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AIG Life Insurance Review 2020

AIG offers more options than many insurers, but has received a lot of claims complaints.
Pro Bullet Term
Pro Bullet Guaranteed issue whole
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Pro Bullet Variable universal
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Licensed Life Insurance Agent/Staff Writer
Published on March 18, 2020

Update: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, AIG is one of several insurance companies that is directly addressing customers’ questions about the virus and/or providing specialized service options to ensure the safety of customers and agents alike. For up-to-date information, visit the AIG website.


American International Group (AIG) was founded 100 years ago and now offers life insurance under several brands, including AIG Direct, AIG100, and American General Life Insurance Company. American General Life companies have rates for younger adults that aren’t as competitive as other companies. And this insurer doesn’t have the best claims service record. But AIG is a financially stable company offering a variety of life insurance products.

Who might choose AIG for life insurance?

  • People who want uncommon term lengths: Fine-tune your term length with 18 options between 10 and 35 years.
  • People who want final expense insurance: Guaranteed issue whole life insurance coverage is explicitly designed to cover burial and other final expenses.
  • Women 50 or older: These ladies will find this insurer's term life rates most competitive.

American General life insurance policies

American General Life Insurance Company offers a variety of products, including the following types of life insurance:

  • Term
  • Guaranteed issue whole
  • Universal
  • Variable universal
  • Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D)
  • AIG Quality of Life insurance

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AIG term life insurance

AIG’s Select-a-Term life insurance offers 18 different term lengths from 10 years to 35 years. Since most companies offer only a few 5- or 10- year increments, these options make this insurance company a standout for term choices. You can convert this term life insurance policy to permanent life insurance at the end of your term or at age 70, whichever comes first.

AIG guaranteed issue whole life insurance

Designed to be final expense insurance, you can choose from $5,000 to $25,000 in coverage. This no exam life insurance is available only to adults between 50 and 85, making it a form of senior life insurance.

AIG universal life insurance

AIG offers a guaranteed universal life insurance policy called Secure Lifetime GUL 3, which also provides modest cash value growth potential. There are also two indexed universal products. The Value+ Protector universal life policy is designed to keep costs low with interest crediting features. The Max Accumulator+ may cost a bit more, but puts more of your premium toward cash value growth.

AIG variable life insurance

The AG Platinum Choice VUL 2 is a form of permanent life insurance that allows policyholders to choose how to invest their cash value. This coverage is not available in the state of New York.

AIG AD&D insurance

This company is also an accident insurance company. Its accidental death and dismemberment insurance does not require a medical exam or a medical questionnaire. You can apply for this coverage between the ages of 18 and 80.

Read More:

AIG Quality of Life Insurance

American General offers several products it calls Quality of Life (QoL) insurance, which add an accelerated death benefit to existing products. You can buy a QoL version of the Value+ Protector indexed universal life product, for example. There's also a QoL flex term option.

With these products, you could access your death benefit early to help cover medical and other expenses if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness, critical condition, or chronic illness.

How much does life insurance with AIG cost?

To find out how much American General’s life insurance costs, we sampled the following rates for death benefits of $100,000, $250,000, $500,000, and $1 million.

AIG sample rates

20-year term life policy for a healthy 25 year old
Death benefit payout

Male monthly premium

Female monthly premium

$100K

$11

$11

$250K

$28

$27

$500K

$31

$26

$1M

$32

$33

Sample quotes based on data from a TermLife2Go partner and are for illustration purposes only. Actual quotes may vary. Data effective 11/14/19.

20-year term life policy for a healthy 50 year old
Death benefit payout

Male monthly premium

Female monthly premium

$100K

$26

$20

$250K

$42

$32

$500K

$76

$58

$1M

$139

$108

Sample quotes based on data from a TermLife2Go partner and are for illustration purposes only. Actual quotes may vary. Data effective 11/14/19.

Compared to the best life insurance rates, these premiums can be rather expensive. This insurer's most competitive prices seem to be for women over 50. People with diabetes or who have lost weight recently might find relatively low rates with American General as well, but those with high cholesterol or a family history of health issues may find better prices elsewhere.

