Is Transamerica Life Insurance Right for You? It might be if you’re looking for flexible options that include no-exam term, living benefits, final expense, indexed universal life, and guaranteed whole life.
In this review, we compare Transamerica’s life insurance products and how their life insurance underwriting compares to other companies.
Transamerica Overview
Founded in 1904, Transamerica is a long-standing name in the life insurance industry. It’s part of Aegon N.V., a global financial services group headquartered in the Netherlands. While Transamerica was once known for its inconsistent customer service, recent improvements indicate that it’s taking steps in the right direction.
With a wide range of life insurance options and over 10 million policyholders, Transamerica offers something for nearly every need whether that’s term insurance with living benefits, indexed universal life, or basic final expense coverage.
Financial Strength
Transamerica Life Insurance Company financial ratings:
- AM Best: A (Excellent)
- Moody’s: A1 (Good)
- S&P Global: A+ (Strong)
While not quite as high as top-tier mutual insurers, these ratings are still solid.
Transamerica Term Life Insurance
Transamerica offers two term life products:
- Trendsetter Super – Ideal for healthy applicants seeking a low-cost level term life policy.
- Trendsetter LB – Term life insurance with living benefits – chronic, critical, and terminal illness.
Super Series vs. Trendsetter LB Comparison
| Description | Super Series | LB Series |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Face | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| Term Length Years | YRT 10 15 20 25 30 | – 10 15 20 25 30 |
| Conversion? | Yes | Yes |
| Riders Available: | ||
| Term. Illness Accel. DB | Yes | Yes |
| Accidental Death Benefit | Yes | Yes |
| Children’s Insurance Rider | Yes | Yes |
| Disability Waiver | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Disability Income | No | Yes |
| Chronic Illness Accel. DB | No | Yes |
| Critical Illness Accel. DB | No | Yes |
Later in this article, we highlight the underwriting differences between these products. The LB series is more strict with underwriting.
Transamerica competes against other companies such as Banner Life, Protective and Pacific Life.
Term Life Insurance Prices
Sample Pricing – Male, Preferred Plus rate, CA – Annual Premium for $1,000,000 – 20-year term life insurance.
| Age | Trendsetter Super | Trendsetter LB |
|---|---|---|
| 35 | $390 | $740 |
| 40 | $580 | $1070 |
| 45 | $1010 | $1580 |
| 50 | $1570 | $2410 |
| 55 | $2600 | $3780 |
Sample Pricing – Female, Preferred Plus rate, CA – Annual Premium for $1,000,000 – 20-year term life insurance.
| Age | Trendsetter Super | Trendsetter LB |
|---|---|---|
| 35 | $340 | $610 |
| 40 | $480 | $870 |
| 45 | $780 | $1220 |
| 50 | $1130 | $1840 |
| 55 | $1860 | $2940 |
Another company that offers living benefits with its term policies is Corebridge Financial.
Final Expense Solutions
Transamerica offers three final expense (burial insurance) products for you.
The Immediate Solution and 10-Pay Solution offer full death benefits starting on Day One.
Notably, the Easy Solution product offers a graded death benefit during the first two years of the policy.
| Description | Immediate Solution | 10-Pay Solution | Easy Solution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issue Ages | 0-85 | 0-85 | 18-80 |
| Face Amounts | Minimum – $1,000 Maximum: Ages 0-55 – $50,000 56-65 – $40,000 66-75 – $30,000 76-80 – $25,000 | Minimum – $1,000 Maximum: Ages 0-55 – $50,000 56-65 – $40,000 66-75 – $30,000 76-80 – $25,000 | Minimum – $1,000 Maximum – $25,000 |
| Death Benefit | Day One | Day One | 2-Year Graded |
Additional benefits for the Immediate Solution and the 10-Pay Solution include accelerated death benefits for nursing homes and terminal illnesses. Availability varies by state.
In addition, the Immediate Solution has riders for accidental death, and children and grandchildren benefit riders.
Transamerica charges $2 for every $1000 of coverage per child. Compare that to a company like Wellabe that charges $1 monthly and covers all children.
If you need a final expense quote, we’ll provide you with comparisons for Transamerica and other companies like Mutual of Omaha and Wellabe that offer similar policies.
