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Best Family Life Insurance: Coverage Options for Parents, Partners, and Children

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Compare Business Insider's picks for the best life insurance for families. ArtistGNDphotography/Getty
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Talking about your loved one's final hours can be difficult. However, an uncomfortable conversation about the worst-case scenario can ease the pain and grief when it arrives. Life insurance for families will ease the logistics of death so you can focus on your family.

The best family life insurance companies offer highly customizable policies that can be tailored to your family's needs. In choosing family life insurance, we looked at the best life insurance policies that would suit the needs of certain family situations, such as military and expectant families. We also looked for the best policies for family-specific plans, such as survivorship policies.

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We choose the best family life insurance based on a company's customer satisfaction points, financial stability ratings, affordability, company offerings, and exclusions.

To compare the quality of a company's customer service, we used JD Power's life insurance customer satisfaction survey. The survey includes data from 5,000 participants from different companies, compiled into an average score for each company. The survey's average is 790 points out of 1,000, meaning companies scoring above deliver better customer service than their competitors.

Financial strength determines a company's ability to pay claims and meet other financial obligations. We sourced data from AM Best, an industry-leading credit rating agency, to evaluate an insurance company's financial health. A company with an A++ to B+ is considered stable and likely to withstand economic downturns. On the other hand, anything lower than a B means a company is unstable or unable to meet its financial obligations.

To compare company offerings, we look at several aspects of a policy, including but not limited to riders, policy flexibility, term life insurance policies with the idea that it's cheaper or you can convert later. Others provide a full range of life insurance products, and agents can walk customers through every step of the shopping experience with extensive knowledge.

Factors like age, health, and lifestyle will influence your premiums. So the average life insurance premiums will vary based on your risk class. However, we do our best to compare policy rates from the same demographic profile to determine which plans offer the most competitive price.

Read more about how Business Insider rates life insurance products.

Best Family Life Insurance Summary

convert your term policy to a permanent policy if needed. State Farm's child rider provides up to $20,000 in death benefits per child. You'll only need to purchase the rider once to cover all current and future children. Your child qualifies for coverage from 15 days old to 25 years old when you can terminate the rider. Then your child can convert to permanent coverage.


Best Family Life Insurance for Pregnant Individuals

If you're pregnant, you may find it challenging, if not impossible, to find insurance past a certain point of your pregnancy. Fortunately, Corebridge Direct Life Insurance is friendly to expectant parents. While most providers will postpone your application if you're past the first trimester, Corebridge offers coverage at any stage of your pregnancy, given that you're healthy.

Additionally, the insurance company provides a built-in terminal illness rider for all its policies. So, if you become terminally ill, you won't have to rely on your family to shoulder the hefty medical bills. Instead, you can draw from your death benefit to cover the expenses. Corebridge Financial also offers a child rider for up to $25,000 coverage per child.


Best Family Life Insurance for Parents

A Protective Life Insurance, you get a maximum of $25,000 in coverage per child for all future and current children. When your child turns 25, they can convert the rider to a permanent policy for five times the rider's face value.

To apply for an individual Protective policy, you must be between the ages of 18 to 64. In addition, if you supplement your policy with a child rider, your child must be no fewer than 15 days old and no older than 18.


Best Family Life Insurance for Military Families

USAA's insurance policies and financial services were designed with military members, reserve members, veterans, and their families in mind. However, USAA offers its life insurance policies to the general public. Unsurprisingly, rates are highly competitive. However, the value and diversity of plans are limited compared to other companies. The exception to this is for active military members who may not find coverage elsewhere.

If you're between 18 and 35, you may qualify for coverage. If you purchase a USAA Life Insurance policy includes the Military Severe Injury Benefit rider and Life Event Option rider at no additional cost. The Military Severe Injury Benefit rider qualifies you for up to $25,000 in reimbursement if you are injured while performing military duties. The Life Event Option rider is the equivalent of a guaranteed insurability rider, which many providers charge a fee to include. This rider guarantees up to $100,000 in coverage for qualifying events like getting married or having a child.

One thing to note is many active duty military members, especially if deployed, won't qualify for life insurance with other providers. So, USAA may be the only option for active servicemembers outside of SGLI (a group life policy for those in the military), which you lose after military retirement.


Best Family Life Insurance for Low-Income Families

MassMutual's LifeBridge program offers $50,000 in free coverage for legal guardians and parents. The policy has no early withdrawal, investment options, etc. Instead, should you pass unexpectedly, the money would go into a trust for your children's education expenses.

