Best ROP Term Life Insurance
- Best Overall: Mutual of Omaha
- Most Terms Available: AAA
- Best for Corporate Responsibility: Assurity
- Best for Financial Stability: State Farm Life Insurance
- Best for Wellness Perks: John Hancock Life Insurance
Best Overall : Mutual of Omaha
-
AM Best Rating:
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Generous conversion options
- Can apply without an exam
- Same-day decision available to qualified applicants
- Includes a terminal illness rider
- Online applications unavailable
- Only one term available for ROP policies
- Uses simplified underwriting
Mutual of Omaha life insurance is our top pick for ROP term life for a few reasons. Qualified applicants can get a same-day decision on coverage and skip the medical exam. Additionally, the company includes a terminal illness living benefit on its ROP policies. You can convert your policy to a permanent life insurance policy (such as whole or universal that lasts your whole life) until the end of the policy’s term or your 70th birthday, whichever comes first. And you can even renew coverage after the level-term period until age 100 if you want. That’s impressive, given that some companies limit the conversion period to the first 10 years of the policy, and many limit renewability to age 80 or 90. Mutual of Omaha also offers a wide variety of riders on its ROP policies, including a waiver of premium rider, accidental death benefit, and children’s term rider (all for an additional cost).
However, if you want an ROP policy for anything other than a 30-year term, you’ll want to consider other insurers. Also, the company uses a process called simplified underwriting to issue no-exam term policies. While this is a swift way to issue coverage, rates could be better with companies that offer another form of no-exam underwriting called accelerated issue.Most Terms Available : AAA
-
AM Best Rating:
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- More terms available than many competitors offer
- Can apply without a medical exam
- Convertible until age 65 or the end of the term period
- No riders available on ROP policies
- Can’t start claims online
- More complaints than expected
Those who are unsure of how long they want their term insurance to last will be happy to find that AAA has 15-, 20-, and 30-year terms available on its ROP policies—that’s more terms than is typical. If you prefer the ease and convenience of no-medical-exam life insurance, then AAA may be a good fit for you because it’s one of only three of our top-ranked life insurance companies for ROP term to offer no-medical-exam underwriting. However, if you want to customize your policy with riders, you won’t have that option with AAA’s ROP policies.
Best for Corporate Responsibility : Assurity
-
AM Best Rating:
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Certified B corporation
- Flexible conversion options
- Fewer complaints than expected
- Can apply without a medical exam
- No online application (without agent assistance)
- Unimpressive financial strength
Assurity has a lot of good traits, but we especially like that it takes corporate responsibility to the next level. Assurity is a certified B corporation, which means the company meets high standards of accountability and transparency, and it's committed to social equity and the environment. It also receives fewer complaints than expected for a company its size. Plus, you can add a range of riders to your coverage, including a disability waiver of premium and a critical illness benefit.
The conversion period for ROP and other term policies lasts until just two years shy of the policy’s level term period (or until you turn 65). For example, if you purchase a 30-year policy, you can convert it to permanent coverage until year 28. That’s not as good as the options provided by Mutual of Omaha and AAA, but it’s still good.
Like our other top companies, Assurity lets you apply for coverage without a medical exam, but you can’t do it without the help of an agent. The company receives an A- financial strength rating from AM Best, which, while solid, is still the poorest of all “best” ROP companies in this list.
Best for Financial Stability : State Farm Life Insurance
-
AM Best Rating:
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Highest financial stability rating available
- Very few customer complaints
- No. 1 customer satisfaction rating
- No online application
- Living benefit riders not included
Choosing a financially stable life insurance company can give you confidence that the company will be able to make payouts decades from now. State Farm earned a A++ rating from AM Best—the highest rating of any company on this list. AM Best ratings measure how strong and stable an insurance company is and how likely it is to meet its contractual obligations now and in the future. In addition to being financially stable, State Farm came in first in a J.D. Power 2021 customer satisfaction survey. This makes sense because the company received far fewer customer complaints than expected, according to the NAIC.
We also like that you can convert your ROP coverage to a permanent policy until the end of the term or age 75, or renew the term until 95. Terms are available for 20 and 30 years, and you can add a premium waiver or children’s term rider to your policy. You can even bundle this coverage with a State Farm auto policy for additional discounts.
Best for Wellness Perks : John Hancock Life Insurance
-
AM Best Rating:
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Wellness program provides discounts and rewards for healthy living
- Includes a terminal illness rider
- Same day decision
- No-exam policies available
- No online application
- Cannot be converted to permanent coverage
John Hancock's wellness perks make it stand out from the other life insurance providers we examined. Its Vitality PLUS program gives policyholders up to 25% in premium cashback every year that they participate in the program, plus discounts on a variety of wellness products, tools, and subscriptions. You can also save up to $600 on fresh fruits and vegetables annually through the Vitality PLUS program.
