Pros Explained

• Excellent customer education: If you’re unsure what type of life insurance product is best for you, check out from Farmers. Answer some basic questions on this online tool and see which type of coverage is right for you without entering your email or phone number. You’ll also find links to educational materials to help you learn more about each product it recommends.
• Offers guaranteed-issue whole life: With Farmers, you can get a $5,000 to $30,000 whole life policy without a medical exam if you’re between 18 and 80. This policy is guaranteed to have level payments and accumulate cash value. 
• Existing customers are eligible for life insurance discounts: If you already have an auto, home, commercial, specialty, or other life insurance policy or an annuity, you’re eligible for a lower monthly deduction charge on a new life insurance policy.

Cons Explained

• Low maximum age limits on some policies: While many life insurance companies we reviewed issue whole life policies until the age of 85 or even 90, Farmers caps the maximum age at 80.
• No online application option: Many term life insurance providers give consumers the option of applying for a policy online without needing to contact an agent. But not Farmers. 
• Requires personal information to get a quote: You’ll also need to supply personally identifiable information, such as your name, mailing address, email, and phone number to get a quote online. Many other insurers will generate a quote without any personal information required other than your birthday.

Complaint Index

Compared to other insurance companies of its size, Farmers New World Life Insurance Company received fewer than expected customer complaints over the past three years. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) provides a complaint index for insurance companies based on the number of consumer complaints received and the company’s market share. An index of 1.00 indicates an expected number of complaints. An index under 1.00 indicates fewer complaints than expected for a company’s size, and a rating higher than 1.00 means the company received more complaints than expected.

Over the past three years, the average complaint index for Farmers New World was 0.42, which indicates that the company received fewer complaints than expected given its size. 

Third-Party Rating

Farmers is deemed to be financially strong by the independent insurance rating agency, AM Best, which assesses an insurer’s financial stability in order to project the company’s ability to pay claims long into the future. The financial strength of insurers is particularly critical when it comes to life insurance because buyers trust the insurer to deliver on a long-term promise.

AM Best, which rates insurance companies on a scale from A++ (Superior) to D (Poor), has assigned Farmers an A (Excellent) rating, which means its ability to meet its financial obligations is deemed to be excellent by AM Best.

Policies Available 

Farmers offers several different types of life insurance.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance is a form of insurance that guarantees the payment of a death benefit to the policy’s beneficiaries if the insured person dies before the end of a selected period. Farmers’ term policies can last for 10, 20, or 30 years and can be converted to a permanent policy. Term insurance does not have any savings component and generally provides no other value aside from the death benefit. 

Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance is a type of permanent insurance that covers you for your entire life as long as you continue to pay premiums. Unlike term insurance, whole life has a cash value which accumulates tax-deferred and can be accessed through policy loans or withdrawals. Farmers offers several whole life products you can choose from.

Universal Life Insurance

Universal life insurance is a type of permanent insurance that offers both death benefit protection and the opportunity to build cash value that earns interest. Universal life policies are flexible. You can adjust how much you pay and how often your premiums are due, and you may be able to adjust the death benefit as well. 

Indexed Universal Life Insurance

This policy is another type of permanent insurance. The cash value in indexed universal life insurance is linked to one or more market indexes, such as the S&P 500. If the market does well, you have the potential for growth. And since the money isn’t directly invested, your account is protected against losses if the index falls.

Variable Universal Life

Variable universal life is a type of permanent insurance that lets you invest and grow the cash value through subaccounts that operate like mutual funds. Exposure to market fluctuations can generate high returns but may also result in substantial losses. 

VUL is similar to variable life insurance, but unlike variable life, it allows you to change your premium payment amount.

Final Expense or Burial Insurance

Farmers offers a small whole life policy, which may also be referred to as a final expense policy or burial insurance. These types of policies are typically limited. With Farmers, there’s a maximum coverage amount of $30,000. This policy type is designed to cover your final expenses, such as funeral costs, medical bills, and outstanding debts (but your beneficiaries can use the funds however they need). You can get this type of policy without a medical exam.

Available Riders

A rider is an optional feature that you can add to your life insurance policy to customize your coverage and address additional insurance needs. Farmers offers several riders.

Guaranteed Insurability 

This option allows you to purchase additional coverage in the future without having to go through a medical exam. It's helpful if your health changes over time such that you may not qualify for additional coverage. 

Child Rider

The child rider is an affordable way to add temporary coverage for your dependent children to your life insurance policy. When the child reaches adulthood, this rider can often be converted to a permanent policy.

Waiver of Premium 

This rider allows your insurance coverage to continue under certain conditions, such as if you become totally disabled and can't work to pay your premiums. It's a valuable option if you want financial protection for your family in case of an injury or illness.

Accidental Death Benefit 

This rider pays an additional death benefit if you die due to an accident. It can provide extra peace of mind if you're worried about accidental death.

Accelerated Death Benefit: Terminal Illness Rider

Accelerated death benefits allow you to access some of your life insurance death benefit while you're still alive. However, you need to meet certain conditions in order to qualify. With the terminal illness rider, you can receive a portion of your death benefit if you have a terminal illness or injury that's expected to result in death in the near future. With Farmers, this rider is added to some policies for no additional cost. 

Accelerated Death Benefit: Chronic Illness Rider

The chronic illness rider is another accelerated death benefit that may be included on some policies from Farmers at no cost. It allows you to access your life insurance death benefit if you have a chronic, long-term illness, or injury that impacts your ability to perform at least two activities of daily living or if you suffer from a severe cognitive impairment. 

Accelerated Death Benefit: Critical Illness Rider

Though they sound similar, chronic and critical illnesses aren't the same. A critical illness rider allows you to access your life insurance death benefit if you are diagnosed with a critical condition, such as cancer or a heart attack. This rider can help provide ongoing financial support for your family during your treatment and recovery process. 

Customer Service

Farmers offers customer service support via phone or an online on its website. Phone agents can be reached toll-free at 1-888-327-6335 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, with slightly shorter hours on the weekend. 

Our Methodology: How We Review Life Insurance Carriers

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. In order to do this, we collected over 5,000 data points 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.