State Farm is one of the insurance industry's most prominent insurers offering auto, home, and other insurance. Bundling is standard, and agents often quote with multiple discounts. Its term, universal, and whole life insurance products are no exception.
Business Insider compared State Farm Life Insurance to the best life insurance companies and found it to be an above average offering, boasting the highest customer satisfaction score from JD Power and customizable policies. However, State Farm has limited policies available with no medical exams and its whole life dividends lag behind some of its competitors.
State Farm Life Insurance Pros and Cons
State Farm Life Insurance Pros
- No. 1 life insurance provider for customer satisfaction in JD Power survey
- Online quotes available for term life insurance
- Whole life policyholders eligible for dividends
State Farm Life Insurance Cons
- Limited benefits for no medical exam policies
Whole life dividends lag behind competitors
Get Quotes
843
A++
- Best in JD Power customer service ratings
- Company offers a range of different insurance products to meet buyer needs
- Agents are knowledgeable about its products
- Life insurance products are conservative and limited
- Buyers may be subject to multi-year waiting periods before they qualify for full payouts on life insurance policies
- State Farm agents cannot offer alternative options if State Farm is unable to bind a life insurance policy
State Farm is one of the insurance industry's most prominent insurers offering auto, home, and other insurance. Bundling is standard, and agents often quote with multiple discounts. Its term, universal, and whole life insurance products are no exception.
- Life insurance products include term and permanent life
- Ranks highly for customer satisfaction
Compare State Farm Life Insurance
Not Rated
A
- 100% online application process, quotes in minutes
- Coverage starts immediately once approved
- Term policies renewable up to age 94 for qualifying applicants
- No conversion options to turn term policies to whole life for no exam policies
- Whole life policy limits are lower
762
A
$19 for males and $16 for females per month
N/A
Up to $2 million
- Guaranteed life insurance available for seniors between 50 and 80
- High financial strength and customer service ratings
- Some policies only have benefits up to $25,000
- AIG may not offer more extensive death benefits for seniors
N/A
A+ (Superior)
- Offers level term and whole life policy
- Discount and bundling opportunities
- Available in all 50 states
- Limited add-on coverage options
- No universal policies
- Online complains indicating life insurance service does not match other Amica products
- Term life and whole life
State Farm Life Insurance Overview
State Farm Life Insurance is one of the leading life insurance companies offering term, whole, and universal life insurance. It's particularly known for its customer service, receiving first place in JD Power's 2023 survey of 22 life insurance companies for customer service.
State Farm is an excellent life insurance option for families as it offers unique customization for families with children, including riders for spouses and children. State Farm is also a good option for those with a vehicle or home that needs to be insured. By bundling State Farm Life Insurance with auto and home insurance, the insured can expect to save money overall.
Where State Farm falters is its policies that don't require medical exams. Its Instant Answer term life only offers death benefits up to $50,000, and its guaranteed issue whole life only offers up to $15,000. You'll be able to find better no medical exam policies elsewhere.
State Farm Life Insurance Policies
State Farm offers term and permanent life insurance policies. Its whole and universal policies will last a lifetime as long as payments are made on schedule. Term policies expire, but State Farm offers conversion options for customers who want a permanent plan later.
State Farm Term Life Insurance
State Farm's term life insurance products include:
- Select Term: Coverage starts at $100,000 with 10, 20, or 30-year terms. It guarantees level payments during that time. Applicants between 18 and 75 are eligible for policies, but 30-year terms are only available for people under 45 and 20-year terms are only available for people under 65. Policies are renewable until you turn 95.
- Return of Premium Term: 20 or 30-year term policies with the option to build cash value you can borrow against. This term policy also returns premiums you already paid if you outlive the policy.
- Instant Answer Term: State Farm's no medical exam term life policy offers $50,000 in benefits for applicants between the ages of 16 and 45. Policyholders are covered for 10 years or until age 50 (whichever is longer).
Term policies can be converted to permanent policies before you turn 75 as long as your policy is active.
State Farm Whole Life Insurance
State Farm provides the following whole life insurance options:
- Traditional Whole Life: Premiums are due until age 100, after which you would be "paid up," meaning you don't have to make further payments and your death benefit is guaranteed. Policies accumulate cash value throughout the policy's life and policyholders are eligible for dividends. While dividends are not guaranteed, State Farm paid out $725 million in 2023.
- Limited Pay Whole Life: Premiums paid for 10, 15, or 20 years, after which you would be "paid up."
- Single Premium Whole Life: Policy is paid off with one lump sum premium payment, available to applicants up to 80 years old. Policy death benefits start at $15,000. Despite only paying once, policyholders can still build cash value with this policy.
- Guaranteed Issue Final Expense: Available for applicants aged 45 to 80, State Farm's burial insurance offers $10,000 to $15,000 in death benefits with limited benefits in the first two years of coverage. Final expense policies don't require a medical exam. (This policy is not available in New York, but State Farm offers a separate $10,000 whole life policy for New York residents.)
