Physicians Mutual Life Insurance fails to make the cut for our list of the best life insurance providers because it only provides a limited number of policy options and riders that policyholders may utilize to tailor their coverage to better meet their individual requirements. The number of customer complaints is above the norm for a company of its size, and the limited coverage limits that are being supplied are not particularly suitable for the high-inflation environment that we are currently experiencing.
The Positives Exposed
If you are looking for a life insurance policy that does not need you to undergo any medical tests, Physicians Mutual could be a suitable option for you to consider. There is no medical underwriting involved in the approval process for any of the company’s life insurance policies.
The application and online quotations: Without the need to engage with an insurance agent, Physicians Mutual makes it simple to obtain a life insurance coverage. You can acquire a price or submit an application online at any time.
Defining the Drawbacks
Low limits on the coverage: The coverage limitations on the life insurance policies offered by Physicians Mutual are extremely low. The maximum payout for a standard term life insurance policy is restricted at $50,000, while the maximum payout for a policy that covers final expenses is $20,000.
Term life insurance, ultimate expense entire life insurance, and children’s life insurance are the only kinds of life insurance offered by Physicians Mutual. The company does not offer any other types of life insurance plans.
Very few riders: If you wish to personalize your life insurance coverage with riders, we would not recommend Physicians Mutual to you because they provide very few riders. In comparison to its rivals, the company only offers a fairly limited number of riders.
Complaint Index
According to the information provided by the National Association of Insurers Commissioners’ (NAIC) Complaint Index, Physicians Mutual receives a greater number of complaints than was anticipated. The customer complaint index is a formula that reflects the number of complaints a firm receives in a given year based on the size of the company or its proportion of the market.
Companies that get an expected amount of complaints according to their scale have an index value of 1.00, while companies that receive less complaints compared to projections have an index value that is less than 1.00. Those with an index greater than 1.00 have received more complaints than were anticipated.
The annual complaint index of the company was averaged over a period of three years, and the final score was 1.37. This was done so that we could acquire a better picture of the client experience that Physicians Mutual provides. This indicates that Physicians Mutual received a higher number of complaints than anticipated.
As a point of reference, the majority of the top-rated life insurance providers that we researched had an index that is lower than 1.00.
Ratings from a Third Party
AM Best has given Physicians Mutual a grade of A (Excellent) for its financial strength, which indicates that the company has an excellent capability of meeting the obligations of policyholders and paying claims.
Ratings of a company’s financial strength are essential since they show the likelihood that the insurer is going to be able to fulfill its obligations in the foreseeable future.
AM Best is a credit ratings service that provides letter grade rankings to businesses based on a variety of criteria, including their total debt, the health of their balance sheets, and their overall operating performance. AM Best assigns ratings to businesses via a point system, with a “A++” representing the highest possible score.
The vast majority of the 90 different life insurance companies that we looked into have at least an A rating from AM Best. Our highest-ranked life insurance providers all hold at least an A+ rating across the board.
Policies Available
Physicians Mutual provides a selection of life insurance products, one of which is whole life insurance for children. Among these options is children’s life insurance. The greatest amount of coverage that is offered from Physicians Mutual is $50,000, but none of their life insurance products require a medical exam to be purchased.
Insurance Coverage on a Term Basis
Coverage under a term life insurance policy is provided for a predetermined amount of time. During the period, both the premiums and the death benefit are guaranteed to remain unchanged from one another. Your beneficiary will be entitled to the death benefit if you die away during the period of the policy. The vast majority of policies for term life insurance do not accumulate cash value, which is a feature that is typical of life insurance policies that are permanent.
The term life insurance policy offered by Physicians Mutual is renewable and convertible, and the benefit amount can reach up to $50,000 at its maximum. You can switch your coverage over to a whole life insurance without having to submit to a medical exam if you do so prior to the initial term expires. Alternately, once the first period of coverage has expired, you can choose to renew it on a yearly basis (although the price will increase).
Insurance for the Protection of Children
Whole life assurance for your children is what Physicians Mutual refers to as their children’s life insurance policy option. In contrast to the majority of child riders which you can add to your life insurance policy, this one only gives a minimal death benefit but it remains in effect even after the child becomes an adult. When your kid reaches the age of 21, the coverage level increases to cover them for twice as much, and between the ages of 22 and 27, they are eligible to enhance coverage by up to an additional $100,000.
Final Expense Insurance
A customized whole life policy with coverage of up to $15,000 is available to purchase from Physicians Mutual. Your application for coverage will be approved as long as you are between the ages of 45 and 79 as it is a form of guaranteed issue life insurance, which means that you will not be disqualified from coverage based on your health in any way. There are no health-related questions or medical examinations involved.
The insurance policy offers a modest sum of coverage that can be put toward the payment of final expenses such as a burial or memorial service. Policies that cover final expenses have premiums that are set in stone and accumulate value in cash, which can be used to pay off the policy or borrowed against.
The premiums for final expense insurance are significantly greater than those for policies that need a health questionnaire or a medical exam to be purchased. A graded death reimbursement period that typically lasts for two years is included in these policies as well. If you pass away during this period of time due to natural causes, your loved ones will not be eligible for the full death payment.
Available Riders
A limited number of riders are available through Physicians Mutual. Endorsements and riders are both types of add-ons that can be incorporated into your life insurance policy to provide extra security and to fill up coverage gaps.
Accidental death benefit riders are available via Physicians Mutual, however purchasing one is voluntary. If you passed away and your death was caused by an accident that meets certain criteria, this rider will pay out an additional death benefit to your beneficiary.
Assistance to Customers
You can get in touch with Physicians Mutual by dialing (800) 228-9100 during their regular business hours, which are Mondays through Fridays, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time. You can use a search engine on the internet to identify an agent in the region by entering your zip code into the relevant field.
