Thinking of Buying Globe Life Insurance? Read This and Think Again!
Disclaimer: We are not Globe Life Insurance Company nor are we affiliated with Globe Life Insurance Company in any way. If you need to reach the company directly, please call 1-800-811-3927.
I have always considered an insurance broker’s most crucial role to interpret all the “small print” insurance companies put in an insurance policy. This is a critical piece of the puzzle to help potential consumers clearly understand what they’re getting into well before they make a selection.
A broker’s duty is rarely just to sell. Instead, it is to present all the pieces of information so the customer can make an educated decision. It is my sincere wish that after examining this honest Globe Life Insurance review, you will choose to work with an individual insurance broker to ensure that you won’t end up in this situation.
However, this post isn’t about the important role a broker plays, it’s about informing and educating consumers before they are seduced by the marketing methods used by the majority of companies. Let’s jump in and examine some of the headlines and misconceptions in insurance lingo that we can all understand the importance of examining further.
You also want to read about similar company called Colonial Penn Life.
In 1951, two friends, John Singletary and Ralph Reece, founded Globe Life & Accident Insurance Company, based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They started out by providing inexpensive life insurance policies to rural Oklahoma communities. Since the beginning, they have prided themselves in “selling direct,” marketing to the public through TV ads and direct mail. They offer policies with no medical exam, and ask only a few medical questions.
In 1964, Globe Life Insurance expanded and began selling life insurance products in 36 other states. Globe Life has an A+ rating from A.M. Best. Today, Globe Life & Accident Insurance Company is major U.S. life insurer, licensed in every U.S. state except New York, with over 3.9 million policyholders. In 1980, Liberty National acquired Globe Life and Accident Insurance Company and formed a new holding company, Torchmark Corporation. Torchmark is also the parent company of United American insurance, best-known for its medical supplement insurance sold by United American insurance agents.
Globe Life & Accident Insurance Company had its A+ (Superior) A.M. Best Financial Strength Rating with a stable outlook reaffirmed on 6/24/2016. Sounds great, right? But let’s look further into what this rating actually means.
The A.M. Best financial strength rating for Globe Life & Accident Insurance Company is not a way of measuring customer satisfaction, or the excellence of the company’s claims reputation. Instead, it is an evaluation about the the company’s ability to pay insurance claims, remain financially favourable, and remain in operation. This means nothing about the type of product nor the quality of product they are selling, or even about past paid claims. In short, it only predicts the company’s ability to meet their ongoing insurance obligations.
I encourage you to do some investigation for yourself on the many complaints against Globe Life. Nevertheless, I will present you with this: based on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Globe Life’s customers submitted considerably more complaints about the company with state regulators than the national average for other companies.
It is very easy to apply and qualify for coverage, with just a few “yes/no” health questions, and a $1 premium payment for the first month of coverage. However, if you need more than one month of coverage, look somewhere else (I’ll explain more below).
I’m certain you have seen this particular advertisement before, haven’t you? You may have even received a mailer advertisement to buy $50,000 life insurance for a $1.
When you stop and think about it, would you truly believe that you can buy $50,000 or $100,000 in coverage for a $1? How can they offer twice as much coverage for the same $1? You can’t even buy a coffee for a $1 in the majority of stores today, much less purchase a life insurance coverage for that amount. Purchasing life insurance is a significant decision in planning for your future, so make sure you put a lot of thought into it.
The reason Globe Life can offer you a policy for $1 is that they are selling a “modified premium term to age 90 product.” If you read carefully enough, you’ll discover that the $1 is actually for the first month only, after which the monthly premiums charged are based upon your age.
You aren’t getting a 10-, 20-, or 30-year guaranteed level term policy that guarantees the premium to remain the same for the duration of the policy. Instead, you are in fact buying a 5-year term policy, where every 5 years your rate changes with your age.
And, as you can probably guess, the older you are, the more expensive your premiums become. Therefore, unless you are looking for a 5-year guaranteed term policy, are 19 years old, or only need $5,000 in coverage, Globe Life Insurance really isn’t for you.
Can You Find Globe’s Life Insurance Rates?
We attempt to make things simple here, like buying your morning coffee at your neighborhood cafe. However, getting life insurance coverage for your loved ones requires a little bit more than reading a great ad headline. When I prepared my post and did my research, I couldn’t locate any prices on Globe’s website.
This absolutely should be a huge warning to you as a shopper! I needed to dig very hard online to finally uncover a PDF with the rates and the product descriptions. My question would be: if you have an excellent product to offer that everyone would like to have, why wouldn’t you be proud to make this information easily available? If a skilled insurance professional can’t find the information and facts, can an individual with no practical experience find it, and then know what they’re looking at?
Policy description: This is a modified premium term-to-age-90 product. The initial term period can either be 1,2,3,4 or 5 years in duration, depending upon issue age. All renewal term periods begin at a 5-year plus one age (i.e. 21, 26, 31, 36…86) and will be 5 years in length except for the final term period. The final 4-year period, which begins at age 86, will expire and the policy will terminate at the policy anniversary following the insured’s 90th birthday.
“Monthly Rates as low as $3.49!” Really?
Don’t let introductory prices deceive you. All businesses including all insurance carriers do this. They want to display the least expensive quotes to you, however, the devil is in the details, and it’s vital that you look into the fine print. My grandma always said to *always read the fine print associated with an asterisk.
I’ll make it bigger if you can’t see the small print with an example: With a Globe Life Insurance policy, a 46-year-old male would pay $44.96 per month for the next 5 years for $50,000 in coverage. When he reaches age 71, his policy would cost $227.92 per month.
That man should have consulted with an independent broker, who would have presented him with an alternative option. For example, if he had gone with a 30-year guaranteed level term policy from AIG, for $100,000 in cover, he would only pay $29 per month for the entire 30 years of the policy.