State Farm Universal Life Insurance
State Farm also offers three universal life insurance products:
- Universal Life: Flexibility in premiums, cash value growth according to money markets, and a guaranteed death benefit. Benefits start at $25,000 or $50,000, depending on the applicant's age.
- Survivorship Universal Life: Benefits paid out after the second spouse dies. Qualifications may limit the age, health, etc., of the younger spouse.
- Joint Universal Life: Covers both lives in one policy and pays out after the first spouse's death. Limits may apply based on age and health around the first insured.
Additional coverage options from State Farm Life Insurance
Policyholders can add several rider options to State Farm Life Insurance policies depending on the type of life insurance.
State Farm's term riders include:
- Children's Term Rider: Policyholders can add coverage for eligible children. The child can replace this coverage once they reach adulthood.
- Guaranteed Insurability Option: Many people don't know that term life insurance isn't guaranteed to convert. Insured parties outlive the policy, and it expires. The Guaranteed Insurability Rider does not guarantee premiums or a set death benefit. However, it gets you over the most complicated hurdle by ensuring you can convert your term life insurance to a whole life policy later without a new medical exam or health-related questions.
- Waiver of Monthly Deduction for Disabilities: This rider covers your premiums, keeping your policy active if you become disabled and unable to pay.
- Level Term Rider/Additional Insured: Policyholders can add additional term coverage or people to the policy.
Rider options for State Farm whole life insurance include:
- Child and Spouse Term Rider: Insured parties can add term coverage for children and spouses. Children would then price out their life insurance policies as adults.
- Guaranteed Insurability Rider: Whole life policyholders can increase coverage later without undergoing another medical exam. The premiums may increase in line with the amount of coverage and your age.
- Waiver of Premium for Disabilities Rider: If you become disabled, this covers your premiums. This way, you don't have to worry about your policy lapsing when you lose work-related income.
- Accidental Death Rider: If the insured party's death is ruled an accident, this rider pays out an additional benefit.
Riders for universal life policies include:
- Flexible Care Benefits: It helps cover long-term care expenses for ongoing illnesses or disabilities as needed.
- Family Coverage: Policyholders can include spouses and children in base coverage.
- Disability Waiver of Monthly Deduction: The insurers will waive some expenses, such as the cost of life insurance, optional coverages, and monthly premiums in the event of a significant disability.
- Guaranteed Insurability Option: It allows policyholders to increase life insurance coverage by the amount of the rider on specific dates without proving insurability through medical exams. This rider is often sold to policyholders who expect to increase their income later on and want to boost their life insurance accordingly.
State Farm Life Insurance Cost
Unlike most major life insurance providers, State Farm offers online quotes for term life insurance.
We used State Farm's term life quote tool to get quotes for a 20-year, $500,000 term life policy for someone in excellent health and compared it to the average cost of a similar policy based on Policygenius data.
| Age | Sex | State Farm Cost (monthly) | Average Cost |
| 20 | Female | $20.44 | $23 |
| 20 | Male | $26.09 | $30 |
| 30 | Female | $22.19 | $23 |
| 30 | Male | $28.29 | $29 |
| 40 | Female | $33.49 | $35 |
| 40 | Male | $40.04 | $43 |
| 50 | Female | $67.44 | $78 |
| 50 | Male | $90.94 | $102 |
| 60 | Female | $173.99 | $194 |
| 60 | Male | $259.24 | $269 |
Quotes from State Farm show that premiums stay below the average cost of term life insurance, even for older applicants. However, it's worth noting that upon taking a health exam, your premiums may differ from the quote you initially received. It's also worth mentioning that you may receive a slight discount if you opt to pay for your policy yearly instead of monthly.
Permanent life insurance quotes are unavailable online, but a licensed State Farm agent can quote whole or universal life insurance policies.
How to File a Claim with State Farm Life Insurance
State Farm Life Insurance policyholders have several options to file a life insurance claim:
- Use the State Farm Mobile App to file and manage claims.
- Fill out a claim form online. You must either sign up or enter your account number to use the online claim form. We recommend signing your beneficiary up early to minimize stress later.
- Call the claims number at 877-292-0398.
State Farm Life Insurance Customer Service and Ratings
State Farm has overwhelming negative reviews on customer review sites, averaging 1.6 stars out of five on Trustpilot and 1.22 stars on its Better Business Bureau page. It's worth mentioning that these reviews pertain to State Farm as a whole, not just its life insurance. Reviews complained about State Farm refusing to pay out claims and rude customer service agents.
It's not uncommon for major insurance companies to receive a large number of negative reviews on third-party sites like Trustpilot and the BBB. As customers must go out of their way to leave a review, they're often left by people sharing a negative experience.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners' complaint index rates a company based on how many complaints it receives against its share of the market. The average NAIC complaint index score is 1.00, meaning if a company scores below 1.00, it has fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size. If the company scores above 1.00, it has more complaints than the industry average. State Farm scored a 0.31, indicating that it has far fewer complaints than expected.
