Ethos Life Insurance Review

Great for convenience, not so great if price sensitive.

Ethos is another highly rated and reviewed web-based insurance company designed for 21st-century efficiency. Its company goal is to make the process of applying for and acquiring life insurance easier and more accessible. In just a few minutes, the company provides instant quotes and coverage.

Key Takeaways from this review:

  • Ethos is great if you’re looking for convenient term life insurance. It’s one of the better options out in the market. We recommend it.
  • If you’re price sensitive, you can do better than Ethos if you’re willing to jump through a few more hoops.

The vast majority of consumer ratings are positive for Ethos Insurance, with the speedy application and approval process being the number one reason why people are so quick to choose this company and its policies.

Ethos Life Insurance

Quick Navigation

Navigating The Ethos Online System
Coverage Options with Ethos Life Insurance
Ethos Policy Riders
Pros of Going With Ethos Life Insurance
Cons of Going With Ethos Life Insurance

Ethos’s life insurance policies have an underwriter: Legal & General (also known as Banner Life Insurance Company) who currently holds an A rating with A.M. Best. This means that the organization has excellent credibility and can properly pay out claims.

Legal & General has been around for a long time and is a well respected name in the life insurance industry.

Navigating The Ethos Online System

When you apply for coverage with Ethos Life Insurance, you have to complete an online application where you answer a slew of basic health questions. Expect them to ask you for your birthdate, height, weight, occupation, and a bunch of lifestyle questions that are used to evaluate whether or not you’re insurable.

Here are some of the factors that the underwriting algorithms consider:

  1. Age
  2. Gender
  3. Use of tobacco (those with the best rates will have abstained from smoking tobacco for five years)
  4. Occupation (those with dangerous jobs, for example, firemen, will have higher premiums)
  5. Risk-Taking Hobbies (fervent skydivers or bungee-jumpers will also have higher premiums)
  6. Health (calculated through a series of questions and/or medical exam if necessary)
  7. Driving Record (better driving records may get better rates)
  8. Alcohol and Drugs (those with no history of substance abuse will naturally receive better rates)

When you go with a more traditional insurance company, this process can take weeks. Thanks to a series of algorithms and technological systems that Ethos uses, you can receive coverage almost instantly and get rates in record time.

Keep in mind that you may be asked to undergo a medical exam if the predictive analytics prescribe it but, in most instances, this is not necessary.

Most policies with a death benefit under one million dollars do not need a medical examination. If your death benefit exceeds one million dollars, you also may not need a medical examination unless the algorithm thinks that you may have a medical condition. If a medical examination is requested and you refuse, your coverage could be denied.

Coverage Options with Ethos Life Insurance

Coverage Options with Ethos Life Insurance

Ethos sells term life insurance to consumers between the ages of eighteen and seventy-five. The term brackets are 10, 15, 20, or 30 years which is pretty standard for an insurer that provides term life insurance. Ethos promises that your premiums will be fixed for the term.

Eligible coverage depends heavily on your age. Here are the guidelines are given to prospective consumers via the Ethos Life website:

Age 18 to 55 (non-smoker): up to 30 years of coverage
Age 18 to 55 (smoker): up to 30 years of coverage

Age 56 to 65 (non-smoker): up to 20 years of coverage
Age 51 to 65 (smoker): up to 20 years of coverage

Age 66 to 70: up to 15 years of coverage
Age 71 to 75: up to 10 years of coverage

Ethos Policy Riders

One of Ethos’s biggest strengths is the number of riders it has available to clients and the ease with which they can be added to a term policy. Some policy factors like this make or break a client’s decision to choose a particular company. Let’s take a closer look at some of the policy riders available through Ethos Life Insurance:

  • Child Term Rider – This rider allows clients to add children to their life insurance. You will be charged a fixed fee until your child reaches the age of 18.
  • Critical Illness Rider – This rider lets you collect death benefits while you’re still living should you be diagnosed with a critical illness.
  • Waiver of Premium – If you become injured or disabled before the age of 65, this rider will allow coverage while not paying premiums.
  • Endowment Benefit Rider – This rider is also known as a “Return of Premium” rider also comes at an additional cost. It lets you return all premiums paid if you outlive your insurance policy’s term.

Pros of Going With Ethos Life Insurance

Pros of Going With Ethos Life Insurance
  1. Ethos can get you coverage of up to $1,500,000.
  2. In most cases, medical examinations are not required.
  3. You can get a free quote by completing an online application that takes about 10 minutes to finish.
  4. Unlike most of its contemporaries, Ethos allows you to directly add riders onto your policy. There are many available, including Child Protection Riders and Critical Illness Riders.
  5. Ethos covers a wide variety of ages, from 18 to 75.
  6. Ethos allows you to convert its term policy to whole life at any point. This means that if you’re nearing the end of your term and you become uninsurable, you can convert to a permanent policy with no evidence of insurability.

Cons of Going With Ethos Life Insurance

  1. Ethos is notably more expensive than its competitors where you can buy life insurance online without an exam, including Haven Life. You will most likely pay higher premiums.
  2. Ethos won’t approve anyone considered a higher risk. If you have health complications, look elsewhere.
  3. At the end of the process, Ethos may require you to take a medical exam based on your Medical Information Bureau findings
  4. Ethos only sells term life insurance so, if you’re looking for permanent insurance, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
  5. There’s a cap to how much life insurance you can purchase. So if you need a bigger amount of life insurance, you’d have to also purchase from another company.

In conclusion, if you’re going for convenience and you’re in good health, Ethos is a fine option and one we can recommend.

If you’re searching for the best priced life insurance, you can do better than Ethos. Especially if you decide to go the traditional route of applying for life insurance and taking a medical exam. However if you would like your coverage much faster without the hassle of a medical exam the increased cost is worth it for some. Compare rates by completing the form on the top of this page.