Sample Pricing – Immediate Solution Policy – CA rates
| Age | $10,000 | $15,000 | $25,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 F | $282 | $402 | $642 |
| 50 M | $356 | $512 | $825 |
| 60 F | $381 | $550 | $888 |
| 60 M | $506 | $738 | $1202 |
| 70F | $615 | $902 | $1475 |
| 70M | $812 | $1197 | $1966 |
Sample Pricing – Easy Solution Policy – CA rates
| Age | $10,000 | $15,000 | $25,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 F | $730 | $1074 | $1761 |
| 50 M | $882 | $1301 | $2141 |
| 60 F | $967 | $1429 | $2354 |
| 60 M | $1243 | $1844 | $3045 |
| 70F | $1460 | $2169 | $3587 |
| 70M | $2060 | $3068 | $5085 |
We’ll compare other companies offering similar policies and underwriting so you can make an informed decision.
Transamerica Whole Life Insurance
Transamerica Lifetime Whole Life is a non-participating insurance policy. Non-participating means that dividends are not paid.
Premiums are payable up to age 100, or you may choose a shorter payment duration between 10 and 30 years.
| Description | |
|---|---|
| Issue Ages | 15 days – Age 80 |
| Face Amounts | $25,000 – $2,000,000 |
| Premium Payment Periods | Level to age 100 10 years level 20 years level 30 years level |
| Maturity Age | Age 121 |
| Riders Available (availability varies) | Accidental Death Children’s Benefits Chronic Illness Critical Illness Terminal Illness Disability Waiver Guaranteed Insurability Income Protection Term Insurance |
If you want whole life insurance, be sure to compare Transamerica with whole life leaders like MassMutual, Guardian, and Northwestern Mutual.
Transamerica Index Universal Life
Transamerica offers two options for those seeking index universal life insurance.
The Financial Choice product is designed for affluent clients, while the Financial Foundation product is tailored for middle-market consumers.
| Description | Financial Choice | Financial Foundation |
|---|---|---|
| Issue Ages | 18-85 | 0-85 (75 in FL) |
| Minimum Face | $250,000 | $25,000 |
| Index Accounts | Fidelity S&P 500 Index S&P 500+ Index Global Index Global+ Index | S&P 500 Global Index Basic Interest |
| Riders – (Availability Varies) | Accidental Death Additional Insured Base Insured Children’s Benefit Chronic Illness Critical Illness Disability Overloan Terminal Illness | Accidental Death Additional Insured Base Insured Children’s Benefit Chronic Illness Critical Illness Disability Guaranteed Insurability Long Term Care Overloan Terminal Illness |
Financial Choice IUL is designed for wealthy clients who have maximized all their retirement options and still wish to save more money.
Financial Foundation IUL is designed for middle-market clients seeking permanent life insurance that offers the potential for cash value accumulation, living benefits, and possible supplemental retirement income.
Index universal life insurance (IUL) is a complex product that requires full product illustrations, which we will provide to you.
Index products to compare to include Nationwide, Principal, and North American to name a few.
Riders Offered by Transamerica
The following are general descriptions of riders.
Your state of residence determines availability and rider details.
We’ll provide full illustrations if you consider any of these options.
Terminal Illness Rider
Terminal Illness Accelerated Death Benefit – This rider accelerates a portion of the death benefit if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Doctors expect death within 12 months.
There is no cost for the rider, but an administrative fee is payable if you use it.
Available with Super Series and LB Series policies.
You can accelerate up to 100% of the death benefit or $1.5 million, whichever is less.
The minimum amount you can accelerate is $5,000.
Accidental Death Rider
Accidental Death Benefit Rider – If the face amount of your policy is less than $200,000, the maximum rider is equal to the policy face amount x 2.5 or $200,000, whichever is less.
If your policy is $200,000 or greater, the maximum rider is the face amount of your policy or $300,000, whichever is less.
Child Rider
Details include:
- Available for ages 15 days to 18 years old.
- Coverage expires on child’s 25th birthday.
- Policy amounts from $1,000 to $25,000.
You can convert the child rider to a permanent insurance policy for up to 5 times the rider amount or $50,000, whichever is less.
Disability Rider
Disability Waiver of Premium Rider – If you become disabled for at least six months, this rider will waive premiums.
Interestingly, Transamerica waives the premiums during disability and retroactively from the beginning of the disability.
This rider comes with an additional cost.
Other companies that offer similar riders include Prudential and Lincoln Financial.
Trendsetter LB Riders
Monthly disability income rider (MDI) – This rider is available with the Trendsetter LB policy.
- Up to 24 months of income
- Available with 15, 20, 25 & 30 year terms
The maximum benefit is the lesser of $2,000 per month or 2% of the base policy’s initial face amount, not exceeding 66% of gross monthly income. Additional limitations may apply.
