Genworth Life Insurance Company Review

*Update 2018 – Genworth no longer sells life insurance policies. They have stopped selling both no medical exams and traditionally underwritten policies.*

For many people, having the proper insurance coverage is a part of a good, solid overall financial plan. Without insurance protection, assets that have taken many years to save could quickly become depleted, in turn, putting individuals and those that they care about in potential financial jeopardy.

There are several things to look at when shopping for coverage, one of those is their financial security. One company that has had some financial troubles of late – but that also has a good reputation in the insurance industry – is Genworth Financial.

The History of Genworth Financial Life Insurance Company

Genworth Financial is a large insurance and financial services entity that was initially established back in 1871.

The company was originally founded as The Life Insurance Company of Virginia, and more than 100 years after its origination, Life of Virginia was acquired by Combined Insurance – which just one year later became Aon plc.

Today, Genworth Financial is still committed to helping its customers achieve their financial dreams, and protect their financial security.

Genworth does business in all 50 of the United States, and the company is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. It also has offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, Lynchburg, Virginia, and Stamford, Connecticut.

Genworth Financial Life Insurance Company Review

Even in light of its financial challenges, Genworth Financial today remains committed to its customers and policyholders. The company is also actively engaged in public policy advocacy on various issues that are important to its business, its customers, its employees, and its distributors. It also provides a wide range of tools and information that can help people with achieving financial security, as well as to better understand various financial trends.

One way that Genworth has provided this is via its annual Cost of Care Surveys. For the past 13 consecutive years, the company has surveyed the cost of long-term care services across the United States. This has helped millions of Americans to more appropriately plan for a potential long term care need. This survey encompasses more than 55,000 long-term care providers in 440 regions across the United States.

Likewise, Genworth Financial also helps home buyers and homeowners via its Streets Ahead report. This report is released bi-annually, and it provides in-depth information through the Genworth Homebuyer Confidence Index. The report surveys more than 2,000 potential and existing home purchasers regarding their mortgages and their mortgage sentiments.

Genworth is also committed to helping families to become more secure financially. One way it does so is through its commitment to the Genworth Foundation – which provides grants to global non-profits that are addressing various financial related issues.

Insurer Ratings and Better Business Bureau Grade

Based on the company’s overall financial strength and stability, the following ratings have been provided to Genworth Life Insurance Company:

• B from A.M. Best Company
• BB- from Standard & Poor’s
• Ba2 from Moody’s

Also, while Genworth Financial is not an accredited company through the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and they have a B+ by the BBB – on a scale of A+ to F.

Over the past three years, Genworth Financial closed a total of 16 customer complaints through the Better Business Bureau, with 5 of these closed within the past 12 months. Of the 16 complaints that were received, 12 had to do with problems with the company’s products and/or service.

An additional three were in relation to billing and/or collection issues, and one was in regard to delivery issues.

Life Insurance Coverage Offered by Genworth

*Because of some financial strains and company re-positioning, Genworth is no longer selling any life insurance to individuals. They still sell their long-term insurance coverage and their annuities. If you currently have a Genworth life insurance policy, you can keep your coverage, but we suggest switching carriers.*

While Genworth Financial had offered life insurance for many years, due to various financial constraints in recent times, the company opted to stop selling its non-medically underwritten life insurance policies and annuities, in March of 2016.

At that time, the company had approximately 2.8 million life and annuity policyholders and beneficiaries.

• Asset Builder Index Universal Life ll
• Foundation Builder Index Universal Life
• Colony Term Life
• Total Living Coverage

Other products that Genworth also stopped selling as of early 2016 include single premium deferred and immediate annuities such as the:

• Secure Living Independence
• Secure Living Liberty
• Secure Living Smart Rate
• Secure Living Smart Rate Saver
• Secure Living Advantage Pro
• Secure Living America Plus
• Secure Living Income Provider
• Secure Living Income Provider NY

Likewise, fixed annuities that are no longer offered by Genworth are the:

• Secure Living Index 5
• Secure Living Index 7
• Secure Living Index 10 Plus
• Secure Living Growth + Income Choice Rider
• Secure Living Protection Plus
• Secure Living Growth Advantage with Income Security Rider

The company does, however, plan to continue the sale of its long-term care insurance product, as well as its medically underwritten annuity product.

Other Insurance and Financial Products Available

While Genworth has had some significant financial challenges over the past few years, the company remains committed to offering its flagship long-term care insurance coverage. It also offers a medically underwritten annuity plan for those who may be concerned about covering their expenses if and/or when they require care. These products offer the following benefits:

Long Term Care Insurance

When it comes to long-term care insurance, Genworth has more than 40 years of experience in this niche. The company has issued more than one million long-term care insurance policies – which can cover a policyholder for care that is received in a skilled nursing home facility, as well as an assisted care facility and at the policy holder’s home. More than 200,000 policyholders have already begun to receive their long-term care benefits, which in turn, has saved them thousands of dollars – or more – throughout the years.

Annuities

Today, due to people living longer than ever before, ensuring that one does not run out of income in retirement is essential. While leaving this up to market-related investments cannot provide any type of guarantee, using retirement annuities can allow one to be sure that they will have an ongoing income stream for the remainder of their life – regardless of how long that may be.

The annuities that are offered by Genworth are primarily geared towards those who may not be in ideal health, and who could likely benefit from a larger amount of monthly income than they would be able to receive from a traditional, non-medically underwritten immediate annuity. These individuals are also likely in need of some type of long-term care services. Immediate annuities from Genworth are for applicants who are between 70 and 95, with a minimum premium amount of $50,000 and a maximum of $1 million. Lifetime income – which is received on a monthly basis – can help the annuitant to provide for his or her living expenses, as well as to cover medical costs, offset long-term care related expenses, and to help with easing their family’s burden of caregiving. An annual cost of living adjustment of between 1 percent and 8 percent may be added at the time of application.

The Genworth immediate annuity can also provide a payout to the beneficiary if the annuitant dies within six months of the contract date. In addition, an optional enhanced death benefit is also available if the annuity owner selects the life income option with a protected period at the time of policy issue.

The early death benefit is equal to the single premium paid into the annuity, multiplied by the applicable death benefit of 100%, if death occurs in the first contract month. If death occurs in month two or three, then the death benefit percentage will be 50 percent. And, if the death of the annuitant were to occur in months four, five, or six, then the death benefit percentage goes to 25. (Should death occur in month seven or beyond, the death benefit percentage goes to 0). With the optional death benefit, the annuity owner can select a life income with a protected period of one to five years (at the annuity issue date). In this case, an enhanced death benefit can be received by the named beneficiary.

Here, if the annuitant were to die within the protected period, the enhanced death benefit will be the greater of the minimum benefit amount, less monthly income received, and the early death benefit. The minimum benefits amount is the sum of the monthly income payments for the number of months in the selected protected period – excluding any additional prorated amount that is included in the first monthly payment.

Get Lower Rates

Want to get cheaper life insurance from Genworth Financial – or from any other insurance carrier?

We recommend you work in conjunction with an insurance brokerage or agency that is independent.

This means that the company is not directly affiliated with just one insurance company, but rather can offer you a selection of policies from different insurance carriers.

This, in turn, can allow you to compare benefits and costs.

The one thing we tell all of our clients is they HAVE to get several quotes before they buy a plan. Buying the first policy you see is like buying the first car you test drive.

Sure, there is a chance it’s the perfect purchase, but there is a bigger chance that it’s not. Just like you would test drive several cars, you should contact several companies as well.

We hope this post has given you enough information about Genworth. If you have decided they aren’t the best choice, maybe one of the 50 companies we work with will be.