Applicants must be in good health between 19 and 42 years old. Both parents and legal guardians are eligible for coverage. Dependents under this plan must be 19 or younger. Household income is also capped at $40,000, but qualifying MassMutual Life Insurance policyholders must earn at least $10,000 annually.


Best Family Life Insurance for Affordability

Legal & General America Life Insurance is our top affordable pick because it offers the best bang for your buck. The provider has excellent financial health marks and provides a best-in-class, no-medical exam option. In addition, applicants between 20 and 75 years old may apply for life insurance with no cap on coverage for up to 40 years.

Underwriting at Legal & General America Life Insurance is lenient to those with disabilities, mental health issues, and high blood pressure. However, if you have severe health complications like HIV and cancer, you may not qualify for coverage. Above all else, Legal & General America aims to provide affordable options for many insureds. If you're looking for HIV-specific policies, companies like Guardian are increasingly progressive, but restrictions will still apply.


Best Family Life Insurance for Whole Life Policies

If you're looking for a comprehensive whole life policy to protect your family, look no further than cash value component and grow with their policy as they age. Once your child reaches working age, they can explore options for more coverage with Northwestern Mutual or other companies. However, a child policy gives them a head start.


Best Family Life Insurance for Universal Survivorship Policies

Prudential Life Insurance is a reputable company offering an affordable second-to-die or survivorship policy. A survivorship policy covers two people on a single, which is typically more affordable than buying two separate permanent policies.

It applies age and other restrictions to the second insured. However, policy payments can continue as long as the second party is alive. Any early withdrawal options also apply during both insured buyers' lifetimes. The idea is to maximize your benefits over time.

Prudential's joint life insurance comes with a no-lapse guarantee, meaning your policy will remain in force for a set number of years even if your cash value drops to zero as long as you pay your premiums.

You may even get approved for this policy if your partner doesn't qualify for an individual policy. Its universal policies track the S&P 500. So you can gain substantial cash value growth to meet your long-term wealth-building and retirement goals.


Get Family Life Insurance Quotes

pre-existing conditions, expect higher premiums than the industry average.
  • Occupation and lifestyle: Do you have a risky hobby like skydiving or a dangerous job like mining? Unfortunately, you may have to shell over more coverage. However, you can get the best rate by shopping for high-quality providers.
  • Health: Healthy individuals typically have no issue purchasing a life insurance policy. However, providers consider smokers and applicants with certain pre-existing medical conditions higher in the risk class and, therefore, more costly to insure. Some health conditions may preclude you from life insurance in general. We look at diverse options to ensure readers have essential resources to make informed decisions.
  • Length and coverage amount: Think about your long-term financial plans and how life insurance may help you optimize your goals. If you're looking to maximize your term life insurance policy, some companies will insure you for over 40 years with over $1 million in coverage. Alternatively, for the best prices in the long term and wealth-building opportunities, it's often better to apply for whole life policies at a younger age.
  • Age: Age is a significant factor in underwriting life insurance policies because age-related conditions constitute a higher risk. Younger policyholders tend to get better rates. If you're a shopper over 60, look into companies serving senior clients at a lower price with benefits to meet your needs, like AARP or Prudential.
  • Company trustworthiness: Death is a stressful event for anyone. So you want to work with a reliable company offering good customer service to make the process easier. To evaluate the financial health and a company's track record for quality customer service, we suggest reviewing a company's AM Best and JD Power's customer satisfaction life insurance score to determine a company's trustworthiness.
  • FAQs

    Is family insurance worth it?

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    Family life insurance can be worth it if you want to insure yourself and your partner for a lower premium. However, we generally don't recommend buying child life insurance.

    Can I get life insurance for my whole family?

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    Yes, you can buy life insurance for your whole family. Different options are available to cover your entire family, depending on your chosen insurance company.

    How much life insurance should a family of four have?

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    A family of four should have at least 10 to 20 times their household income in coverage.

    Which insurance is best for families?

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    The best family life insurance depends on your situation and budget. If you have a spouse, consider purchasing a survivorship policy to take advantage of the tax-advantaged, wealth-building benefits.

    Can I get a life insurance policy with my spouse?

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    Yes, you can get life insurance with your spouse. You can buy a policy that pays out if one of you dies or a policy that pays out when both of you die.

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