If you have preexisting conditions and you’re worried about qualifying for life insurance, find out exactly what tests to expect during a life insurance exam.

Things to consider about AIG life insurance

The menu of products available through this life insurance company makes the insurer appealing to a lot of people. You may be able to buy these policies under several brand names—and across several websites.

Many brands, many websites

You may recognize some of AIG’s most popular brands: American General Life Insurance Company, AIG Direct, and AIG100.

Together, these brands offer a full menu of life insurance products, but navigating the various websites can be difficult. If you land on the American General website, for example, you’ll find only term life. You’ll need to try AIG Direct or AIG100 for other types of life insurance.

Select-a-Term

AIG’s standout offering is the variety of term lengths available. While many companies offer only a handful of terms (usually five or ten years apart), AIG allows you to choose any number of years from 15 to 30. 10- and 30-year terms are on the menu as well.

If you know you need life insurance for only a specific number of years—until you pay your mortgage in 26 years or your newborn turns 18—choosing a more exact term length can be helpful. If you’re not sure what the next few decades have in store for you, however, having such granular choices might feel more overwhelming than useful.

More than life insurance

You can also buy other types of insurance (known as property and casualty insurance), such as home, auto, travel, and business insurance. The company's products also include variable annuities and financial products. If you want an annuity or to invest in a mutual fund, for example, you can do that with this company too. Of course, you may need to navigate yet another website to request insurance quotes.

If having one company cover all your needs is important to you, even if you have to go to more than one website to get it, AIG could be the right company for you.

How AIG stacks up

This insurance company doesn’t earn the highest possible marks for financial stability, but overall, its ratings indicate firm footing.

AIG ratings

Rating agency

Rating

Description

AM Best (FSR)

A

Excellent

S&P

A+

Strong

Moody's

A2

Low risk

Fitch

A

Low risk

Table created using information available at AMBest.com, StandardAndPoors.com, Moodys.com, and FitchRatings.com for AIG Assurance Company. Data effective 12/16/2019.

AM Best gives AIG its second-highest rating. Standard and Poor's, Moody’s, and Fitch each give this insurer their third-highest scores, which indicate a reliable company, financially speaking.

AIG customer service reviews and claims

This insurance company doesn’t perform well when it comes to customer service reviews, either. In 2019, JD Power gave this insurer a rating of 722 out of 1,000 for overall customer satisfaction.1 That places AIG among “the rest” (below average). That's down from the 2018 JD Power review, which gave the company 741 points for customer service.2

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), AIG Insurance received 241 officially filed complaints in 2018. Even for a company that brought in over $3 billion in premiums, that’s a large number of complaints.3

Bottom line: AIG has more options than most, but poor service

With policies designed for final expense, quality of life, and precise term lengths, AIG has tons of options.

Along with its policy options, this insurer possess financial strength. Unfortunately, its claims history and service record could be better. Whether you think AIG is the right insurer for you or not, compare life insurance quotes to make sure you’re getting the best coverage for your needs. Or, check out the best life insurance companies.


Need help understanding how life insurance works? Read up here:


AIG FAQ

Does AIG sell disability insurance?

This insurance company offers short-term and long-term disability insurance but not to individuals. To apply for a policy, your employer must choose this company to provide work benefits.

Sources

1. J. D. Power, "Life Insurance and Annuity Providers Are More Customer-Centric but Gaps Remain, J.D. Power Finds"
2. J. D. Power, “Life Insurers’ Focus on Customer Experience is Key for Increasing Satisfaction, J. D. Power Finds
3. National Association of Insurance Commissioners, “AIG Prop Cas Co

Additional Sources

AM Best, “AIG Assurance Company
American International Group, “About Us
National Association of Insurance Commissioners, "Consumer Insurance Search Results"

Written by
Kathryn Casna
Kathryn Casna is a licensed insurance agent and life insurance specialist who has appeared on The Simple Dollar and Best Company. On a weekly basis, she dives into complex life insurance topics to wring out genuinely useful information. When she’s not wrangling big ideas into easy-to-understand articles, Kathryn nerds out on budget-tracking spreadsheets and tries to coax her leash-trained cat to take outdoor adventures.