Bestow Life Insurance Company offers quick quotes for term life insurance policies online. Buyers don't have to speak to a life insurance agent, but it does not offer conversion options. Term policies can be up to 30 years with $1.5 million in coverage.
Business Insider compared Bestow Life Insurance against the best life insurance companies and found it to be a lackluster company. While Bestow's term life insurance is a convenient option with no medical exams required, you can find comparable, cheaper coverage elsewhere.
Bestow Life Insurance Overview
Bestow is a relatively new life insurance company, founded in 2016, that offers straightforward term life insurance with no medical exams and a short underwriting period. Policies can offer up to $1.5 million in death benefits with terms lasting from 10 to 30 years.
Bestow does not offer any riders to provide additional coverage, such as accidental death benefits or guaranteed term life conversions. However, many life insurance companies that exclusively offer term life insurance also lack these options.
Instead, the main reason Bestow falls short of the best term life insurance is its price point. You'll find cheaper options for term life insurance elsewhere.
Bestow Life Insurance Pros and Cons
Bestow Life Insurance Pros
- Positively reviewed by customers, with few complaints
- Online quotes and purchase available
- Quick underwriting process
- No medical exams required
Bestow Life Insurance Cons
- Only offers term life insurance
- Does not offer additional riders
- Relatively expensive
Bestow Life Insurance Plans Available
Bestow is an online company with the mission of "helping people protect their people." It connects customers with North American Company for Life and Health Insurance®. However, all quotes are done online with a short quoting process followed by a basic application.
Bestow offers term life insurance plans that are valid for a specific period of time. Term life insurance, as opposed to whole life insurance or universal life insurance, may offer larger death benefits for lower rates. However, the policy eventually expires. Some companies offer conversion options to go permanent. Bestow does not.
Bestow life insurance policies range from 10 to 30 years, with coverage amounts of $100,000 to $1.5 million for qualifying applicants. Because the value expires, term life insurance monthly premiums are lower than permanent life insurance plans.
Additional Coverage Options
Many life insurance companies offer riders to customize coverage. Guaranteed conversion riders, accelerated death benefits, and other upgrades are common for many companies that offer term life insurance. It's a simple way for term life insurance companies to give customers additional peace of mind.
Bestow does not offer any riders to customize policies or offer peace of mind. Inevitably, a term life insurance policy does expire if you outlive the term. Expert estimates suggest that 99% of term life insurance policies never pay a benefit. Without any riders offering safeguards or conversion options, any money you spend on Bestow policies will be unlikely to be paid out at any point.
How Much Does Bestow Life Insurance Cost?
Below are the monthly premiums for a 20-year, $500,000 term life insurance policy from Bestow to give you a better idea of what to expect. These are sample rates for a healthy and non-smoking person.
Age | Men (monthly) | Women (monthly) |
20 | $35.42 | $18.59 |
30 | $37.53 | $21.02 |
40 | $58.60 | $41.91 |
50 | $135.50 | $96.82 |
60 | $310.39* | $199.35* |
*Quotes for 60-year-olds are for 15-year policies, as that is the maximum term for this age group.
Bestow Life Insurance Claims Process
Beneficiaries can file a claim via Bestow's online claim form. The form requests the deceased's name, date of birth, date of death, cause of death, manner of death, and the country where the death occurred. It may ask other questions, so we recommend having your ducks in a row to make the claims process as simple as possible.
For example, beneficiaries should also have things like the deceased's Social Security number and last address. If you're buying a Bestow policy, make sure your information is up-to-date and share it with beneficiaries.
Bestow Life Insurance Customer Reviews and Ratings
Bestow is very highly rated among customers, receiving an average of 4.4 out of five on its Trustpilot page. Most reviews pertained to the signup process, which customers said was fast and easy. Some negative reviews mentioned Bestow denying applications because of their health conditions.
Reviews about Bestow's customer service were more checkered, with several customers saying representatives were hard to reach and, at times, dismissive of customers' issues.
That said, North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, which issues Bestow's policies, has fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. On the NAIC's Company Complaint Index, in which 1.0 indicates a company has an expected number of complaints, North American Company for Life and Health Insurance earns a .07.
Bestow Life Insurance Alternatives
Bestow Life Insurance vs. Lemonade Life Insurance
Bestow and Lemonade offer the same product: term life insurance with no medical exams and no add-ons. However, there's very little reason to choose Bestow over Lemonade.
For one, Lemonade offers more comprehensive coverage, up to $100 million, with terms up to 40 years long. This completely eclipses Bestow's $1.5 million maximum in death benefits.
If this wasn't enough, Lemonade is simply cheaper. For a healthy, non-smoking 20-year-old seeking a 20-year term life policy with $500,000 in coverage, Lemonade charges $18.36 monthly compared to $35.42 for an equivalent Bestow policy. Additionally, you can bundle your Lemonade life insurance policy with Lemonade's other insurance offerings and save money on those policies, though your life insurance premiums will not change.
Read our Lemonade life insurance review.
Bestow Life Insurance vs. USAA Life Insurance
USAA Life Insurance has traditionally been sold exclusively to military members and their families. Its life insurance is available to the general public with underwriting restrictions for pre-existing conditions, age, and other factors. Its policies are modestly sized while offering some level of permanence. Importantly, USAA is the only life insurance company we've heard of offering life insurance for active duty military members. Unlike military group coverage, USAA's life insurance follows you even after you separate from the military.
Again, Bestow only offers bare-bones term life insurance policies. Even when comparing term policies exclusively, USAA offers limits up to $10 million for qualified buyers with universal (permanent) life insurance plans with limits of $50,000 and up. The primary benefit of Bestow is its quick application process, which may not matter when looking at the long-term implications of larger-term and permanent options with USAA.
Read our USAA life insurance review.
Bestow Life Insurance vs. New York Life Insurance
New York Life Insurance is known for its knowledgeable life insurance agents and comprehensive investment, retirement, and death benefit options. It offers term and permanent life insurance products, many of which are much larger than Bestow's largest term life insurance options. As buyers have to speak to a New York Life agent, the application process is extended. However, knowledgeable agents can get to the root of buyers' needs to find a life insurance product that makes sense for them. In the long-term, this could translate to happier buyers and greater use.
New York Life would be the only company between the two for buyers who are looking for retirement planning and other financial planning options while they're still alive.
Read our New York Life Insurance review.
Bestow Life Insurance FAQ
Bestow is a reliable company. North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, which issues Bestow's policies, has an A+ (Superior) financial stability rating with AM Best.
No, Bestow does not offer whole life or universal life insurance. If you're looking for either, read Business Insider's guides to the best whole life insurance and best universal life insurance.
No, Bestow is not available in Maine or New York.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Bestow Life Insurance
All companies are rated based on our expert's insurance rating methodology to ensure objectivity and equal opportunity for insurers.
We then looked at the company's ratings and reviews from third parties, including the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot. We consider average ratings, complaints, and specific issues or strengths. Combined with ratings from organizations like JD Power and AM Best, this gives us a comprehensive view of competitors.
Read more about Business Insider's life insurance rating methodology.
