Genworth Financial is a large global financial security company that has in excess of $100 billion in assets. The company has customers – both business and consumer – in over 25 countries worldwide, and it is recognized in the Standard & Poor's Index of Leading United States companies. It is also a leading Fortune 500 company.
History of Genworth
Genworth actually began as The Life Insurance Company of Virginia back in 1871, and it has grown throughout the years by remaining focused on its goal of offering support and stability to its policy holders, as well as to its product distributors around the world.
The company has always strived to be there for its customers and policy holders through a caring and collegial environment, and in doing so, it has grown exponentially throughout the past century plus.
Today, the company is still headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and it employs approximately 6,000 individuals in total. Its products are distributed in a number of ways, including via financial institutions such as banks and independent brokerages, through brokerage general agencies, via independent marketing organizations, and through Genworth's own dedicated sales organization. In addition, independent financial advisors can also offer Genworth's products, as do mortgage professionals.
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Products Offered by Genworth Life Insurance Company
Genworth Financial offers a wide variety of different insurance and financial products – both in the business and personal arena. On the personal insurance side, the company provides life insurance, long-term care, and annuities (both immediate and deferred).
The company is likely best known for its long-term care insurance products, as well as its annual Long-term care / Cost of Care survey that it produces each year on the cost of nursing home, assisted care, and home health care in the United States.
Genworth also provides information on related long-term care topics such as care giving and care giving support so that family members and other loved ones can find respite when an individual needs physical or cognitive support. The company has partnered with AARP in order to provide much of this information and guidance.
Genworth offers many different types of life insurance protection products. It's life insurance products center on the following types of policies:
- Term Life – Term life insurance is considered to be the most basic form of life insurance in the market place. This is because it offers just pure death benefit protection, without any type of cash value or investment build up. Because of this, term life insurance is typically the most affordable type of life insurance – especially for those who are young and in relatively good health at the time of application. If you aren't in the best of health and feel a no medical exam life insurance policy would be the best option for you, then we can help find the best carrier for you. Term life is offered for specific time periods, or “terms.” These are usually for 10, 15, 20, or even 30 years, depending on the age of the applicant at the time he or she applies for the coverage. Term insurance is oftentimes thought of as being “temporary” coverage due to its set time period.
- Whole Life – Whole life insurance is considered to be “permanent” life insurance coverage because it covers a person for the “whole” of his or her life – as long as the premium continues to be paid. This type of coverage includes death benefit protection, as well as cash value build up. The cash is allowed to grow on a tax deferred basis, which means that there is no tax due on the growth of the cash value until the time that it is withdrawn. The cash in the policy grows at a guaranteed rate of return over time.
- Guarantee Universal Life – Guarantee universal life also offers a death benefit and cash value. However, this type of coverage provides the policy holder with more flexibility in that he or she can vary the timing and the amount of the premium.
- Index Universal Life – Index universal life insurance also has both death benefit protection and cash value, just like regular universal life insurance. However, these plans offer the potential for greater growth, along with less risk than a variable universal life insurance policy. The return on the cash value in these policies is linked to the value of the performance of an underlying index, such as the S&P 500 or the NASDAQ 100. Funds, however, are not actually invested in the market itself.
All of the Genworth life insurance protection products also have the ability to add various riders, making the coverage more customizable.
Financial Strength Ratings
Genworth is a strong and stable financial services company, and it has been provided with very good ratings from the ratings agencies. These include the following:
| Company | A.M. Best | Standard & Poor's | Moody's Investor Services |
| Genworth Life Insurance Company | A | BBB+ | A3 |
| Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Co. | A | BBB+ | A3 |
| Genworth Life Insurance Co. of NY | A | BBB+ | A3 |
Advantages and Considerations
Overall, Genworth Life Insurance Company has achieved good reviews from its customers. It has relatively easy customer service representatives to deal with. And, as far as products go, it has a fairly good selection in terms of life insurance products in that it covers the basics such as term and whole life, with some “extras” added in such as universal and index UL.
In addition, the term life insurance policy premium rates are affordable – primarily for those who are in good health at the time of application. These plans also offer some additional riders, such as an accelerated death benefit. Term policies from Genworth are typically available to applicants between the ages of 18 and 82, so they have a good range for life insurance customers.
Age 82 is also the max for Genworth's universal life insurance policy. The company's UL policies provide the opportunity to add a variety of different riders, too, such as:
- Accidental death benefit
- Disability
- Child protection
- Guaranteed minimum cash value
- Long-term care
- Living / accelerated death benefit
Likewise, the company's index universal life insurance policy also offers a fair amount of flexibility in that it, too, offers a long-term care policy rider, as well as a rider for living / accelerated death benefits if the policy holder so chooses.
Unfortunately, one of Genworth's biggest drawbacks is the very large rate increase that it recently imposed on its long-term care insurance policy holders. In some cases, this reflected a rise in premium of over 100 percent within just a short period of time – making these policies unaffordable for individuals who had been paying in premiums for many years.
The company has also faced some recent downgrades to its credit rating from the major financial services rating agencies – which has sent Genworth's stock shares lower. This has not been positive for the company's image or its policy holders' confidence.
In any case, when shopping for life insurance from any company, it is essential to obtain more than just one quote from one single insurer. Doing so would be similar to getting just one quote on a computer or major piece of electronics equipment before making a purchase, and not even shopping the competition to see if there was a better deal.
When seeking out a life insurance policy, you are essentially putting together the financials for your survivors. The funds are oftentimes used in order to replace income or to pay off major debts so that loved ones can carry on. With that in mind, it is important to ensure that you have a policy that will do the job right from a company that will be there in the future. In doing so, getting more than one competing quote and reviewing more than just one policy only makes good sense.
How and Where to Find the Best Life Insurance Policy for Your Specific Needs
When you're seeking life insurance protection – regardless of your current health condition – it is always important to compare both policies and premium quotes from at least several different life insurance carriers. This is because you will want to get an idea of the coverage and the prices that are available to you.
To get started use the form on this page to begin the life insurance comparison process. I have partnered with Root Financial to provide you with quotes from all of the top life insurance companies for your area. They are and independent agency and specialize in helping people get the lowest life insurance rates, even if they happen to fall into a high risk category.
Purchasing life insurance is a vital part to a healthy financial plan, the same goes for auto and health insurance. If you have not purchased a policy and there are other people that are dependent on your income or who would be financially affected if you were to pass away then get this resolved today.
