Kemper Life Insurance Review
It can be overwhelming to pick the right life insurance company. It’s an important decision and you want to get it right.
Kemper is a strong company with a solid reputation and financial standing.
but are they the best company for your unique life insurance needs?
Let’s take a look…
About Kemper Life Insurance
Based in Chicago, Illinois, Kemper Life Insurance is one of the largest insurance providers in America. It provides not only life insurance, but also auto, home, and health insurance, for individuals, families and small businesses. The most recent iteration of the company began in 1990, but Kemper traces its roots back to its founding in 1919.
Kemper is a publicly traded company (New York Stock Exchange: KMPR), employing nearly 6,000 workers, and with total assets well in excess of $8 billion. They provide insurance policies to more than 6 million people, through more than 20,000 independent agents and brokers.
The company has dozens of subsidiaries, mostly engaged in the insurance industry.
Kemper Insurance Financial Ratings
Kemper Life Insurance has an excellent rating from both A.M. Best and the Better Business Bureau, two of the leading rating agencies involving the insurance industry.
Here are the most recent ratings on the company:
- Standard & Poor’s: A-
- A.M. Best: A- “Excellent”, as of March, 2024.
- Moody’s: N/A
- Better Business Bureau: “A+” (on a scale of A+ to F). Though Kemper is not BBB accredited, the Bureau has had an open file on the company going back to 1952. 12 reviews are provided, three of them positive, nine negative.
Based on the ratings above, Kemper Life Insurance is financially one of the stronger companies in the insurance industry. This is important because life insurance is a long-term financial engagement for you as the consumer. High ratings from third-party services are an indication that the company is likely to be around for many years to come.
Products Offered by Kemper Life Insurance
Even if you are only planning to purchase a term life insurance policy, it’s always good to know that an insurance company has related products. As time goes on, you may want access to additional financial products and services.
Here are the basic product lines offered by Kemper Life Insurance::
Life insurance:
- Term life insurance
- Whole life insurance
- No exam/guaranteed issue life insurance
Other types of insurance provided:
- Auto insurance (including high-risk auto insurance)
- Commercial auto insurance
- Home owner’s insurance
- Renter’s insurance
- Condo insurance
- Boat insurance
- Personal liability insurance
- Identity fraud insurance
- Personal valuables and collectibles insurance
- Health insurance
Kemper offers the full range of insurance policies for all of your personal needs. What they lack however are related products, such as investment and retirement services and products. And unlike most large insurance companies, they don’t offer annuities.
But with the various insurance products Kemper provides, it would be possible to get multiple policies with the same company. That holds open the possibility of getting a discount for bundling services.
No Exam/Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance
With most companies, these are two separate policies. No exam is strictly a traditional life insurance policy with no medical exam required. Guaranteed issue is for those who have serious health conditions, and won’t normally qualify for life insurance coverage. With Kemper, the two terms refer to the same policy type.
There’s good news and bad news here.
The good news is that Kemper offers no exam life insurance on all their policies. That means that while your medical history will be considered, based on existing medical records, you won’t be required to submit to a physical exam. That means no one will come to your home or office, take your blood pressure, draw blood and/or urine samples, stick a popsicle stick down your throat, or make you submit to an EKG.
The no exam feature has another benefit. Since no exam will be performed or analyzed, you’ll save time in the application process. They have a simple application, in which you’re mostly required to complete medical related questions. Once you do, the policy decision is made quickly.
It’s a good process for anyone looking to get coverage quickly. In fact, you can get coverage in as little as one day.
The bad news is that no exam life insurance policies have higher premiums than traditionally underwritten policies do. They may also limit the amount of insurance coverage you can get. Most policies will be limited to no more than $25,000. It’s mainly for final expenses, like burial. But it won’t provide funds to pay off your mortgage, or provide for your family in your absence.
But no exam life insurance is a niche that Kemper has decided to specialize in. It makes them very good at this type of insurance, but lacking in other areas.
Natural vs. Accidental Death
Kemper’s guaranteed issue whole life insurance comes with what is known as a graded death benefit. Within the first two years of the policy, the full face amount of the policy will be paid only in the event of accidental death.
However, should you die of natural causes, you will be paid a reduced percentage of the death benefit within the first two years. Your beneficiaries will receive 120% of the premiums you have paid into the policy up until the time of death.
Once two years have passed since the initiation of the policy, the full death benefit will be paid regardless of the cause of death, accidental or natural.
This is a common provision with guaranteed issue policies. Like other companies that provide these kinds of policies, Kemper imposes this limitation to prevent people from applying for coverage quite literally on their deathbeds.
Kemper Pros and Cons
Kemper Life Insurance Pros:
- The Company is one of the better providers of guaranteed issue life insurance. That’s a niche all its own, and Kemper is often the best option for this type of policy.
- Kemper is one of the bigger, better established companies in the insurance industry. Despite their most recent founding in 1990, the company has actually been in business since 1919. It’s not in any way a fly-by-night insurance provider.
- The company is highly regarded by A.M. Best, which is a strong indication of its financial integrity. And the A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau means that customers are generally happy with what Kemper provides, even though it may be very limited.
- Kemper’s policies can accommodate just about any type of health condition, including the most severe. As long as you can expect to live for at least two years after taking the policy, you can be approved with virtually any type of health condition.
Kemper Life Insurance Cons:
- Kemper offers both term and whole life insurance, but both are guaranteed issue only. Other types of policies, such as lower cost, fully medically underwritten traditional policies are unavailable.
- Kemper provides the full range of insurance-related products, but not the type of financial services and products typically found with larger life insurance companies. These would include investments in retirement-related products.
- Currently unavailable in New York and California, two major markets.
- Because of the nature of the policies offered, premiums are much higher than what they would be on traditional life insurance products.
Should You Get a Term Life Policy Through Kemper Life Insurance?
Because Kemper is focused on the guaranteed issue niche, it’s virtually impossible to compare it accurately with other life insurance companies.
They simply don’t offer the products normally associated with life insurance, like low-cost traditional term life insurance policies. Their entire product line is geared toward customers with serious health conditions, and who wouldn’t be able to qualify for a fully medically underwritten policy.
But Kemper is also one of the top performers in the guaranteed issue niche. It’s highly specialized, and Kemper does it better than just about anyone else. In fact, Kemper may be your first choice if that’s the kind of policy you need. It’s certainly worth investigating the various companies that also offer guaranteed issue policies.
Give us a call, or complete the quote request on our site, and we’ll see if Kemper Life Insurance – or another insurance company – is the right choice for you. As an insurance broker, we work with them all, and we’ll work to get you the best policy for the lowest premium.
