Review of the Protective Advantage Choice Universal Life Insurance Policy
Protective grades out very highly vs the other guaranteed universal companies in our 2024 guide.
Quick Summary: In our opinion, Protective offers an excellent universal life option. You are getting coverage from a super strong company that has been around a long time. The policy includes great options and flexibility at no additional cost. If price is your main concern, you can usually find cheaper options depending on your age and health profile.
About the Company - Protective
Former Alabama governor, William Dorsey Jelks, founded the Protective life insurance company in 1907. Over the years, they acquired smaller life insurance companies and today have more than $800 billion of active policies in force. This is backed by greater than $75 billion in assets.
Industry rating agency A.M. Best gives Protective an A+ rating, which is considered "superior". This is important because it means they'll be around to pay out any death claims
Financial stability, history, and volume of life insurance business transacted put Protective in the upper echelon of all life insurance carriers operating in the United States today.
What is Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance? (expand to learn more)
About the Protective Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance Policy
Product Name
Advantage Choice UL
Death Benefit
$50,000 to No Maximum
ISSUE AGE
18 to 85
Coverage Length
To age 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, or 121
Protective Underwriting Secrets
Protective has embraced technology to provide underwriting decisions that are faster and more efficient than many competing carriers. Their underwriting guidelines make them a good fit for some situations and a poor fit for certain health conditions.
The secret to finding the cheapest life insurance rates is applying at the company that will view you most favorably. Just going with the one that shows the lowest rates can be a BAD idea and end up costing you more money.
Protective underwriting is competitive and forgiving for the following situations:
Protective may NOT be a good choice for:
Cost - Sample Rates
Sample Protective Advantage Choice guaranteed universal life insurance quotes:
49-year-old male at Preferred health class - pricing listed is per month
Death Benefit | to Age 90 | to Age 100 | to Age 121 |
|---|---|---|---|
$250,000 | $199 | $215 | $251 |
$500,000 | $398 | $430 | $502 |
$1,000,000 | $711 | $767 | $896 |
51-year-old female at Preferred health class - pricing listed is per month
Death Benefit | to Age 90 | to Age 100 | to Age 121 |
|---|---|---|---|
$250,000 | $181 | $197 | $243 |
$500,000 | $361 | $393 | $485 |
$1,000,000 | $663 | $722 | $883 |
Our custom quote tool on this page displays only guaranteed universal quotes so you can cut through the clutter. Please note that some carriers do not allow us to display their rates online. We will discuss if there are other options that might be a better fit.
Pros
Great value at the price for all that is included
Excellent options and riders included in base policy at no extra cost
Fast and efficient underwriting process
Company is extremely strong financially.
Cons
No option for return of premium like some competing products
Specific health conditions may be rated lower during underwriting but this is true of most carriers
Extras, Options, and Flexibility
The Advantage Choice UL product has some excellent flexibility and options built right into the policy because lives are always changing. For additional cost, you can add more enhancements to get the policy exactly how you need it.
Automatically Included at No Extra Cost
Premium flexibility - Choose to pay the same premium for your lifetime, only for a fixed amount of time, or adjust the premiums to match a future expected income increase. You pick what works best.
Terminal Illness Accelerated Death Benefit Endorsement - Access up to the lesser of $1,000,000 or 60% of your death benefit if diagnosed with a terminal illness. This may help with the financial and emotional impact of the illness. This is considered a "living benefit". The death benefit will be reduced by the amount of money accessed early.
Income Provider Option Endorsement - Choose how you wish to have your death benefit paid out. Instead of the typical one-time lump sum payment, you may prefer your beneficiaries receive an income stream of regular payments for up to 30 years.
Build cash value - Policy builds cash value that can be accessed down the road for any reason you need it. Loans taken must be paid back with interest and will reduce the death benefit until paid back in full. Although the interest rate will fluctuate, it can never be less than the guaranteed 2.5%.
Example of potential cash build up
Source: Protective.com
Penalty for missing premium payments is not severe - If you find yourself in a tight situation financially, you can borrow from the cash value as described above to make a few payments.
But if you do miss a payment, Protective prides themselves on not affecting the policy as much as competing carriers. The result of missing payments is that the age to which the policy is guaranteed is reduced.
Example of missed payment penalty
Source: Protective.com
Additional Options - At a Cost
Even more flexibility is possible with the Protective Advantage Choice UL, but these options will affect your premium payment (you'll pay a little more).
Accidental Death Benefit Rider - Get up to $250,000 extra death benefit paid to your beneficiaries in the case of an unintentional injury death such as a car accident.
Children’s Term Life Insurance Rider - Provide any children living in your household, up to age 18, with their own policy up to $20,000. When they reach age 25, they have the ability to convert that coverage to a permanent policy up to 5 times the initial death benefit.
Disability Benefit Rider - In the event you become disabled, this rider provides funds to pay your policy premiums to make sure the life insurance coverage isn't lost. Available for applicants age 18-55 and can only be used up to age 60.
ExtendCare Rider - If you are diagnosed with a qualifying chronic illness, you can access a portion of the death benefit while still living to help with expenses. All policy expenses and premium payments will also be waived while on this claim.
How To Make Sure You Choose the Right Universal Life Insurance Policy
The best advice I can give is to always work with an independent agent. If you call a company direct, they'll only push their products on you, and you save nothing. Rates are fixed by your state laws.
Life insurance is the ONLY thing we do. We know the ins and out of 60+ companies and can find you the lowest rates. Every. Single. Time.
To get started, fill out a quote request and we'll be in touch soon to help.
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