State Farm also received the highest score in JD Power's 2024 life insurance survey for customer satisfaction, receiving 843/1,000. For reference, the average across the 22 companies surveyed was 790/1000.
State Farm Life Insurance Alternatives
State Farm Life Insurance vs. MassMutual Life Insurance
Like State Farm, Mass Mutual Life Insurance offers term, whole, and universal life insurance. However, MassMutual also offers variable universal life insurance, which allows policyholders to invest their cash value. It offers the highest returns, but also incurs the highest risk.
MassMutual offers term life, though it doesn't offer any options for people who don't want to take a medical exam, which State Farm does. That said, MassMutual offers a program called LifeBridge, which provides a free 10-year term life insurance policy for $50,000 to eligible individuals. The policy helps cover education costs for children if their parents pass away. Parents who are U.S. residents between 18 and 42 and making between $10,000 and $40,000 annually are eligible.
MassMutual's whole life insurance offers a greater range of customization than State Farm, with a greater array of additional riders available. It also offers greater dividends, paying out $1.9 billion in 2023 compared to State Farm's $725 million payout in the same year.
It's also worth mentioning that applicants who already have other insurance policies with State Farm may save on premiums.
When it comes to customer service, MassMutual closely tails State Farm, receiving an 809/1,000 on JD Power's 2024 customer satisfaction survey of life insurance companies. It placed two spots behind State Farm, with its 843/1,000.
Read our MassMutual life insurance review.
State Farm Life Insurance vs. Ladder Life Insurance
Ladder Life focuses entirely on term life insurance. In addition, Ladder is an online insurance provider, meaning users can obtain insurance 100% online without speaking to a representative. However, as you might expect, State Farm offers more riders to customize coverage and generous death benefits. Buyers who are technologically challenged or beneficiaries dealing with the stress of losing a loved one may also enjoy more support from State Farm agents.
While State Farm offers more customizability, Ladder offers better coverage in certain circumstances. For one, it offers up to $3 million in coverage without requiring a medical exam. Applicants needing more coverage can take a medical exam and access up to $8 million. Meanwhile, State Farm's no exam, Instant Answer life insurance only offers $50,000 in death benefits. Lastly, Ladder quoted lower premiums than State Farm for similar policies.
Ladder also offers a unique Laddering fuction, which allows policyholders to adjust their death benefits and premiums an unlimited number of times throughout their policy's duration.
Overall, Ladder is a better option for people purely searching for quick term life insurance. However, if you're interested in riders, term life conversions, and other customization options, State Farm is the better pick.
Read our Ladder life insurance review.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed State Farm Life Insurance
Our insurance rating methodology helps us compare companies objectively to help consumers make informed decisions. We look at factors including:
- Cost of a policy: Underwriting will determine your premiums based on your perceived risk level. However, we do our due diligence to find affordable rates and the best value. To do so, we compare a company's cost with the average industry rate ($40 to $56 per month) and with its competitors. We also assess the impact of demographic factors (age, health classification, etc.) on premiums.
- Company offerings: We look at the variety of products a company offers, including the availability of short-term and long-term policies and supplemental riders. Shoppers with more complex financial needs may value access to universal life policies or the option to convert to a permanent plan. Those who only need basic coverage may like the simplicity of companies offering only term life insurance.
- Policy customization: We look at a company's term length options and range of coverage amounts. Shoppers with unique circumstances may need more coverage or longer term lengths (several companies offer up to 40 years of term life coverage). The availability of riders also enhances a policy by providing extra protection.
- Financial strength: Financial stability indicates how consistently a company can deliver on its financial commitments during unstable economic conditions like a recession. We used AM Best, an industry-renowned credit rating agency, to determine an insurance firm's financial health. Companies receive grades from A++ (Superior) to F (not financially stable). If a company earns under a B, its financial strength is questionable. The company may not be around to pay your death benefit claim.
- Customer service: Using JD Power's life insurance customer satisfaction survey, we called out companies known for top-tier customer support. JD Power surveyed over 5,000 participants who ranked providers based on service from the purchasing to the claims process. JD Power distributed points out of 1,000 to each firm. Providers scoring over 774 points demonstrated superior customer service.
- Exclusions: Insurance providers may exclude applicants to minimize risk. Some companies will increase rates or disqualify life insurance buyers with preexisting conditions, smokers, or older applicants. Our review highlights where applicants may encounter disqualification or higher premiums based on the provider's exclusions.
Read more about how Business Insider rates life insurance.
FAQs
How can I get a quote for State Farm life insurance?
You can get a quote for State Farm term life insurance using the company's online quoting tool. For permanent life insurance, you'll have to speak directly with a State Farm agent.
Are there any discounts available for State Farm life insurance?
Yes, bundling discounts for State Farm life insurance are available for policyholders who hold other State Farm policies, like homeowners insurance and auto insurance.
Does State Farm life insurance offer no medical exam policies?
Yes, State Farm life insurance offers no medical exam policies, but options are limited and death benefits aren't particularly high.
