Pros Explained

• Policies issued by financially strong companies: Policies are issued by Legal & General America, as well as Ameritas Life Insurance Corporation and TruStage. All are well-established insurance providers with an A or better financial strength rating from AM Best.
• Streamlined online application: You won’t have to speak to an agent unless you want to, and the Ethos online application can be completed in minutes. 
• Up to $2 million in no-medical-exam term coverage: Most applicants won't need a medical exam to get coverage, even with face amounts up to $2 million. 
• Affordable pricing for term coverage: Pricing for Ethos term policies is fairly good relative to the 32 term insurers for which we collected quotes.

Cons Explained

• Few available riders: A terminal illness rider is included, but Ethos offers few other endorsements that allow for customized coverage. 
• No term conversion options: Ethos doesn’t offer permanent policies beyond its final expense policy for seniors so you won’t have the option to convert your term coverage to a whole or universal policy. 
• Maximum issue age for term coverage is 65: Some companies issue term life insurance up to age 75, but the maximum issue age for term coverage from Ethos is 65. 
• Requires detailed personal information to see quotes: You can get a quote “range, such as from $9 to $11 per month, without supplying any personally identifying information. But the company requires your full name, address, phone number, email, and the last four digits of your social security number if you want a more specific quote.

Complaint Index

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) doesn’t report a complaint index for Ethos because the company doesn’t issue its own policies. But Ethos's policies are backed by top life insurance providers that all have complaint indexes with the NAIC. The NAIC complaint index measures how many complaints an insurer received relative to its market share.

An index of 1.00 indicates that a company received the expected number of consumer complaints for its size, and an index of less than 1.00 means it received fewer complaints than expected. Below are the average NAIC complaint indexes for each company that Ethos works with. Banner and William Penn are the life insurance arms of Legal & General.

Insurance Company	NAIC Index: 3-Year Average
Banner Life	0.10
William Penn	0.21
Ameritas Life	0.39
CMFG/TruStage	0.58

Most of the insurers that issue policies through Ethos received fewer complaints than expected, on average, over the last three years.

Third-Party Ratings

The insurance companies that Ethos works with all have excellent ratings for financial stability from AM Best, an independent credit ratings agency that evaluates insurers. AM Best ratings are important because they indicate whether a company is likely to meet its future financial obligations to policyholders. We typically don’t recommend any companies that score below the A- bracket.

Ethos administers policies that are issued by Legal & General America via Banner Life and William Penn, which has an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating from AM Best. Ethos also sells policies issued by Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. and it partners with TruStage, which administers life insurance for CMFG. Both of these companies are rated A (Excellent) by AM Best.

Policies Available

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance provides coverage for a specific period of time. Ethos policies are available in 10-, 15-, 20-, or 30-year terms and to issue ages 20 to 65. You can buy anywhere from $20,000 to $2 million in coverage, and your beneficiaries will receive the full death benefit if you die during the term.

Ethos policies are also renewable beyond the initial term of coverage at a higher premium. Term life insurance policies don’t build cash value, and your family won't receive a payout if you outlive the term and don’t renew coverage. But term policies are much more affordable than permanent life insurance policies. 

Final Expense Insurance

Final expense insurance is another term for a small whole life insurance policy that’s offered without a medical exam. Premiums are level and coverage is permanent. Ethos offers between $1,000 and $30,000 in coverage to seniors age 66 to 85.

Beneficiaries receive the full death benefit if the insured dies of an accident at any time, but there may be a graded death benefit period for two to three years for death from natural causes, depending on eligibility and state availability. Your beneficiaries will only receive premiums you paid plus a percentage during this period, but acceptance is guaranteed regardless of your health history. 

Available Riders

Riders are add-ons that can help you customize your life insurance coverage so you can do things like access living benefits or pause premiums if you become disabled. Many of our top-rated companies offer a broad selection of riders, but Ethos only offers a few options. 

Terminal Illness Rider

This rider lets you access a portion of the death benefit should you be diagnosed with a terminal illness resulting in a certain life expectancy. Ethos may include this rider on some policies at no additional upfront cost.

Accidental Death Benefit

Available to some applicants, this rider offers an additional benefit if the cause of the insured’s death is an accident.

Perks Rider

This rider is included with whole life policies for seniors. It provides a free, one-year membership to Legacy Assurance, which can help you get discounts on certain funeral expenses. 

Customer Service

Ethos offers an entirely online process, but you’ll have access to licensed, non-commissioned agents on weekdays between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. CST if you want to speak with a human for assistance. You can call 415-855-4331 to activate your policy or 415-915-0665 for general support. You can also text 415-702-1844. And you can get in touch with Ethos at one of the following email addresses at any time:

• General Support: support@ethoslife.com
• Policy Activation: protection@ethoslife.com
• Payment Questions: payments@ethoslife.com

Final Verdict

Ethos is one of a few insurers that offer no-medical-exam term coverage up to $2 million, making it a good choice for a sizable payout for your beneficiaries. Its pricing is affordable and you can apply online in minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ethos Life a legitimate company?

Ethos has earned an A+ rating and accreditation by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB does indicate that it's received 10 complaints about the company in the past three years.

Does Ethos pay out life insurance?

Ethos is a third-party administrator so its policies are actually issued by other companies. It offers up to $2 million in coverage, but this is term life insurance covering a set number of years. It doesn’t build cash value and it won’t pay out if you outlive that term and if you haven’t taken steps to renew your coverage so it expires.

How much does Ethos life insurance cost?

The cost of an Ethos term life policy will vary depending on your gender, how much insurance you want to carry, and the term for which you want coverage. The cost of a 15-year policy can be as little as $19 a month for a female who wants $250,000 in coverage. It increases to $71 per month for a male who wants $1 million in coverage.

How long has Ethos Life Insurance been around?

Ethos was founded in 2016 by Peter Colis and Lingke Wang. According to the company, Wang suffered an unsavory experience with a life insurance policy while in college, then later joined up with Colis and Ethos was born. The company boasts over $400 million of invested capital as of 2023.

Methodology

We designed a comprehensive ranking methodology based on consumer priorities and life insurance company fundamentals to rank more than 90 insurers across five general categories: financial stability, customer satisfaction, product and feature variety, the overall buying experience, and cost. We collected over 5,000 data points in order to do this and scored each company based on 55 metrics. We grouped metrics by category to see how insurers performed in each. We then weighted category scores to determine how companies performed overall.

To learn more, read our full Life Insurance Methodology.