Gerber Life Insurance offers life insurance plans that can cover children, adults, and seniors through its various policies. This includes term life insurance, whole life insurance for children and adults, and guaranteed life insurance protection for senior citizens.
Business Insider compared Gerber Life against the best life insurance companies and found it to be a standout option for whole life insurance, offering no exam whole life insurance that's cheaper than the industry average. Its term life insurance, on the other hand, is far too expensive to be a viable option given the abundance of affordable term life insurance elsewhere.
Gerber Life Insurance Overview
Gerber Life offers life insurance solutions for every stage of life, with policies that can insure children as young as 14 days old and adults as old as 80.
Gerber Life's term and whole life insurance offers up to $1 million in coverage with no medical exam required. We greatly appreciated the ability to obtain Gerber Life whole life insurance quotes online, as most insurance companies require you to go through an insurance agent to get permanent life insurance quotes.
One of Gerber Life's most interesting offerings is a term life insurance policy that also doubles as a college savings program. It offers terms of 10 and 20 years and death benefits up to $150,000. Once the term expires, the policy matures and the insured receives the payout. If the insured dies while the policy is still in force, the beneficiary gets the payout immediately.
The greatest downside to Gerber Life is its price for term life insurance, with premiums well above the industry average. However, its whole life insurance prices are below industry averages despite also not requiring a medical exam.
- Permanent and term life insurance options
- Company offers a grow up plan for children's life insurance
- Guaranteed options for seniors
- Policy limits are small compared to other providers
- Company is not rated with JD Power, and customer reviews are mixed
Compare Gerber Life Insurance
762
A
$19 for males and $16 for females per month
N/A
Up to $2 million
- Guaranteed life insurance available for seniors between 50 and 80
- High financial strength and customer service ratings
- Some policies only have benefits up to $25,000
- AIG may not offer more extensive death benefits for seniors
Not Rated
A
- 100% online application process, quotes in minutes
- Coverage starts immediately once approved
- Term policies renewable up to age 94 for qualifying applicants
- No conversion options to turn term policies to whole life for no exam policies
- Whole life policy limits are lower
N/A
A+ (Superior)
- Offers level term and whole life policy
- Discount and bundling opportunities
- Available in all 50 states
- Limited add-on coverage options
- No universal policies
- Online complains indicating life insurance service does not match other Amica products
- Term life and whole life
Gerber Life Insurance Pros and Cons
Gerber Life Insurance Pros
- Online quoting for term and whole life insurance
- Up to $1 million in term and whole life coverage with no exam required
- Convertible term life insurance
- Discounts for setting automatic payments
- Relatively cheap whole life insurance
Gerber Life Insurance Cons
- Relatively low death benefit maximums
- High premiums for term life insurance
Gerber Life Insurance Plans
Gerber Life Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is a temporary life insurance policy designed to cover a specific portion of your life for a fixed premium. It could cover your prime earning years or a period where you're paying off a significant debt, like a mortgage. Because these plans don't guarantee a payout, they're one of the cheapest life insurance options available.
Available for applicants ages 18 to 70, term life insurance from Gerber Life is offered in terms of 10 years, 20 years, and 30 years. You can secure coverage in amounts from $100,000 to $2 million with traditional underwriting and up to $1 million without a medical exam for applicants 55 and under. Applicants older than 55 can still apply without a medical exam if they're applying for less than $500,00 in coverage.
These policies can cover one person, you and your spouse, or your entire family under one policy. Additionally, your term life policy may be converted to a permanent policy.
This policy is not available in New York, California, Florida, South Carolina, and South Dakota.
Whole Life Insurance for Adults
Whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that offers fixed death benefits and premiums. These policies also accumulate cash value as you continue to pay premiums, which can borrowed from. Policy loan interest rates are set at 8%.
Available to applicants ages 18 to 75, Gerber Life's whole life insurance offers death benefits from $50,000 to $1 million. Applicants 56 and older are eligible for up to $500,000 in coverage.
Gerber Life's whole life insurance policies are available without a medical exam. Coverage can be acquired within minutes of applying.
This policy is not available in New York, California, Florida, South Carolina, and South Dakota.
Gerber Child Life Insurance
Gerber Life offers two child whole life insurance plans that parents, grandparents, and legal guardians can buy on behalf of their children. These are the Grow-Up Plan and Young Adult Plan.
These whole life insurance policies offer death benefits up to $50,000 and that double when the insured child reaches 18 years old. Policies accumulate cash value, which your child can borrow against when they're older. Buying a policy also secures the right for your child to buy more coverage in the future regardless of their health and occupation.
That said, we generally don't recommend that parents buy life insurance for their children. If parents want to help build their child's financial future, there are better ways to contribute than a child life insurance policy, like a savings account for your child.
Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan
The Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan can insure children between 14 days and 14 years old. Death benefits go up to $50,000, but coverage automatically doubles at no extra cost when the insured child turns 18. Cash value accumulates as this policy ages and you continue to pay premiums.
