Farmers Life Insurance Review

Your life insurance needs change over time as your family grows. Farmers Insurance offers life insurance products for every stage — whether you're looking for benefits that replace your income or cover a mortgage and college education, there's a policy to suit your situation.

About Farmers Insurance

Farmers Insurance was founded in 1928 as Farmers Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange. Over the next few decades, the company expanded its service offerings to include insurance for trucks, boats and homes. Farmers started providing life insurance in 1953 after it acquired the New World Life Insurance Company.

Today, the Farmers Insurance Group owns more than 40 smaller companies, including Foremost Insurance Group, the Bristol West Insurance Group, the 21st Century Insurance Group, Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC, and Toggle.

What Life Insurance Products Does Farmers Insurance Offer?

Farmers Insurance offers three types of life insurance: term, whole and universal. If you want to cover all of your bases, you can also add accidental death insurance to the policy. The company also offers a wide range of additional insurance products, including vehicle, home, business, pet and rideshare.

Term Life Insurance

Farmers term life insurance offers a way to keep your premiums in check. Your payments stay the same over the specified policy term. After the term ends, you can maintain coverage; however, the premiums are likely to increase. Common terms are 10, 20 and 30 years. Choose from two plans based on your coverage needs.

Farmers Simple Term

Available to people aged 18-65
No medical exam or testing
Coverage starts at $75,000
Can be converted to a whole life policy

Farmers Value Term

Available to people aged 18-75
Requires a medical exam
Coverage starts at $150,000
No maximum coverage
Can be converted to a permanent policy

Whole Life Insurance

A whole life insurance policy from Farmers provides coverage throughout your life. Over time, your policy may grow in value; you can borrow against that cash value during your lifetime. Farmers offers two whole life plans.

EssentialLife Simple Whole Life

EssentialLife Simple Whole Life offers flexible coverage for a wide range of people. This type of policy isn't tied to interest rates and market performance, so it has minimal risk.

Coverage starts at $15,000
Available to people aged 15 days-80 years
May require a medical exam
Premiums stay the same
Guaranteed death benefit

Graded Whole Life

If you've struggled to find life insurance coverage due to health problems, Graded Whole Life might be a good choice. You only need to answer three health questions; this plan doesn't require exams or testing.

Coverage ranges from $5,000-$30,000
Available to people aged 18-80
Policy is guaranteed to build a cash value
Premiums stay the same
No medical exam required
Guaranteed death benefit

Universal Life Insurance

Universal life insurance provides coverage from the first premium until the day you die. Like whole life insurance, universal policies can accumulate a cash value over the years. However, they give you more control and flexibility — you can select the coverage, decide how your premiums are invested and adjust the amount and frequency of your payments.

EssentialLife Universal Life

This plan is Farmers' basic universal coverage. If the policy grows, you may be able to borrow against the value in the future.

Available to people aged 15 days-80 years
Coverage starts at $50,000
Adjustable premiums and payment dates

Index Universal Life

Index Universal Life offers the most growth potential of any Farmers policy. If you're focused on building wealth, you can direct a portion of each payment to an S & P 500 and/or Russell 2000 account. If these fixed-interest accounts perform well, the cash value of your policy will increase. To protect you from losses, Farmers offers a 0% floor.

Adjustable premiums and payment dates
Adjustable face value amount after 1 year
Ability to borrow against the cash value

Accidental Death Insurance

Accidental death insurance expands your coverage. It's designed to expand the death benefit if you die in an accident. These policies are affordable; they start at $4.50 per month, and you're covered immediately after your payment goes through. If you're between the ages of 18 and 69, the approval process is a breeze — no medical exams or tests required.

Life Insurance Riders

Customize your Farmers life insurance policy with a variety of riders. Each one adds extra coverage to account for different situations. Options include:

Disability: If you become disabled, this rider can help cover your premiums and provide financial assistance.
Accelerated death benefit: This rider pays out part of your death benefit if you develop a terminal illness.
Critical illness: If you develop a critical health condition, such as a stroke or cancer, this rider pays you a preset one-time payment to help defray expenses.

The Pros and Cons of Farmers Insurance

Pros of Farmers Insurance Life Insurance

Some policies don't require medical exams or testing
Wide range of coverage options
Multiple riders to customize coverage

Cons of Farmers Insurance Life Insurance

Universal policies offer limited investing flexibility
Most policies require you to buy through an agent

Farmers Insurance Reviews: What People Are Saying

Reviewers praise the variety of plans available from Farmers Insurance, noting that there's something for every type of consumer. People who are new to life insurance tend to like the Life Compass tool, which makes it easy to select the right type of coverage. Users also appreciate the customization options, online quotes and personal service. If you like to handle applications and payments online, take note — customers' biggest complaint seems to be the lack of online policy tools.

Is a Farmers Insurance Life Insurance Policy Right for You?

If you're looking for flexible life insurance coverage, a policy from Farmers Insurance may fit the bill. This company offers many plans; within the different types of insurance, you'll find options to adjust the coverage, premiums, payment frequency and investment allocation. Although Farmers offers a certain level of investment flexibility, it's limited to two indexed accounts; as such, the company may not be the right choice if you're looking for maximum growth potential.