) - AARP’s New York Life policies are all sold as exclusives for their members.
Their offerings do carry a lot of positives. It’s worth noting though that they tend to be more expensive than many other options available on the market. So, it pays for you to understand their offerings and do some shopping around on your own.
If you’re considering buying a life insurance policy from AARP, you should dig into what they’re really offering. Here’s a helpful breakdown of all the policies they are offering:
The four AARP life insurance plans
1. AARP Level Term Benefit Life Insurance
Policy Details
- Basic term policy offering, which carries a level death benefit and lasts until the insured turns 80. Their term policy ranges from
- Coverage amounts of $10,000 to $100,000 of coverage
- Doesn’t require a medical exam. As another benefit
- There are only three yes or no qualifying questions
The three qualifying questions:
- In the past 2 years, have you had treatment or medication for or been diagnosed by a doctor as having heart trouble, stroke, cancer, lung disease or disorder, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, AIDS, AIDS-related complex, or immune system disorder?
- In the past 2 years, for any condition, have you been admitted to or confined in a hospital, sanitarium, nursing home, extended care, or special treatment facility?
- In the past 3 months, have you consulted a doctor or had treatment or diagnostic tests of any type?
What you need to be careful about with these policies are the premiums.
At first, they are affordable but they slowly rise every five years over the policy’s lifespan.
While it doesn’t require a medical exam, it also means that the policy will be more expensive than what is available from other providers.
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| No medical exams | More expensive to get more coverage |
| Only three easy questions to answer | Premiums slowly increase every five years |
| Premiums stay level based on the applicant’s initial age | Term length expires at age 80 |
2. AARP Permanent Life Insurance
Policy Details:
- Offers up to $50,000 in permanent coverage.
- No medical exam is required.
- Premiums are level and never increase over the policy’s lifespan.
- The policy stays in force as long as the insured is alive.
- Monthly premium payments cease at age 95.
- Grows a cash value that the insured can borrow against.
Unfortunately, the biggest hang up with their permanent policy is more expensive than many other permanent offerings on the market. Meaning, AARP’s policies might not be the most affordable option if price is at the forefront of your search.
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| No medical exam required | More expensive than other options |
| Guaranteed permanent coverage | Cash value growth is slower than many comparable policies |
| Grows cash value |
3. AARP Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance
Policy Details:
- Carries a maximum permanent benefit of $25,000
- No medical exams required.
- No health questions to answer.
- Graded death benefits for the first two years.
With a guaranteed acceptance coverage insureds run the risk of outliving their policy. In other words, insureds may wind up paying more in premiums than their death benefit is actually worth.
Here’s a helpful formula to see how long until it will take to outlive your policy:
Death Benefit/(Monthly Premium x 12) = How Many Years Until You Outlive Your Policy
If you don’t want to run the risk of outliving your policy, you may want to consider other coverage options instead.
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed coverage | More expensive coverage |
| Easy application | Limited benefits for the first two years |
| Grows cash value | Insured runs the risk of outliving policy |
4. AARP Young Start Life Insurance
Policy details:
- Provided for children or grandchildren of AARP members.
- Carries a maximum coverage amount of $25,000.
- Does not require a medical exam.
- Only requires answers to general health questions.
- Stays in force after the parent passes away, as long as:
- The policy has been in force for more than 2 years.
- The child is under 21.
- The child becomes the policy’s beneficiary after age 21.
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Low rates for children | Premiums will vary based on the child and their response to medical questions |
| No medical exam | |
| Rates won’t increase for the child |
It pays to compare life insurance rates
If you are an active AARP member and you enjoy the benefits you receive, getting life insurance through them may seem like an obvious choice.
However, it doesn’t cost anything to run a quote and compare other providers. Instead, you could save hundreds of dollars a year, for the same coverage, with the same benefits.
| Issue Amount | $50,000 – $500,000 | $50,000 – $400,000 | $50,000 – $400,000 | $10,000 – $100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue Age | 18 – 50 | 18 – 80 | 18 – 80 | 18 – 64 |
| Convertible To Whole Life Policy | Yes, during years 1 – 5 | Yes | Yes, for the first half of the term | No |
| Living Benefits | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price: (37-year-old male, non-smoker, in California, for $100k in coverage) | $24.99 per month | $23.28 per month | $33.31 per month | $67.92 per month |
