Transamerica Life Insurance Review

Transamerica is considered to be one of the world’s leading insurance and financial services companies. The firm offers insurance and investments to more than 19 million customers worldwide. As Transamerica’s slogan suggests, the company – and its customers – are “Tomorrow Makers.” This is because the company strives to make its customers’ tomorrows everything that they plan for.

The History of Transamerica

The company has been in the business of providing insurance and financial advice for more than 100 years and it began its operation in 1904 when Amadeo Giannini started the Bank of Italy in a converted saloon in San Francisco, California. He strived to make financial services available to everyone of all financial classes, not just the wealthy. His business really ramped up following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake when he was able to provide loans to residents for rebuilding their properties.

Several years later, in 1928, the company merged with Bank of America, and two years after that, it acquired Occidental Life Insurance via Transamerica Corporation. In 1956, the banking and life insurance companies were separated, with the insurance component maintaining the Transamerica name. Today, customers of Transamerica have access to a wide variety of insurance and financial products and services.

The firm is licensed to provide insurance in all U.S. states, and the District of Columbia, and it has approximately $223 billion of premiums in force. Transamerica has a roughly $29.5 billion in assets under management.

Products Offered By Transamerica

Transamerica offers a variety of products to both consumers and businesses.

On the insurance side, the company provides numerous options, including the following types of coverage:

Term Life 

Term life insurance offers pure death benefit protection for a specific period of time.

This is typically 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, or 30 years. Should the insured pass away during the time that a term life policy is in force, the named beneficiary will receive the stated amount of death benefit. Because term policies do not offer any type of cash value or savings component, the premiums for this type of coverage are typically more affordable than other, “permanent,” forms of coverage.

For example, you can get a $1 million term policy for less than 20% of a permanent policy with the same face value.  Term life is sometimes referred to as “temporary” life insurance coverage as it is often used for covering temporary needs such as the balance of a mortgage.

Whole Life

Whole life insurance offers death benefit protection as well as cash value build up.

The funds that are inside of the cash value grow on a tax-deferred basis, meaning that no tax is due until the time of withdrawal. The cash grows at a guaranteed rate over time.

Whole life is considered permanent coverage because as long as the premium is paid, coverage remains in force – oftentimes for the “whole” of a person’s life.

Universal Life

Universal offers a death benefit protection as well as a cash value build up. However, it provides more flexibility than whole life in that the policyholder can choose to pay higher or lower premium amounts as their financial needs change over time.

The policy value may simply increase or decrease accordingly. Like with whole policies, the cash value is allowed to grow on a tax-deferred basis.

Variable Universal Life

Variable life, provides death benefit protection and cash value.

With variable universal life, however, the cash value’s return is based on underlying investments in market-related “subaccounts.” These can allow the funds in the account to grow a great deal – provided that the market moves upward. These accounts can also be riskier in a downward moving market.

Accidental Death

This can help to ensure that their loved ones will be taken care of should the unthinkable occur. (It is important to note that this benefit will not typically pay out in the event of death that is caused by sickness or other natural causes).

Final Expense

Final expense coverage focuses on paying for a person’s funeral and related expenses.

Today, the cost of a funeral – including the burial plot, headstone, and other related expenses – can exceed $10,000. Unfortunately, many families are not able to pay these costs immediately upon the death of a loved one.

Having final expense insurance allows for a way to do that – eliminating stress on loved ones, in an already stressful and emotional time.

Key Man Life

What is key man life insurance you ask?

Key person insurance is a form of business insurance that people can overlook, but one that can make all the difference in keeping a business or firm successful in the face of losing an owner, or important team member.

In addition to life insurance, Transamerica also offers a number of other financial products, including long-term care insurance, annuities, and retirement/investment savings options for those who are planning for retirement, as well as those who are already there.

Financial Strength Ratings

Transamerica has been given very good ratings by the insurer rating agencies.

These ratings include the following:

A.M. Best	Moody’s Investor Services	Fitch	Standard & Poor’s
A+	A1	AA-	AA-

 

Advantages and Considerations

When seeking life insurance, it is important that the insurer is able to offer choice and flexibility – especially such that it meets with your specific needs. Many have the misconception that they cannot find a policy for them because of their lifestyle choices, such as one looking for life insurance for a smoker, there are options out there for you and I can help with finding the best for your needs.

Transamerica provides an extremely flexible and diverse product line up, including:

• Term
• Whole
• Universal
• Variable
• Final Expense
• Accidental Death

This, coupled with the company’s excellent customer support team can make for a nice mix – especially for customers who may need assistance in figuring out the details in terms of how much to purchase and what type of coverage may be best for their specific needs.

In addition, Transamerica’s policies also come with a nice assortment of riders – which can make their plans even more customizable. For example, the firm offers an estate protection rider that can help in protecting loved ones from estate tax obligations that may arise from the payment of the policy’s own death benefit.

The company’s website provides additional information on both policies and policy riders so that interested potential applicants can obtain more information on how these may work in their specific scenario.

Yet, even with all of the good, there are some considerations that should be taken into account when searching for coverage – especially when doing so through just one single insurer. This is especially the case if you have certain health issues, such as searching for best life insurance rates for smokers and/or you possess other factors that may deem you as being a higher risk applicant. This may lead you to need to look into a company that offers no medical exam life insurance policies.

In these cases – or in any case – it is always good to do some comparison shopping. Otherwise, you are essentially “locked in” to whatever price the insurer presents you with. This can be somewhat similar to only going to one car dealer or one computer dealer when shopping for these items, and never even checking prices elsewhere before moving forward with your ultimate purchase. With this in mind, regardless of how good the product, it always makes good sense to shop around first.

How and Where to Get the Best Life Insurance Coverage for Your Needs

When you’re in the process of searching for the best life insurance coverage – regardless of your current health condition or status – it is important that you compare the type of policies that are available to you, as well as the premium cost from different carriers.

This is because there could be a significant variation between one insurer and another – even for the very same type and amount of coverage.