Gerber Life Insurance Company Overview
Gerber Life Insurance was founded in 1967 as an extension of the baby food brand Gerber Products Company. Based in White Plains, N.Y., Gerber Life is now owned by Western & Southern Financial Group. Gerber Life has an A rating from AM Best and about $62 billion in life insurance policies in force.
Gerber Life ranks below some other companies our team has reviewed due to its primary focus on children’s policies and lower available policy limits. You can apply for and buy insurance online, but prices for term life policies may be more expensive than other providers.
While the company has a solid National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Complaint Index score, there are enough negative customer service reviews on sites such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot to indicate customer service issues.
Gerber Life Insurance Pros and Cons
Types of Life Insurance Offered
Life insurance is a contract between a policyholder who agrees to make premium payments and an insurer that agrees to pay a death benefit to named beneficiaries if the policyholder dies. Life insurance premium costs and coverage amounts vary depending on several factors, including the policyholder’s age, gender, health and lifestyle.
Gerber Life specializes in children’s policies, offering the Grow-Up Plan and Young Adult Plan. In both cases, policies offer coverage amounts from $5,000 to $50,000. No medical exam is required, but you must complete a health questionnaire to enroll.
Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan
The Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan is a whole life insurance policy for children between the ages of 14 days old to 14 years old. Coverage amounts automatically double when the child turns 18. For example, a $25,000 policy would double to $50,000 if premium payments are current.
The child becomes the policyholder at age 21 and can continue paying premiums at Gerber Life’s standard adult rates or end the coverage and receive the policy’s accumulated cash value.
Gerber also offers a guaranteed purchase option rider, allowing the policyholder to buy additional coverage at standard adult premium rates for their age at that time. No medical exam is needed, and you can buy up to 10 times the original coverage amount, up to $100,000.
Gerber Life Young Adult Plan
Some whole life insurance policies include a cash value component that functions as a savings or investment account. Accumulated money earns interest, and the policyholder can borrow against it in certain situations.
Gerber Life’s Young Adult Plan is a whole life policy for youths ages 15 to 17. Parents, grandparents and permanent legal guardians can apply for coverage, and the covered teen becomes the policyholder at age 21. The policy builds cash value, and coverage doubles when the owner turns 18.
Gerber Life also offers its Gerber Life College Plan as an alternative to traditional college savings accounts. With the plan, you can guarantee how much money a policyholder will have after 10 to 20 years. It also couples with adult life insurance coverage.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is a policy that allows a policyholder to buy coverage for a specific period, usually 10, 20 or 30 years. However, Gerber offers policies beyond 30 years in some cases. If the insured person passes away during a specified term, the insurance company will pay a predetermined amount to the beneficiaries named in the policy. When the policy period ends, the insurance policy is no longer in force.
Gerber Life’s term life insurance product is available without a medical exam to people up to age 50 in amounts between $100,000 to $300,000. Terms range from 10, 20, and 30 years. People between the ages of 50 to 70 are eligible for coverage between $300,000 and $1 million but must take a medical exam.
Whole Life Insurance
Whole life Insurance is a permanent policy that provides lifelong coverage, as long as premiums are kept up to date. Whole life policies have a cash value component, so you can borrow against the premiums you’ve paid into the policy in most cases.
Gerber Life’s adult whole life insurance product ranges from $50,000 to $300,000 in coverage.
A guaranteed issue life insurance plan is available for people aged 50 to 80 and covers between $5,000 and $25,000. Applicants do not need to take a medical exam or fill out a health questionnaire. Guaranteed life insurance comes with a graded death benefit that restricts the amount paid if the policyholder dies of a non-accident during the first two years of the policy. In such a case, the beneficiary receives all premiums paid, plus 10%.
If you cancel coverage, the payout is the policy’s available cash value minus a surrender charge. Whole life policyholders can borrow against their policy’s cash value at an 8% interest rate if the monthly premiums are paid.
Cost of Gerber Life Insurance
Every insurance company uses a specific methodology to calculate policy costs. But a few factors are standard considerations among underwriters:
- Your age
- Your health and medical history
- Your gender
- Your lifestyle
- Policy type
- Coverage amount
- Your credit standing
We were not able to obtain policy pricing for Gerber’s child life insurance products online. However, its term life insurance products ranged from $20 to $22 based on quotes we received for a 25-year-old man with $100,000 worth of coverage. We recommend contacting the company to learn more about policy pricing.
Gerber Customer Reviews
Based on our analysis of customer reviews, Gerber comes up short compared to other insurers regarding customer service. Gerber scored below average for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study.
The company also had a NAIC Complaint Index of 0.33 in 2023, compared to the baseline index of 1.0. Over three years, that rating averaged 0.47.
Consumer review platforms such as the BBB and Trustpilot include mixed reviews about Gerber Life, including several complaints.
