Ladder Life Insurance Review | 2024

Ladder Life is a relatively young life insurance company that operates 100% digitally and offers term life policies exclusively. With a wide range of coverage amounts and terms ranging between five and 30 years, Ladder Life’s platform is ideal for applicants seeking a term policy and who want to build a personalized insurance plan to match their coverage and budgetary needs.

One of the most convenient aspects of Ladder Life’s policies is its easy-to-use online application process. Users can get a quote online in minutes without the need for a medical exam. The companies that underwrite Ladder Life’s policies (including Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York and the Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company) have A and A+ financial strength ratings, respectively, from credit rating agency AM Best. Overall, Ladder Life is a solid choice for anyone looking for an affordable and customizable life insurance plan.

Shopping for life insurance can be a chore if you don’t understand the differences between popular policy types. In general, there are three primary types of policies to choose from: term life, whole life and variable life.

• Term life: This is the most popular and straightforward life insurance option. The policyholder picks a coverage amount and duration for the policy to last. If the policyholder dies with the policy in place, their beneficiaries receive the death benefit. If the policy reaches its limit and the policyholder is alive, the policy expires.
• Whole life: As the name suggests, whole life offers coverage for the entirety of a person’s life as long as premiums get paid. No matter when the policyholder dies, beneficiaries receive the death benefit so long as the premiums are paid in full. Whole life policies also include a savings component, which may help policyholders recoup some of the higher monthly premiums paid into the plan.
• Variable life: A variable policy combines life insurance and investments into one vehicle with the goal of increasing the policyholder’s net worth and providing financial protection.

Ladder Life only offers term life policies, so we’ll focus on this popular coverage type.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance is easy to get from Ladder Life. Term life policies are simple by nature, making them the perfect insurance product for an online provider to handle.

In a term policy, you pick a coverage amount and a duration of time (the term) to be insured. Your monthly premiums are based on those variables and on your age, overall health, income, family medical history and other factors.

More coverage and a longer term usually equal a higher premium. A 30-year term will cost more than a 10-year term. Of course, the higher the death benefit, the higher the premiums will be as well.

One of the benefits of Ladder Life is its ability to customize policies, which helps you match coverage to your budget. With policies starting at $5 a month and coverages ranging from $100,000 to $8 million, you can select the term and policy amount that works best for you. Because Ladder Life operates exclusively online, any coverage of $3 million or less doesn’t require a doctor’s visit and can be purchased and bonded in about 10 minutes.

A unique feature of Ladder Life is its ability to move your policy’s death benefit up and down (thus the name, Ladder) as your needs change. For example, if your children graduate college or you pay off your mortgage and you have fewer expenses, you can lower your coverage amount to take advantage of more affordable rates.

When it comes to actual costs, Ladder Life’s website is easy to use, and you can get a quote in five minutes by filling out your personal information. You can also get a quick estimate of premium costs by taking about 30 seconds to provide more basic information.

Compared to other insurers, Ladder Life offers relatively low rates for term coverage. The company doesn’t have to pay commission to agents or pay overhead for physical locations, and those savings get passed to policyholders. However, this may not make Ladder Life insurance the best choice for people who prefer to speak with an agent in person before buying.

Cost of Term Life Insurance

Using Ladder Life’s online quote tool (found at ladderlife.com), we have compiled a few quotes to give you an idea of monthly costs. We gathered sample quotes for people of average income levels, heights and weights, and with no significant family medical history or use of tobacco products.

*Quotes were collected on 3/30/2023

Customer reviews of Ladder Life are mostly positive. The insurance company maintains a 4.8 out of 5.0 star rating on Trustpilot and overall positive sentiments from most other third-party reviewers.

Many customers who reported a positive experience with Ladder Life praised the company’s competitive rates and quick approval process. However, some did complain that the company’s customer service was non-responsive or unavailable, a major issue for an online-only company.

“I got a decision for approval of my application in a very timely manner. Ladder offered the amount of coverage that I need for a great price and the customer service is awesome!” — Danya C., Trustpilot

“The website was easy to navigate, not to mention the fact that the prices were affordable. I found peace knowing my family would be taken care of. Thank you, Ladder for providing the coverage of a lifetime.” — Michael C., Trustpilot

“Very very slow process and poor communication. However, their rates are competitive. What I worry about is whether I can get hold of them when I need to speak with someone once I have my policy in force.” — R.A., Trustpilot

“Very poor and slow customer service. Also, I asked to make a simple change to my policy and was told it would take 2 years to change it…what?… I actually got to the point where I thought this company was a scam. I have zero confidence in them now to take care of anything serious when the time comes based on their current performance.” — D.H., Trustpilot

Term life policies are sufficient for most people’s life insurance needs. And with low prices, an easy-to-use online platform, and the ability to customize coverage to meet your needs, Ladder Life’s offerings are attractive for anyone considering a term life policy. It can also be particularly beneficial for those looking for insurance against an asset or financial goal, like a mortgage loan.

Because the platform is exclusively digital, users can expect low rates and autonomy when it comes to setting up your policy. If an easy and quick experience is important to you, then it’s worth it to check out Ladder Life’s website and get a quote.

While some people might be concerned about the lack of in-person interaction and physical locations, Ladder Life has positive customer satisfaction reviews on Trustpilot and on Google. In addition, its underwriting companies earned A and A+ AM Best financial strength ratings. As a credible and easy-to-use provider, Ladder Life could be a good option for anyone wanting term life coverage.

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