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Genworth Life Insurance Review

Researcher & Writer
April 30, 2018
As of 2016, Genworth has stopped selling traditional life insurance products and as of 2018 the company has also stopped selling long-term care insurance except through direct-to-consumer channels.
The positives

Genworth is one of our favorite companies and made our 2016 top ten best life insurance companies list for the niches the company fills. Unfortunately, the Company is not currently accepting new individual life business. We are currently in stand-by mode until more information is made available.

About Genworth

From the company’s website: Genworth Financial, Inc. is a Fortune 500® company with roots tracing back to 1871. We have more than $100 billion in assets and a presence in more than 25 countries.

For those seeking First Colony Life Insurance Company, the company merged with Genworth in 2007.

Genworth A.M. Best Company Ratings

As you may have read in other Genworth Life Insurance Company reviews, as of January 28, 2016, the company is rated “A”, excellent, by A.M. Best Company, the premier rating agency for life insurance companies. This means that the company’s financial strength is excellent. There is no need to lose any sleep if Genworth Life is your life insurance company.

Favorable underwriting for “large build” clients

Genworth Life Insurance has one of the most liberal underwriting build charts in the marketplace. Often a client will be outside of the build requirements with every other company and still meet the requirements with Genworth Life. For our bigger boned clients, Genworth Life gets the job done as one of the most affordable life insurance companies for clients with large builds.

For example, a 5’10” male or female up to 209 lbs can still qualify for a preferred plus rate class. And a male or female over 65 will have an even more liberal build chart to work with. With virtually every other carrier out there these same clients will qualify for a preferred rate class, at best. And the difference in premium between a preferred plus rate class and preferred can be as high as 15%. That means Genworth Life's more liberal build chart can save clients thousands of dollars over the life of their policy.

More Genworth Life Insurance niches

Genworth Life is among the industry leaders when it comes to the company's liberal underwriting for sleep apnea patients. Add that with the above mentioned large build chart, and you have a company that is a excellent choice for sleep apnea life insurance.

They are also among the industry leaders for protecting those with ulcerative colitis, asthma and arthritis.

Genworth Life Insurance applications are great for people who travel to foreign locals or are planning on traveling in the near future.

They will consider a preferred best rate class for blood pressure readings of 140/85 under 61 or 150/90 for clients 61 and older as long as no history of treatment or medication.

Genworth Life Insurance company's deep product line

Genworth Life Insurance Company has a product for everyone. The company offers term life vs whole life insurance, universal life insurance, annuities, and on and on.

Genworth Colony Term Life Insurance: Term life insurance lasts for a period of time (10, 15, 20, and 30 years). Consider term for the following: to protect the household's primary bread winner, to secure SBA loans, or for divorce life insurance.

Genworth Life's permanent life insurance portfolio includes whole life insurance, Indexed Universal Life and Guaranteed Universal Life.

Permanent life insurance is generally recommended for long term planning such as funding a buy sell agreement, estate planning, or key person business insurance.

Whole life insurance

Whole life offers 3 primary guarantees: guaranteed lifetime death benefit protection, guaranteed lifetime fixed premiums and guaranteed cash value growth.

Some whole life policies are considered "participating" whole life. Participating whole life policies participate in the company's profits through annual dividend payments from the company to the participating policyholders. Dividends are based on the company's performance, minus fees and reserves, that the company shares with its policyholders.

Life insurance dividends are very useful and can be used for various purposes, including:

  • Cash out
  • Paying off a life insurance loan
  • Paying premiums for a period of time
  • Leaving with the carrier to receive interest
  • Buying paid up additions, which increase the cash value and death benefit

Another form of cash value life insurance is indexed universal life.

Indexed Universal Life

Like whole life, indexed universal life (IUL) provides lifetime death benefit protection. However, the death benefit can be raised or lowered and the premiums can be raised or lowered, creating flexibility in contrast to the otherwise rigid whole life policy.

IULs work by taking the premium, minus fees and costs, and applying it to a temporary fixed account. From there, you have the option of allocating your cash to various other fixed or indexed accounts. The indexed accounts typically follow major indices, such as the DJIA, S&P 500, Russell 2000, MSCI, Hang Seng, NASDAQ 100, EURO STOXX 50, etc.

IULs come with a maximum and minimum called the cap and floor. IULs also offer a participation rate, which is the percent your cash takes part in the gains of an indexed account. Some indexed accounts are uncapped. The lowest floor is a guaranteed 0%.

With indexed universal life, you are not directly investing in the stock market. Your gains are limited to the cap but you also have the built in protection of the guaranteed floor.

Some people prefer IULs to whole life for the potential higher cash value growth. Since IULs in their present form are relatively new products, there is very little data available on the true long term performance of the policies.

Sample Genworth Life Insurance Quotes

Genworth is currently not offering individual life insurance plans. The Company has not announced when or if it will resume this line of business.

Where Genworth Life Insurance Comes Up Short

Genworth Life comes up short on providing a competitive no exam life insurance option. Often, choosing a no medical exam policy can be a great way to secure coverage and avoid the reality that your health is not as good as you suspected.

Exam versus No Exam: We will often recommend that our clients lock into no physical exam life insurance before applying for fully underwritten coverage. The thought process goes like this: if you have not had a medical check-up in the last few years, why take the risk? Instead, you can lock into a no exam policy today and secure protection. Once your policy is in force, you can then either get a physical or take a medical exam for life insurance. However, since you already locked into coverage you do not have to fret if something pops up on your exam. From there, you either keep the no exam policy or go with the new policy once you are approved.

Genworth Life is not the only fish in the sea

Whereas Genworth Life Insurance is great when it comes to the company’s build requirements, the company comes up short in other areas.

On the flip side of the company's niche areas are the areas where Genworth Life does not shine. For example, if any parent has had a history of coronary artery disease or cancer before the age of 60 then Genworth will not consider the client for the top rate class.

And Genworth Life's underwriting requirements are not as liberal as other carriers when it comes to certain medical conditions. If you are in the market for diabetic life insurance or if you have a poor driving record, you might be better served applying with a different life insurance company that caters to your specific health or lifestyle profile.

In fact, getting the cheapest life insurance out there comes down to this one main point: you need alternatives.

Alternatives to Genworth Life Insurance

Consumers seeking Genworth life insurance reviews typically are searching the internet to uncover all their choices. Since no one life insurance company is right for everyone, having alternatives is crucial. The key to finding the best life insurance policies available is to know where to look. That is where TermLife2Go comes in.

Whole life offers 3 primary guarantees: guaranteed lifetime death benefit protection, guaranteed lifetime fixed premiums and guaranteed cash value growth.

Some whole life policies are considered "participating" whole life. Participating whole life policies participate in the company's profits through annual dividend payments from the company to the participating policyholders. Dividends are based on the company's performance, minus fees and reserves, that the company shares with its policyholders.

Life insurance dividends are very useful and can be used for various purposes, including:

  • Cash out
  • Paying off a life insurance loan
  • Paying premiums for a period of time
  • Leaving with the carrier to receive interest
  • Buying paid up additions, which increase the cash value and death benefit

Another form of cash value life insurance is indexed universal life.

Written by
TermLife2Go
We are a team of life insurance experts with the simple mission of helping you find the best coverage for your unique situation. We research, review, and rank life insurance companies to make that process easier.