“Great customer service, very friendly and clear communication. The policy I got with [Gerber Life] gives me peace of mind! I have spoken to representatives several times and every time I got all my questions answered in a professional and friendly manner.” —B. via Trustpilot
“I grew up with my parents having Gerber Insurance on all their kids. So when I had my family, I was given my policy to finally take over the payments. I was super surprised at the low premium I had to pay. I was 25 years old when we had our first child. Her premium cost was so low that I stayed with this company for all our kids. Now I see why my parents chose and stayed with Gerber.” —M. via Trustpilot
“Avoid this company! I made the mistake of inquiring about life insurance with this company. For well over three months this company has called, texted and emailed me every single day… multiple times per day after being told to stop contacting me. [It has] totally ignored unsubscribe messages. I also get letters to buy life insurance at least two to three times per week.” —B. via Trustpilot
“I reached out for a term policy and applied for it. The underwriter asked me a few questions offline and after I responded and accepted a higher premium, [Gerber Life] rejected my application without even a response. I am not sure why it advertises so much when it only wants 30-year-olds [in] the best health to apply.” —S. via Trustpilot
Comparing Gerber Life Insurance with Other Providers
Here’s how Gerber Life compares to some of our picks for top life insurance providers:
| Company | Policies Offered | Good To Know |
|---|---|---|
| Gerber Life | Children’s life insurance products and term, whole life and guaranteed issue policies for adults | Offers two types of children’s life policies but costs may be higher than competitors. Financially sound, with a low NAIC Complaint Index. You can apply for term life insurance online and may be approved for same-day coverage. |
| Fidelity | Term, whole, final expense and guaranteed issue policies | Offers no-exam coverage and a 30-day free look period. Standard term life policy is only issuable up to age 65. Offers fewer insurance riders than some competitors. |
| Lemonade | Term life | Uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to simplify the application process. Offers a 30-day “free look” period. No permanent policy options or insurance riders. Term life policies offer coverage up to $1.5 million for applicants ages 18 to 65. Term lengths range from 10 to 30 years in 5-year increments. |
| Bestow | Term life | Quick online applications with no medical exam and same-day coverage for those who qualify. No permanent life insurance options or customizable riders. Coverage is not available in New York. |
The Bottom Line on Gerber Insurance
Focusing on children’s life insurance carves out a unique niche for Gerber, and the company offers a variety of policies for children, teens and adults. However, its term life policies tend to be more expensive than competitors. As an alternative to purchasing Gerber Life, you could explore adding a children’s rider on an existing adult policy through another provider.
While Gerber Life has over 50 years of experience, and although its NAIC Complaint Index is relatively low, its online customer reviews may indicate poor service. We recommend comparing Gerber Life Insurance to other insurers with more options and higher coverage amounts before purchasing a policy.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gerber Life Insurance
Gerber Life is a licensed insurance company in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. However, some Gerber Life policies are not available in all areas. To find out more, refer to the policy descriptions on the Gerber website or contact customer service at 800-704-2180.
No. With the Grow-Up Plan, your premium will stay the same for your child’s lifetime. In other words, your child will get more coverage at a better value.
Once coverage begins and if premiums remain paid, Gerber Life cannot cancel your insurance for any reason. Only you or your child at age 21 can cancel the Grow-Up Plan.
Yes. A child’s parent, grandparent or permanent legal guardian may apply for the Grow-Up Plan. A parent’s signature is needed only where required by law. The person who applies for the plan will be the policy owner until the child reaches age 21.
No, the amount you pay when your coverage starts is the same amount you will pay throughout your Gerber Life whole life policy term. The sooner you apply, the lower your lifetime premium rate. Premiums are based on your age when the policy starts.
The same applies to Gerber’s Guaranteed Life Insurance coverage. The only time your premiums may change is if you decide to increase your coverage or vary the frequency of your premium payments.
Methodology: Our System for Ranking the Best Life Insurance Companies
Our goal at the MarketWatch Guides team is to provide you with comprehensive, unbiased recommendations you can trust. To rate and rank life insurance companies, we created a thorough methodology and analyzed each company by combing through online policy information, speaking to agents via phone, reading customer reviews for insight into the typical customer experience, and reviewing third-party financial reliability scores.
After collecting this data, we scored each company in the following categories: coverage, riders, availability and ease of use and brand trust. To learn more, read our full life insurance methodology for reviewing and scoring Ethoss.
Anthony Martin, CEO and Founder at Choice Mutual, is a nationally licensed life insurance agent with 10+ years of experience and an official member of Forbes Finance Council. Obsessed with finances, building tech, and collaborating with other successful entrepreneurs.
Tori Addison is an editor with over five years of experience in the digital marketing industry. Her includes communications and marketing work in the nonprofit, governmental and academic sectors. A journalist by trade, she started her career covering politics and news in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her work included coverage of local and state budgets, federal financial regulations and health care legislation.