Pros Explained

• Very few complaints: Thrivent receives far fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size.
• Affordable pricing: When we compared the average cost of life insurance from companies nationwide, Thrivent’s quotes were among the most affordable. 
• Superior financial strength ratings: The company earned an A++ rating from AM Best for its financial strength. This is the agency’s highest rating and indicative of a superior ability to pay insurance claims.
• Pays dividends on eligible life insurance products: Thrivent distributes dividends to clients who own eligible insurance products. While it is not guaranteed, the company has paid dividends every year since 1913.

Cons Explained

• No online application available: You can’t apply for Thrivent’s life insurance policies online. Instead, you’ll need to fill out a form and wait for a call, which can slow down the process. 
• Faith-based membership requirement: To become a member of Thrivent, the company requires you to be a Christian. Originally, only Lutherans could be customers, but in 2013 the company opened itself to all Christians.

Complaint Index

Thrivent tends to receive far fewer complaints than are expected for an insurance company of its size, according to the complaint index created by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). 

The NAIC complaint index shows how companies fare relative to other companies when it comes to life insurance complaints. An index of 1.00 means that the insurer is on par with the number of complaints that are expected for a company of its size. A score below 1.00 means that the insurer has fewer complaints than expected, while a score above this number means it has more complaints than expected. 

Based on complaint index data over a three-year period, Thrivent’s average index was 0.033, which means it has far fewer complaints than is typical for a company of its size. When comparing Thrivent to other insurance companies, it has one of the lowest complaint indexes in the industry.

Third-Party Ratings

Thrivent Financial also fares well when it comes to ratings provided by AM Best. The rating agency gave Thrivent an A++, its highest possible rating, for financial strength. AM Best grades companies on a scale of D to A++, based on their balance sheet strength and operational performance. Thrivent’s A++ rating indicates it has a superior ability to pay claims and other financial obligations. Almost all of the 91 companies we reviewed received an A- (Excellent) or better rating, but Thrivent is one of only nine insurers we reviewed that earned the highest rating possible. 

These ratings are important because they tell potential policyholders how stable an insurer is and how likely it is to meet its ongoing insurance obligations. 

Policies Available 

Thrivent offers the following life insurance policy options. 

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance requires policyholders to pay a fixed monthly premium amount over a set term, such as 20 years. In return, if the insured person dies during that period, their beneficiary will receive a death benefit payment. Unlike permanent policies, these plans do not have a cash value component. 

Policyholders can choose from several term lengths ranging from 10 to 30 years, depending on their age and coverage needs. Basic term conversion is included on all term contracts, which are also renewable at the end of the term period.

Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance is a permanent life insurance product that guarantees to pay a specific death benefit to an insured person’s beneficiary no matter when the insured person dies. Unlike term life insurance policies that only cover a limited number of years, whole life insurance covers you as long as you make the fixed monthly premium payments. These policies also accumulate a cash value that policyholders can access while they are alive. 

Thrivent’s whole life policyholders are eligible to earn dividends. They can also enhance their policies with riders, including an accelerated death benefit for terminal illness rider; disability waiver of premium rider; and guaranteed purchase option.

Universal Life Insurance

Universal life insurance is another type of permanent life insurance that accumulates a cash value component. However, unlike your typical term life policy or a whole life policy, it allows you to adjust your premiums and death benefit throughout the policy period. 

Variable Universal Life Insurance

Variable life policies are a type of universal life insurance where policyholders can choose to invest their cash value in the stock market. The money can be split into various investment funds—for example, stock, bond, and money market funds. The premium payments can vary based on how you invest and the returns can potentially surpass or be less than those of other insurance policies, depending on investment performance. 

Available Riders

Sometimes you need or want your life insurance policy to pay more than just a death benefit to your beneficiaries. Here’s a look at the add-on riders available with Thrivent. 

Guaranteed Insurability Rider 

A guaranteed insurability rider or guaranteed increase option lets policyholders increase their death benefit amount in the future without undergoing a medical exam.

Waiver of Premium Rider

A waiver of premium rider waives your monthly insurance payments if you become totally disabled, critically ill, or seriously injured. With Thrivent, this is an option you can add to your policy for an additional cost. You can file for the premium waiver after six consecutive months of disability.

Accidental Death Benefit 

An accidental death benefit rider pays an additional death benefit to beneficiaries if the insured person dies due to an accident such as a car crash. Thrivent offers policyholders the ability to add this rider to their life insurance contracts for an additional cost. 

Accelerated Death Benefit (ADB): Terminal Illness Rider

If a life insurance policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal illness, the accelerated death benefit (ADB) rider will allow the policyholder to receive the death benefit while still alive. This rider is standard on all Thrivent life insurance contracts. Policyholders receive the accelerated benefit if they have a life expectancy of 12 months or less.

Guaranteed Purchase Option

Available for an additional cost, this rider guarantees the option to purchase Thrivent insurance contracts or riders at a fixed or alternate purchase option date.

Customer Service

Thrivent offers a general customer support phone line at the number 800-847-4836, which is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST. You can also fill out an and a Thrivent financial advisor will contact you.  If you prefer one-on-one support, you can search the for a financial advisor near you. Further, if someone needs to report the death of a loved one, Thrivent offers a dedicated phone line (920-628-6312) and an for that specific purpose. While there is no live chat option, most life insurance providers don’t currently offer that support channel. 

Price

As part of our review of dozens of companies, we gathered quotes for males and females in excellent health, aged 25, 40, and 55 years old, looking for 30-year $250,000 term policies. Thrivent’s policies were among the most affordable. In fact, its quotes were cheaper than almost 80% of the companies we collected data for. 

Final Verdict

If you are of the Christian faith and looking for an affordable term policy or permanent insurance life insurance, Thrivent is a very suitable option. The company’s strong claims-paying ability and remarkably low complaint score are good indications that it takes its fraternal benefit society role seriously. Of course, the company doesn’t provide final expense policies, which means you’d need to look elsewhere if you want a small amount of coverage with no exam and minimal to no health questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you cash out your Thrivent life insurance policy?

Policyholders may be able to access the cash value of their life insurance to cover other financial needs. However, this may reduce the value of the contract and can, in special cases, create an income tax liability.

Does Thrivent sell whole life insurance?

Thrivent does offer whole life insurance. They are also eligible to earn dividends.

What types of insurance does Thrivent offer?

Thrivent offers four policy options. These options include term life insurance, whole life insurance, universal life insurance, and variable life insurance.

What company owns Thrivent?

Thrivent is a member-owned financial services organization, specifically for those of the Christian faith.

Is Thrivent one of the most trusted life insurance companies?

Yes, for a company of its size, Thrivent received many fewer complaints than expected. Its complaint index is one of the lowest in the industry. Thrivent also has a financial strength rating of A++ from AM Best.

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.

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.