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Transamerica Life Insurance Review 2020

Transamerica has high financial ratings, low complaints, and a menu of financial products and services.
Pro Bullet Term
Pro Bullet Universal
Pro Bullet Whole
Pro Bullet Final Expense
Licensed Life Insurance Agent/Staff Writer
Published on December 03, 2019

Transamerica Life Insurance Company is owned by Transamerica Financial, a financial services company with the motto “Wealth + Health.” While the company as a whole seems to focus on other services, its insurance branch is financially stable and has had few complaints filed against it. In short, Transamerica life insurance could be the right option for you.

Who might choose Transamerica?

  • Transamerica customers: Your financial planner can easily integrate a policy into your financial plan.
  • People who want more than life insurance: Transamerica can also help you save for retirement, invest in the stock market, or add riders to your policy.

Transamerica life insurance policies

Death benefit payout range

Age range

Exam required?

Term life

$50K–$10M

18–75*

Depends

Whole life

$2K–$3M

18–85*

Depends

Table created using Transamerica.com. Data effective 11/27/2019.
*Varies by state

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Transamerica's universal life options include an indexed universal policy in which the cash value growth rate follows an index like the S&P 500. That means your cash value will grow at a rate similar to the S&P 500 with little risk of shrinking even in a volatile market.

If you want a variable policy instead, you can buy one through Transamerica Premier Life Insurance Company (formerly Monumental Life Insurance Company).

Final expense insurance is designed to ensure things such as burial expenses, final medical bills, and other end-of-life costs are covered. Transamerica’s final expense life insurance policies come in three options, but each is a variation of whole life insurance.

How much does Transamerica life insurance cost?

To give you an idea of the premiums you might pay with Transamerica, here are a few examples:

Transamerica sample rates

20-year term life insurance for a healthy 25-year-old
Death benefit
$100K
$250K
$500K
$1M

Monthly male premium

$10

$13

$19

$31

Monthly female premium

$8

$11

$16

$24

Sample quotes based on data from a TermLife2Go partner and are for illustration purposes only. Actual quotes may vary. Data effective 11/21/19.

20-year term life insurance for a healthy 50-year-old
Death benefit
$100K
$250K
$500K
$1M

Monthly male premium

$22

$41

$74

$136

Monthly female premium

$18

$31

$56

$98

Sample quotes based on data from a TermLife2Go partner and are for illustration purposes only. Actual quotes may vary. Data effective 11/21/19.

Like other companies, Transamerica's prices are more competitive for people in certain situations. In this case, you could find better rates with this company than its competitors if you're over age 70, smoke, or have high cholesterol. If you have other health issues or travel abroad, you’ll probably find better rates elsewhere.

Transamerica also offers a no exam option for both its term and whole life insurance, but you may find that other companies offer no exam term life insurance policies that are more competitively priced.

Things to consider about Transamerica

This insurance company offers several life insurance products but seems to focus on a broader range of financial services products. Transamerica lacks online information about its life insurance, which could make it challenging to shop for a policy as an individual. Because this insurer offers group coverage, however, you might have the option to buy this coverage as part of your benefits package at work.

Lack of online information

Many insurers are highly transparent about their life insurance products and rates online, but Transamerica isn’t. Life insurance takes up a small section on the Transamerica website, and you can’t get a quote online.

If you like to know a lot about a company and what they offer before calling an agent, Transamerica might not be the right insurer for you.

Group and individual life insurance

Although we focused on individual life insurance in this review, you may be able to apply for a policy through work. If your employer sponsors Transamerica financial products, you could receive group life insurance coverage through your benefits package.

How Transamerica stacks up

While Transamerica may not be right for everyone, this company has solid financial ratings, though rating entities vary slightly regarding exactly how stable this company is.

Is Transamerica financially stable?

Transamerica Financial ratings
Agency
Rating
AM Best (FSR)

A

S&P

AA-

Moodys

A1

Fitch

A+

Table created using information available at AMBest.com, StandardAndPoors.com, Moodys.com, and FitchRatings.com. Data effective 12/3/19.

A.M. Best, which rates only insurance companies, gives Transamerica its excellent rating of A for current financial stability but notes a negative outlook for the future. Standard and Poor's (S&P) says Transamerica is "very strong" (AA-), but also has a negative outlook. Meanwhile, Moodys and Fitch each give this insurer their third-lowest rating but see the company’s rating as stable.

Claims and customer service

Transamerica customers filed few complaints regarding individual life insurance with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in 2018. The company’s complaint ratio is .61, which is lower than the national average of all companies (1.00).1

In total, Transamerica received 68 total complaints. When compared with its $2.4 billion in annual premiums, 68 complaints isn’t much.

J.D. Power included Transamerica in its 2019 Life Insurance study and gave the company 732 points out of 1,000 for overall customer satisfaction.2 That’s down from 751 in 2018.3

Bottom line: A one-stop financial services shop

Transamerica doesn’t specialize in life insurance, but its products are worth checking out.

If you’re a Transamerica customer already, buying one of its life insurance policies could be a convenient way to round out your financial security. Because this insurer has high financial ratings, it could be a good option for others as well.

If Transamerica fills all of your life insurance needs, then it’s time to get started with a quote.

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

Transamerica FAQ
Does Transamerica offer retirement planning?

Yes, Transamerica offers retirement investment products such as IRAs, investment recommendations, and portfolio management. Depending on which type of life insurance policy you buy, you could use the cash value as retirement income as well.

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.