LB Chronic Illness Rider
Chronic Illness Accelerated Death Benefit Rider – This living benefit rider becomes available if you cannot perform at least 2 of 6 of the daily living activities.
- You can accelerate up to 24% of the death benefit in one year.
- Up to 90% of the death benefit or $1,500,000 can be accelerated, whichever is less.
- The accelerated payout is contingent upon your life expectancy.
- The death benefit is reduced by the acceleration amount.
The chronic illness (living benefits) riders have replaced Transamerica long-term care insurance products.
LB Critical Illness Rider
Critical Illness Accelerated Death Benefit Rider – Accelerates a portion of the death benefit if you become critically ill.
Examples of critical illnesses may include:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Cancer
- End-stage renal failure
- Major organ transplant
- ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease
- Blindness
- Paralysis
There are specific requirements regarding the severity of the condition to qualify for this benefit.
You can accelerate up to the lesser of 90% of the policy’s face amount or:
“A maximum Accelerated Death Benefit amount declared by us. This amount will never be less than $500,000 and is currently a cumulative amount of $1,500,000 per insured, including all other accelerated death benefits previously elected or currently under review under all policies, endorsements, or riders issued by us or our affiliates.”
This rider is built into the living benefits policy.
Underwriting at Transamerica
Life insurance underwriting at Transamerica varies by product type.
Some of the positives and negatives of Transamerica underwriting include:
POSITIVES
Foreign National Underwriting
Large Estate Cases
Asthma
NEGATIVES
Blood Pressure Underwriting
Family History
Living Benefits Underwriting
Transamerica is known for its foreign national underwriting and estate planning cases of $10 million or greater.
Transamerica and Banner Life will consider “preferred” rates if you have asthma. Many other companies would only give you a “standard” rate.
If you are under 50 and take blood pressure medication, Transamerica will not give you their best rate class, while Protective, Corebridge, Symetra, and others will.
If one of your parents died before age 65 from heart disease or cancer, you may only get a standard plus rate at Transamerica vs. a preferred rate at John Hancock.
Transamerica does offer non-medical underwriting as follows:
- Trendsetter Super
- 18 – 70 = Up to $50,000 as a non-medical option.
- 18 – 60 = Up to $99,000 as a non-medical option.
- Trendsetter LB Non-med
- 18 – 60 = Up to $249,999 as a non-medical option.
We start you with a drop ticket or e-application. First, you submit some basics with the drop ticket and then complete a phone interview. Afterward, you complete everything online using the e-application.
Regarding their processes, underwriting with Transamerica is fair but nothing too special.
Underwriting rate classes available:
- Preferred Plus
- Preferred
- Standard Plus
- Standard
- Preferred Smoker
- Standard Smoker
If you purchase less than $100,000 of term insurance, the best rate available will be a “standard” rate.
Customer Service
Policyowner service at Transamerica offers online, mail, and over-the-phone options.
- Phone: 800-797-2643
- Online: Life insurance login – here
- Address: 4333 Edgewood Road NE – Cedar Falls, IA 52499
FAQ
Yes, especially for individuals seeking competitive pricing, living benefits, or indexed and whole life policies.
Often, no, depending on your age, health history, and the type of policy.
Trendsetter LB includes living benefits; Super is a more basic term option.
Yes. Transamerica Lifetime offers guaranteed whole life coverage with optional payment periods and living benefit riders.
Complaints and Third-Party Reviews
Transamerica has more complaints thant the average life insurance company.
- Better Business Bureau – Shows a 1.66 out of 5 Stars.
- JD Power Customer Satisfaction – Ranked Transamerica 22 out of 23 companies.
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners – Gave Transamerica a 2.71 score (Avg is 1.0)
We stopped working with Transamerica for several years due to their service. They’ve made some improvements recently and we’ll see how it goes.
Final Words
Transamerica has evolved into a solid life insurance choice, especially for people looking for term life with living benefits, indexed universal life, or guaranteed whole life coverage. Their underwriting is faster than many competitors, and their policies include valuable built-in features.
Final expense buyers might find better value elsewhere. And if cash value accumulation is your priority, it’s worth comparing Transamerica’s FFIUL II and Lifetime products against other leading IULs and whole life options.
Need help comparing your options? We work with dozens of top-rated life insurance companies so you don’t have to guess. Reach out today to see what you qualify for.