ROP policies are available for 25- and 30-year terms, may not require a medical exam, and may be approved the same day. They also include a terminal illness rider at no extra cost. But policyholders who purchase the ROP rider are only eligible to receive refunds of up to 75% of premiums paid at the end of the level-term policy—that’s lower than the full refund some competitors offer. The biggest complaint about the ROP version of John Hancock’s policies is that they’re not convertible—meaning you can’t exchange your policy for a permanent one—and they’re not available to applicants over 50 years old.Compare the Best ROP Term Life Insurance
Best For |
AM Best Rating
AM Best is a credit rating agency that assigns insurance companies a letter grade from “A++” to “D.” A company’s grade indicates its ability to pay its claims and honor its financial obligations.
|
Term Life Sample Cost
|
Policy Types
|
Accepts Credit Cards
|
Reset All
|
---|
Final Verdict
ROP term life insurance is not appropriate for everyone. You may prefer to pay a much lower premium and forgo a refund in order to invest or save the difference in your own account. But if this type of policy piques your interest or works with your lifestyle, you won’t have many companies to choose from. Of the 91 carriers we reviewed, only nine offer ROP term coverage. If nothing but the most financially secure company will do, consider State Farm and its A++ AM Best rating. If you want at least one living benefit on your policy, get quotes from Mutual of Omaha, John Hancock, and Assurity (make sure your quote from Assurity includes the rider). Or if you need a wide selection of ROP term periods, look to AAA. Consider your needs and review the companies on this list before looking elsewhere. More Ratings of Top Life Insurance Companies
- Best Life Insurance Companies
- Best Life Insurance for Seniors
- Best Life Insurance Companies for People Over 50
- Best Whole Life Insurance Companies
- Best Universal Life Insurance Companies
- Best Children’s Life Insurance Companies
FAQ
What Is Return of Premium (ROP) Term?
Is Return of Premium Life Insurance Worth It?
Because ROP life insurance can be more expensive than a regular term life insurance policy, it’s important to evaluate whether or not you’ll get your money’s worth out of this type of policy. This is especially true since the premiums aren’t invested, don’t earn interest, and their value depreciates over time thanks to inflation.
If you outlive the policy term and don’t take out any loans, the cost for the insurance can be $0 (unless you count lost investment and interest potential). An ROP policy can act as a vehicle for saving money and it does build a cash value that you can borrow against. If you decide an ROP policy is the right fit for you, make sure you spend some time shopping around with different providers to see who can offer you the best premium rates.What Are Alternatives to Return of Premium Term Insurance?
How Do You Choose a Return of Premium Term Policy?
- Cost: It helps to compare the price of an ROP term policy to a standard term policy to see how much more you’ll pay.
- Financial strength: Take a look at AM Best‘s financial stability ratings to get an idea of how financially stable an insurance company is and how likely it is to honor its contractual obligations.
- Customer satisfaction: You can review the NAIC complaint index to get an idea of how satisfied customers are with a particular life insurance company. And check out of 21 of the largest insurance companies to see how they fare.
- Convertibility: If you think you may want to convert your term policy to a permanent policy down the road, make sure you go with a company that makes conversion possible.
- Included and optional riders: Some riders will be included for free and some will require paying an additional cost. When comparing the cost of life insurance providers, make sure you take the cost of any additional riders that you want into account.
Methodology
In order to compile our list of the best ROP term life insurance companies, we developed a comprehensive life insurance methodology. We started off by researching what consumers want from life insurance companies, and for that, we looked to third-party consumer studies, including J.D. Power’s 2021 U.S. Life Insurance New Business Study and the 2021 Insurance Barometer Study, by Life Happens and LIMRA.
With those findings in mind, we gathered more than 50 data points on 91 life insurance companies, including ratings for financial strength, customer satisfaction, and customer complaints, as well as information about years in business, online tools, no-exam options, dividends, maximum issue ages, and available riders. Our review process gave preference to companies that provide online quotes, no-medical-exam coverage, same-day application decisions, and robust self-service website features. We also considered each company’s financial stability and record of customer complaints. Companies received ratings boosts for lengthy available terms, and the ability to convert and renew coverage past the level-premium period. We ranked each company according to the following categories and weights.- 20%: Same-day decision, online quotes, online application
- 20%: Website features
- 15%: No medical screening required
- 10%: Financial stability
- 10%: Consumer complaints
- 10%: Maximum term
- 10%: Conversion features
- 5%: Renewability beyond level premium term