skip to main content

We may earn money when you click on our links. Learn More

Icon Close  Light

Call Today! 888-234-8376

Prudential Life Insurance Review

This trustworthy insurer offers an entire menu of term and universal options, but you won’t find whole life insurance here.
Pro Bullet Term
Pro Bullet Universal
Pro Bullet Variable
Pro Bullet Survivorship
Licensed Life Insurance Agent/Staff Writer
Published on April 06, 2020

Prudential Financial is a financial services company serving the nation. The company offers retirement planning, investment products, workplace benefits, and, of course, life insurance through its subsidiary, Pruco Life Insurance Company.

Prudential is known for its fair dealings, customer service, and financial stability. If you’re looking for whole life insurance, however, Prudential isn’t right for you.

Prudential: Who is it best for?

  • People who want term or universal life options: Prudential offers half a dozen policies for each, but no whole life insurance.
  • Couples who want inexpensive coverage: With two survivorship options, you could insure two people with the same policy.
  • People who like to research online: Prudential’s website goes in depth on its life insurance policies and other products.
  • Former tobacco users and those with preexsisting conditions: These shoppers will find more competitive rates with Prudential than with many other companies.
  • People looking for a one-stop financial resource: This insurer also provides financial products and services such as retirement planning and investment products.

Prudential life insurance policies

Policy type
Term life
Universal life

Options

$100K–$10M in coverage
10, 15, 20, or 30 years

Straight universal
Indexed universal
Variable universal
Survivorship

Table created from information at Prudential.com. Data as of 12/6/2019.

Call today: 888-234-8376

Through Pruco Life Insurance Company, Prudential offers a full menu of choices, provided you’re not looking for whole life insurance. Its term life insurance policies, for example, come in many forms with death benefit payouts ranging from $100,000 to $10 million.

Prudential offers five different term life policies with term lengths of 10, 15, 20, and 30 years, as well as PruTerm One, which has a one-year term. PruLife Return of Premium Term pays out a lump sum when your term ends, while SimplyTerm is no medical exam life insurance you can apply for online.

Prudential also offers ten universal life insurance policies in the form of indexed, variable, survivorship, and straight universal policies.

Learn more about the different types of life insurance policies.

How much does life insurance with Prudential cost?

Every company prices their life insurance coverage a little differently, so we sampled rates for Prudential’s term life policy below.

Prudential sample rates

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

Monthly male premium

Monthly female premium

$100K

$29

$29

$250K

$23

$30

$500K

$32

$26

$1M

$42

$33

Sample quotes based on Clearlink partner and are for illustration purposes only. Actual quotes may vary. Data effective 12/3/2019.

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

Monthly male premium

Monthly female premium

$100K

$27

$24

$250K

$47

$41

$500K

$86

$75

$1M

$161

$124

Sample quotes based on Clearlink partner and are for illustration purposes only. Actual quotes may vary. Data effective 12/3/2019.

The life insurance quotes sampled above are a little higher than the best life insurance rates we've found, but in most cases, the difference was only a few dollars. If you're a former tobacco user or have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or high cholesterol, you could find highly competitive rates with Prudential.

Why you should consider Prudential

Prudential has been in business for nearly 150 years, and the company is doing a lot right. While this insurer isn’t for everyone (those looking for whole life insurance, for instance), here are a few reasons you might consider this company.

More than just life insurance

Life insurance is one of many products Prudential Financial offers. And while we think buying the right policy is critical to long-term financial health, it’s not the only way to grow and protect your nest egg. If you’re also looking for financial advice, planning, or investment products and services, this insurer could be a convenient one-stop shop.

Well-packaged life insurance

Prudential offers a variety of life insurance products that show a deep understanding of customer needs. Each policy type is designed to help you accomplish a specific goal, but they're also highly customizable. You are also able to add riders that give you living benefits, help you pay your premiums, and allow you to convert from one type of policy to another.

How Prudential stacks up

Prudential started offering affordable life insurance aimed at working-class people in 1875. Today, the company earns high marks for financial stability.

Prudential Financial ratings
Agency
Rating
A. M. Best (FSR)

A+

S&P

AA-

Moodys

Aa3

Fitch

AA-

Table created using information available at AMBest.com, StandardAndPoors.com, Moodys.com, and FitchRatings.com. Data effective 12/6/2019.

Each of the above rating companies gives Prudential their highest or second-highest score. A. M. Best (the gold standard for the insurance industry) describes Prudential’s financial strength as “superior.”

Claims and customer service

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), an organization that tracks official complaints against insurance companies in the US, Prudential received 45 complaints regarding individual life insurance in 2018.

Given this company’s more than $1 billion in annual premiums, a total of 45 complaints is low. The NAIC gives the insurer a low complaint index of .18 compared to a national average of 1.00.1

Meanwhile, J. D. Power’s well-known 2019 US Life Insurance Study gave Prudential an overall customer satisfaction rating of 754 points out of 1,000.2 That places Prudential just shy of the average. Unfortunately, that's down a bit from 2018, in which Prudential scored 784 points.3

In 2015, Prudential Financial was named one of the world’s most ethical companies, a list of 132, and has made it onto the Ethisphere® list each year since.4

Bottom line: You can depend on Prudential

If you’re looking for term, universal, or survivorship life insurance, consider Prudential’s Pruco Life Insurance.

With solid financial ratings and a long and improving track record of excellent service and ethics, Prudential has a lot to offer.

If Prudential sounds like the right company for you, get a quote.

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

Prudential FAQ
What are some other Prudential life insurance products?

Prudential offers over a dozen riders (add-ons) you can use to customize your policy. They include the following:

  • Accidental death benefit, which pays out if you are permanently injured or die from an accident
  • BenefitAccess Rider, which allows you to use your death benefit early if you become chronically or terminally ill
  • Waiver of premium, which allows you to keep your coverage if you miss payments due to disability
What other financial products does Prudential Financial offer?

In addition to life insurance, Prudential sells investment options such as annuities and exchange-traded and mutual funds. As an employee, you may have seen some of Prudential’s group benefits from your employer, including retirement planning and life, disability, accident, and critical illness insurance.

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.