This plan also guarantees your child's right to buy more insurance in the future, regardless of their health and occupation.
Gerber Life Young Adult Plan
Similar to the Grow-Up Plan, the Young Adult Plan is a whole life insurance for teenagers between 15 to 17, offering $5,000 to $50,000 in coverage. Like the Grow-Up Plan, death benefits double when your child turns 18. Death
This policy accumulates cash value, which can be borrowed against at an 8% interest rate. When the insured child turns 21, they become the owner of the policy.
Guaranteed Life for Seniors
Applicants ages 50 to 80 can also consider guaranteed coverage from Gerber Life with no medical exam required. This protection is available in amounts from $5,000 to $25,000, and it can apply regardless of health. Guaranteed life insurance for seniors from Gerber Life also builds cash value you can borrow against to cover unexpected expenses.
Gerber Life Insurance College Plan
Gerber Life also offers the Gerber Life Insurance College Plan, which is a unique type of policy that builds cash value for 10 to 20 years. This policy offers a guaranteed payment of $10,000 to $150,000 when it reaches maturity as long as premiums are paid. However, the beneficiary receives the payout immediately if the insured passes away before the term ends.
This type of plan is meant to help families provide a death benefit while also saving for college over a fixed timeline of 10 to 20 years.
Additional Coverage Options from Gerber Life
Gerber Life offers several riders and additional coverage options, including the following:
- Accelerated death benefit rider: This rider offers the insured the chance to receive part of their death benefit (up to 50%) while alive if they're diagnosed with a terminal illness.
- Accident protection insurance: In addition to its life insurance products, Gerber Life offers accident protection insurance with no medical exam required. This coverage provides a payout of $50,000 to $250,000 when an insured passes away in an accident or becomes dismembered.
- Guaranteed purchase option life insurance rider: This rider is added to some child life insurance policies to ensure the policyholder can buy more coverage or continue their coverage later in life regardless of health.
- Payment Protection Option (PPO) rider: This rider is available on the Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan, and it covers monthly premiums if the policyholder dies or becomes disabled.
- Waiver of premium rider: This rider lets you pause premiums if you become disabled and unable to work.
Gerber Life Insurance Cost
Life insurance companies charge premiums based on the risk you pose to them. Their analysis heavily focuses on age, sex, and lifestyle.
Gerber Life makes it easy to get a free life insurance quote online. This benefit lets you find out how much you might pay for coverage before you apply, and it makes it considerably easier to shop around and compare rates.
To get a better idea of how much Gerber Life insurance costs, we obtained quotes for a term life insurance policy with a $500,000 death benefit for a non-smoking applicant in excellent health and compared it to the average cost of the same policy, according to Policygenius.
| Age | Sex | Gerber Life Quotes (Monthly) | Average Cost |
| 20 | Female | $34.58 | $23 |
| 20 | Male | $40.83 | $30 |
| 30 | Female | $37.92 | $23 |
| 30 | Male | $43.33 | $29 |
| 40 | Female | $58.75 | $35 |
| 40 | Male | $75.42 | $43 |
| 50 | Female | $164.58 | $78 |
| 50 | Male | $198.75 | $102 |
| 60 | Female | $624.17 | $194 |
| 60 | Male | $746.26 | $269 |
As you can see, premiums for Gerber Life are higher than the industry average for every age group, especially among older individuals. It's important to note that Gerber Life's policies don't require medical exams, which means premiums will be higher to account for the added risk.
Gerber Life Whole Life Insurance
We also got quotes for a $500,000 whole life insurance policy for nonsmoking applicants in various age groups. We compared this against industry averages for the same policy according to Policygenius data.
| Age | Sex | Gerber Life Quotes (Monthly) | Average Cost |
| 20 | Female | $289.17 | $287 |
| 20 | Male | $336.25 | $345 |
| 30 | Female | $357.09 | $408 |
| 30 | Male | $417.09 | $472 |
| 40 | Female | $483.75 | $588 |
| 40 | Male | $524.59 | $706 |
| 50 | Female | $667.92 | $920 |
| 50 | Male | $745.01 | $1,081 |
| 60 | Female | $1057.93 | $1,540 |
| 60 | Male | $1,212.93 | $1,802 |
While Gerber Life premiums for term life insurance are well above industry averages, Gerber Life's whole life insurance is significantly cheaper than industry averages.
How to File a Claim with Gerber Life Insurance
Gerber Life is fairly transparent when it comes to its claims process, although there is no way to begin your claim online. Instead, you must call the company at 1-800-628-0560 to request a claims form.
Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST at this number, and you can also send life insurance claims correspondence to the following address:
Gerber Life Insurance Company
Life Claims Processing Unit
445 State Street
Fremont, MI 49412
To ensure a life insurance claim with Gerber Life goes off without a hitch, we suggest keeping careful documentation of all your correspondence with the company. Also make sure your claim form is completed accurately and sent in with a Certified Death Certificate (not a copy) and other documentation that backs up your claim.
