Globe Life Insurance Review: Pricey Coverage, But No Medical Exams
Globe is a good option for accidental death insurance, but its term and whole life insurance policies are too expensive for healthy shoppers.
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Editor's Rating
If you're looking for final expense insurance with limited health exams, Globe Life offers a variety of products that match this situation.
Globe Life only offers coverage with no medical exam, so if you're healthy, you'll pay higher rates than you would at an insurer that takes your health into account when setting prices.
Additionally, Globe Life insurance receives far more complaints than competing life insurance companies, suggesting customers are less likely to be satisfied with the service they receive.
Pros and cons
Pros
No medical exam
Covers funeral and other end-of-life costs
Offers policies for all ages
Wide range of accidental death benefits
Cons
No income replacement or large death benefits
Doesn't offer term coverage over 5 years
Healthy people can typically find better rates elsewhere
Globe Life's products
Globe Life and Accident Insurance Co. offers term life insurance with no medical exam, whole life insurance (for adults and children) and accidental death coverage. The term and whole life insurance policies are considered final expense insurance, which means their limited payouts are better suited for covering end-of-life costs than replacing your income.
Globe whole life insurance
Purchasing Globe Life's whole life insurance doesn't require a medical exam, but you'll answer questions about your health during the application process. Since the underwriting is limited, the death benefits are as well. But this can be sufficient if you're looking for final expense or funeral coverage. Funeral costs typically reach about $10,000; Globe Life offers payouts between $5,000 to $50,000, mostly in increments of $10,000.
The cash value of your policy won't be added to the death benefit, but it grows at a guaranteed rate over time. You can decide to borrow against the value of the policy or eventually surrender the policy altogether.
Cost
You pay $1 in the first month; after that, your rates won't change for the duration of the policy. But because you aren't required to get a medical exam, your rates as a healthy person will be significantly higher than if you purchased a policy from an insurer with full underwriting, which includes a medical exam and blood tests. That means no-medical-exam whole life insurance is only a good option if you know a medical exam would disqualify you from coverage with another insurer.
Restrictions
In New York, Globe Life's whole life insurance payouts are more limited. They range from $1,000 to $25,000, depending on your age and gender.
Globe term life insurance
Globe's term life insurance also has no medical exam and offers a limited set of death benefits. You can purchase $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000 in coverage.
Cost
While Globe Life advertises that its premiums stay level for the entire policy term, you can only get coverage for a maximum of five years. Globe Life puts policyholders into five-year-long age brackets; once your initial term ends, you move into a new age bracket. Each time you renew, your rates increase.
Let's say you purchase $50,000 of coverage at age 52, and you maintain coverage until you turn 70:
Age | Policy length | Sample rate |
|---|---|---|
| 52-55 | 3 years | $80 per month |
| 56-60 | 5 years | $105 per month |
| 61-65 | 5 years | $141 per month |
| 66-70 | 5 years | $196 per month |
All Globe life insurance plans cost $1 for the first month.
Age and coverage restrictions
Before getting term life insurance from Globe Life, ask about age restrictions. The company only offers coverage through a certain age, typically 80 or 90. Several consumers left complaints saying they paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for policies — but once they lived past 80, they discovered they no longer had coverage.
You also need to pay attention to coverage limits. Globe Life only offers coverage up to $50,000 in New York and to customers over the age of 50.
Globe Life accidental death benefits insurance
Globe Life offers accidental death insurance with an initial death benefit of up to $250,000. This benefit increases by 5% each year for the first five years of the policy or until you reach age 70, whichever happens first. If you're between the ages of 18 and 69, Globe's accidental death coverage has guaranteed acceptance. This means there are no health questions or medical exams during the application process.
Globe Life's accidental death coverage only pays a claim for specific types of death. For example, a car crash or choking incident falls under the "accidental death" umbrella, while a sickness such as cancer would not.
Depending on how you die or what hardships you face, Globe Life's accidental death coverage can pay out in a few other situations:
Incident | Payout |
|---|---|
| Accidental death of a parent | If you have coverage for your entire family, your beneficiary will receive an additional 10% of your death benefit for each of your children between the ages of 15 and 22, up to a total of $10,000. |
| Accidental death while in a vehicle | If you die in a car crash while wearing a seat belt, your beneficiary receives an additional 10% on top of your death benefit. |
| Accidental death on a commercial airline | If you die while a passenger on a commercial airline, your beneficiary receives an extra 100% payment of your death benefit. |
| Paralysis | If you suffer from partial or full paralysis due to an accident during the term of your coverage, the insurer assigns a value to your loss of mobility and pays you that amount. |
| Dismemberment | If you lose a limb due to an accident during the term of your coverage, the insurer assigns a value to your loss of mobility and pays you that amount. |
Cost
Rates will remain the same throughout your lifetime and may seem cheaper compared to other life insurance policies. But accidental death insurance limits the instances in which you're paid a claim. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accidents only accounted for 6.5% of deaths in 2021. The vast majority of deaths in the U.S. are a result of diseases or medical conditions.
Restrictions
Accidental death coverage isn't available in every state. You won't be able to get coverage if you live in New Jersey, New Mexico, New York or Virginia.
Globe Life consumer reviews and complaints
While Globe Life is a legitimate life insurance company with an A (Excellent) rating from AM Best, it receives far more complaints than a typical life insurance company. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Globe Life receives about 6.5 times as many complaints as a typical life insurer. This suggests customers are quite likely to be unhappy with the service they receive.
Many of Globe Life's customers said they experienced delays during the claims process, as well as billing issues. The company's sales team, on the other hand, is incredibly persistent with regard to calls and sending materials.
If you have a life insurance policy, make sure your beneficiary has the information necessary to file a claim and the details of your payments. Some Globe Life customers said their parents failed to make payments because of illness or dementia, and they had trouble reinstating coverage after the policy lapsed. You don't want to spend years paying for benefits your family doesn't receive once you die.
Frequently asked questions
Can you cash out a Globe Life insurance policy?
Only Globe's whole life insurance policies include a cash value component, which grows over time and can be paid out — though doing so can end your policy. Like other insurers, Globe doesn't include any cash value in its term life and accidental death policies.
How long does it take Globe Life to pay a claim?
According to Globe, it takes 10 to 15 business days for your check to arrive following the date that your claim gets processed. If you haven't received your check within 30 days of having your claim processed, you should reach out and contact Globe directly.
How do I make payments to Globe for my life insurance?
Globe Life premium payments can be made on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, depending on your preference. While the company offers direct billing, policyholders can also pay by Visa, Mastercard or electronic funds transfer. The company's online service center makes it fairly easy to manage your payment information, set up a new method of payment and update your details.
Methodology
To evaluate the competitiveness of Globe Life insurance rates, ValuePenguin compared Globe Life insurance prices to competitor prices. All sample rates are for a healthy nonsmoker who resides in North Carolina.
ValuePenguin considered customer service reviews as well as data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and AM Best to understand how satisfied Globe customers are with their service.
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.