You are probably thinking, “well, they offer no-exam policies and AIG is a full-exam policy, that is why AIG is cheaper.” You also can get a no-exam policy with Sagicore for $50,000 in coverage for a 30-year term for $21 a month.
Another point to bring up here is why would someone buy a life insurance policy for children? The reason adults buy life insurance is so that their financial dependents do not suffer a financial hardship, should the insured unexpectedly pass away.
Of course, it is a horrible thing when a child passes away, but the likelihood of this is much slimmer than the death of an adult. Since kids aren’t providing any income to support anyone, why would you need to insure them? To me, this is just another way the insurance company tries to sell you a product you don’t really need.
This may be another subject to cover, but I, personally, really see no point in insuring children. Some people choose to stay away from talking to a broker for many different reasons, but generally, it’s because they believe that the broker will just be the obnoxious salesman. Instead, they buy through the insurance company without help and make the ultimate miscalculation, which is purchasing coverage that doesn’t suit them or is outrageously expensive.
If this headline got you, let’s not forget that Globe Life Insurance offers only the following coverages: $5k, $10k, 20k, $30k, $50k, and $100k, and most of us need a lot more than $100k. But let’s pretend that you don’t need more than $100K in coverage, and you’re not in perfect health, but can answer favorably to the few health questions on the application.
My question is still why would you buy a 5-year term policy? Every 5 years, the price will change and you will find yourself paying more for the same coverage. Furthermore, if you are fairly healthy, you should just take a fully underwritten policy, which will get you the lowest price, guaranteed for the entire term of the policy.
This is perhaps the worst false impression about life insurance companies. You actually buy direct with all companies. If you purchase a Banner Life policy through an insurance broker, for example, your policy is direct by Banner, via a licensed broker.
People have a belief that they can shop for products and services without needing a human or an “annoying salesman,” and that this is actually a wonderful thing to save you money or hassle. The reality is very different, due to the fact that now you will have to do everything yourself, with no experience, prior training, or knowledge.
How will I know I’m getting the best price?
How will I fully know what quality of the product I’m receiving?
Is this a reliable company?
How long of a term should I buy?
What should I do if I’m not in perfect health or have other high-risk qualifications?
Did You Buy the Right Product?
Later, you may find yourself feeling like you did not end up with the best product or price, or that you don’t fully understand your policy, or that you are exhausted and overwhelmed trying to learn everything about something that may be a foreign concept to you.
It can be quite easy today to buy a policy with the simple click of a mouse, especially when Globe Life Insurance doesn’t provide their actual quotes on the internet. Please, don’t buy life insurance with the same manners as you buy your coffee in the morning. Some things in life are more challenging, but it is because they are more important. We really don’t want to think about our own mortality, but if you do, talk to a broker first. You can always call Globe and buy their product later.
I couldn’t find the whole life policy rates provided by Globe Life Insurance, therefore, I am only showing the term rates that I found. You can check out sample rates by age for all insurance carriers, or enter your information in our online quoter to receive instant quotes.
My purpose here is only to break down some insurance marketing tactics that are often misunderstood by most of us. I think that trying to make everything as easy and thoughtless as possible can really hurt us in the long term. Life insurance purchase is a serious business that should be treated like any other important decision you make.
I recognize that people can complain just about everything because no one policy or company is best for every single person on the planet. Most complaints are because individuals thought they bought one policy and received another. In fact, I really hear this problem a lot, especially when people buy health insurance. The reality is that insurance terminology isn’t for amateurs, and the insurance company is actually obeying the rules.
If you bought a term life policy that changes every 5 years, and you thought it was a whole life policy or a level-term life policy, that can be an infuriating experience. However, it was on the contract that you signed, whether you read it or not.
It’s not that Globe Life Insurance is not delivering the product they are selling; they actually are. The problem is that they’re using marketing tactics and hoping the average person does not understand what they are reading. In my opinion, it should be the opposite – your experience buying life insurance should be very up-front and clear, and leave you feeling secure in your purchase.
Call every carrier in the nation and find out who has the best rate.
Get a broker who can do all the work for you.
Using an insurance broker doesn’t cost you anything because the insurance company pays the broker. In return, you get their seasoned experience and knowledge, someone, to help evaluate your needs, and who can do the work of finding you the best policy rates and making sure the application process goes smoothly.
You wouldn’t negotiate a lawsuit settlement without consulting a lawyer, or be expected to understand the terms of a mortgage policy without a realtor or banker, so don’t make buying a life insurance policy harder on yourself than it needs to be.
Brokers have to go through schooling and pass licensing exams to prove they have the knowledge needed to understand insurance policies, so don’t put pressure on yourself to understand everything. Your broker is a source of knowledge and guidance, and should really be there to help ensure that you understand everything you’re buying, even the fine print. You can run the quotes yourself on the right-hand side, or give us a call toll-free at 866-326-3053.
Thank you for your interesting insight. I had a globe life policy on my husband who recently passed away. His policy was with globe. Now they are saying it is contest able due to the fact it is only a year and 6 months old. I was honest with the questions but it is not enough for them. They have analysts looking at more medical records, who in fact have no medical education. No knowledge of physiology, anatomy or diagnosis. Then it goes to the board who in my research are “stateholders”. Trying to figure out how not to pay. They sent a survey to me, and I had to really blast them. Google took it and it went viral. I got a letter from the “owner” it read he is praying for me. Man oh man, that was insulting at best. I have my own policy with them and they are ignoring me about canceling it. Your information is crucial to anyone needing Life Insurance. I intend to continue to fight if they refuse to pay. I am trying to figure out how to pay his bills. I miss him every minute of every day.