Gerber Life Insurance Customer Satisfaction and Ratings
Gerber Life has mostly negative reviews online, receiving an average score of 2.6 on Trustpilot and 1.21 stars on its Better Business Bureau page. Reviewers mentioned issues getting timely responses and communication from the company and issues sending payments. "They should stick to baby food," one reviewer writes.
It's worth mentioning that most life insurance companies, and insurance companies in general, have overwhelmingly negative reviews. This is, in part, because reviews are often left by people with something to say, which is usually negative. As a result, online customer reviews shouldn't be the only place to find information about a company's customer service.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners' complaint index rates insurance companies based on how many complaints they receive against their share of the market. A 1.00 means that a company has an expected number of complaints based on its size. A lower score indicates fewer complaints than expected and a higher number indicates more complaints than expected. Gerber Life scored 1.03, indicating that it has just around the expected number of complaints given its share of the market.
Gerber Life has an A+ (Superior) financial stability rating from AM Best, which means that it is likely to fulfill its financial obligations.
Alternatives to Gerber Life Insurance
Gerber Life vs. Fidelity Life
Fidelity Life Insurance is very similar to Gerber Life, offering term life, senior term life, whole life, and guaranteed life insurance.
Fidelity's term life insurance offers up to $2 million in death benefits with a medical exam, which is the same as Gerber Life. However, Fidelity Life applicants can get same-day approval and submit a medical exam within six months of getting approval.
Gerber Life applicants can get up to $1 million without a medical exam, which Fidelity Life doesn't offer. Gerber Life also offers the option for qualified policyholders to convert their term policy into a permanent life insurance policy. Fidelity Life is cheaper than Gerber Life, though its premiums are still higher than the industry average.
Fidelity Life's whole life insurance is geared toward older applicants, available to individuals between 50 and 85 years old. Its death benefits, ranging from $10,000 to $150,000, are graded, so policyholders gradually gain access to their death benefits as they age, only receiving full death benefits after four years.
Gerber Life's whole life death benefits are not graded and go up to $1 million. Applicants can also get quotes online and don't have to take an exam. Additionally, its premiums are cheaper than the industry average.
Ultimately, if you're looking for no exam coverage, Gerber Life is the better option. Fidelity Life might be the cheaper option for those looking for a low-cost policy, but neither policy can be considered the cheapest life insurance.
Read our Fidelity Life insurance review.
Gerber Life vs. Protective Life
Protective Life offers term life, whole life, and universal life insurance.
For the purposes of this review, we're going to focus on Protective Life's term life insurance. It offers terms from 10 to 40 years, which is high in the industry and higher than Gerber Life. It offers up to $50 million in coverage with the option to convert, but policies require a medical exam. Protective Life's term life insurance is one of the cheapest on the market, with a $500,000 20-year term policy costing a 30-year-old male $18.76 monthly and a female $15.83.
For most individuals who are willing to go through a traditional underwriting process, Protective Life is one of the best choices for term life.
Read our Protective Life insurance review.
Gerber Life Insurance FAQs
When a child covered by a Gerber Life child insurance policies turns 18, the policy's death benefit doubles at no extra cost.
Yes, Gerber Life insurance has an age limit. The limit for term and whole life insurance is 70 years old. The limit for its Grow-Up policy is 14, and its Young Adult policy is available to children 15 to 17.
Yes, Gerber Life sells no exam whole life insurance with up to $1 million in death benefits. Its child life insurance policies are considered whole life insurance as well.
Yes, Gerber Life offers term life coverage with death benefits up to $2 million and terms of 10, 20, and 30 years.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Gerber Life Insurance
Business Insider reviewed Gerber Life by comparing it against our life insurance rating methodology, which considers the following aspects of a life insurance company:
| Term life insurance | Permanent life insurance |
| Policy options | Policy options |
| Cost | Cash value growth |
| Application process | Customer service and ratings |
| Customer service and ratings | Average premiums |
| Application process |
Individuals looking for term life insurance are more likely to prioritize cost when considering a policy, so we weighed it heavily in our methodology. Meanwhile, premiums for permanent life insurance policies are generally higher, so we lowered it's importance slightly in our consideration.
We also considered the convenience of the application process, which includes online quotes, approval times, and whether policies require a medical exam. These features are deprioritized in permanent life insurance as they are far less common.
The biggest difference between the two methodologies is the addition of cash value growth in our permanent life insurance methodology, which is one of the biggest considerations in high-value permanent life insurance.
While all factors are reflected in our methodology as separate categories, the truth is that the quality of an insurance company comes down to how these categories interact with each other. As such, we take a holistic look at life insurance companies. For example, Gerber Life's term life policy has a fast and convenient application process with no exam required. However, it's also one of the most expensive term life insurance options on the market. However, a similar
Read more about how Business Insider rates life insurance.
