There are a multitude of reasons why someone may apply for life insurance. Just some of these can include the payoff of debt for survivors, and/or the ability to use the proceeds from a policy for paying ongoing living expenses in the event of the unexpected.
While life insurance can be extremely beneficial, it is important to understand that not all policies are the same. With that in mind, before going out and purchasing life insurance, it is essential to ensure that you are moving forward with the proper type and amount of coverage.
In addition, it is recommended that you make sure that the insurance carrier you are considering is strong and stable financially, and that it has a good reputation for paying out its policyholder claims. One insurance company that meets these criteria is Farmers Insurance Company.
For almost a century, Farmers Insurance Company has been providing coverage options to its policyholders and helping to ensure that loved ones and survivors are not left with financial difficulty in case of the unexpected.
Farmers Insurance Company was founded in 1928 with an "unwavering commitment to uphold the company's founding ideals of providing industry-leading products and first-rate service to its customers."
Over the years, Farmers grew and expanded, due to the additional of product offerings, as well as by acquiring other insurance carriers. There are several subsidiaries of Farmers, such as:
Either direction or via its affiliates, Farmers Insurance Company, offers a variety of coverage options, including life insurance, property and casualty insurance, and financial services.
Today, Farmers Insurance Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group - a Swiss insurance company that is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland and is considered to be the largest insurance carrier in Switzerland. Zurich had 2016 revenues of approximately $67.25 billion.
Farmers Insurance Group has more than 50,000 exclusive and independent agents that offer its products throughout the United States. The company is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California.
The company does a great deal of advertising, both online and off - including its popular television commercials that often center around "Farmers University," a fictional entity that discusses various types of insurance claim.
In addition, Farmers is involved in a number of sponsorships - which also help to promote the company's name and product offerings - such as the Farmers Insurance open PGA golf tournament, as well as a race car that is driven by NASCAR participant Kasey Kahne.
Due in large part to its strong financial foundation, Farmers Insurance Company has earned high ratings from the insurer ratings agencies. These include the following:
In addition, Farmers Insurance Group has been an accredited company of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) ever since June of 1951. Farmers has been given a grade of A+ by the BBB, which is on an overall grade scale of A+ to F.
Over the past three years, Farmers Insurance Group has closed out a total of 646 customer complaints - of which 224 have been closed out within the past 12 months. Of the 646 customer complaints, 309 of them had to do with problems with the company's product and/or service. An additional 217 of these complaints were related to advertising and/or sales issues, 107 had to do with billing and/or collection issues, eight were related to delivery issues, and the remaining five had to do with guarantee and/or warranty issues.
Farmers offers a long list of different life insurance coverage options to choose from. These include both term and permanent policies. With term life insurance, there is a death benefit in place, but no cash value or savings build up - and because of that, term life insurance can offer an affordable way to obtain needed protection.
As its name suggests, term life insurance is purchased for a set period of time, or term, such as for ten years, fifteen years, twenty years, or even thirty years. There are several term life insurance policy options that are available through Farmers, including the:
Farmers Simple Term - The Farmers Simple Term plan offers death benefit coverage that starts at $75,000, and protection that remains level for 10, 20, or 30 years. And, while there are some health questions to answer on the application for this coverage, there are no lab tests or medical exams required. This policy may also be converted over into a permanent form of coverage that can build cash value, regardless of the insured's health condition.
Farmers Value Term - The Farmers Value Term plan offers affordable life insurance coverage with premiums that are guaranteed not to increase for 10, 20, or for 30 years. This policy is also convertible to lifelong, permanent coverage. The Value Term policy provides death benefit protection that starts at $150,000.
There is also permanent life insurance coverage available through Farmers Insurance Company. With a permanent plan, there is both death benefit protection, and cash value build up. The cash that is in the cash component is allowed to grow and compound over time on a tax-deferred basis. This means that there is no tax due on the gain, unless or until the money is withdrawn by the policyholder.
Permanent life insurance protection is designed to last for the remainder of the insured's lifetime - provided that the premium is paid. Typically, the amount of the death benefit is guaranteed not to decrease, and the premium amount is locked in and won't go up - even in the event that the insured contracts an adverse health issue down the road.
There are different types of permanent life insurance available through Farmers. These include whole life and universal life. Whole life is considered to be the most basic form of permanent life insurance coverage. That is because the death benefit is generally locked in, as is the amount of the premium. In addition, the cash value growth is based on an interest rate that is set by the insurance company.
Universal life insurance is another form of permanent life insurance coverage. While universal life, or UL, policies offer a death benefit and cash value build up, these types of plans are also considered to be more flexible than whole life. One of the key reasons for this is because a UL policyholder may be able to change - within certain guidelines - the timing and the amount of the premiums. This can help the policyholder to accommodate the plan to fit his or her changing needs in the future.
Farmers EssentialLife Universal Life - With its flexible premiums and death benefit options, the Farmers EssentialLife UL policy allows insureds to determine when and how much to pay towards the plan. In addition, the amount of this policy's death benefit can be either decreased or increased (based on evidence of insurability) over time.
Farmers Index Universal Life - With an index universal life insurance policy, the return on the cash value is based primarily upon the performance of an underlying market index such as the S&P 500. Here, if the index performs well during a given year, then the return is added to the cash value - up to a certain maximum, or "cap." If, however, the return on the underlying index is negative in a given year, then the policy's cash value is simply credited with a 0%. So, while there is no gain, there is also no loss - which in turn can help to guarantee protection of this principal.
Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is considered to be a multi-line, multi-company insurer and financial services group. This entity today provides a myriad of products and services in order to help its customers with their needs, including:
If you're looking for the best premium rates on life insurance coverage through Farmers Insurance - or for that matter, from any insurance carrier - it is typically recommended that you work with an independent life insurance brokerage or agency. In doing so, you will be better able to compare - in an unbiased way - the plans and the prices that are available to you. From there, you can determine which will be the best for you.
When you are ready to proceed, we can help. We are an independent life insurance broker, and we work with many of the top insurance carriers in the marketplace today. We can provide you with all of the key details that you need for making a well-informed life insurance purchasing decision. We can do this for you very quickly and conveniently, all directly from your computer, and without the need for you to meet in person with a life insurance agent. In order to get started with the process, all you have to do is just simply take a moment to fill out the quote form on this page.
Should you find that you still have any additional questions or concerns regarding life insurance protection, please feel free to reach out to us directly. Our experts can be contacted by phone, toll-free, at 541-400-9040.
We understand that the purchase of life insurance can appear a bit overwhelming. There are so many variables to consider - and you want to be sure that you are moving in the right direction. But the good news is that this process can be made so much easier when you have an ally on your side. So, contact us today - we're here to help.