TruStage Life Insurance Review (2024)

Overall, we rated TruStage 4.25 out of 5.0 stars based on our provider review methodology. The company offers a range of whole life coverage offered through a convenient online application.

TruStage’s guaranteed-issue life insurance can help you access up to $25,000 in coverage without a medical exam, blood test or other health items required by some other insurers. This type of policy can be beneficial for older applicants or those who have been rejected for whole life coverage in the past.

However, if you’re shopping for term life coverage, TruStage might not be the best choice. We found the company’s policies to be significantly more expensive than competing simplified term options.

For example, a $150,000 term life policy for a 30-year-old man costs about $50 a month with TruStage, whereas you can find the same coverage from Ethos Life for $10 to $16 a month. Also, be sure to read the fine print if you opt for guaranteed-issue whole life coverage because its benefits are limited — particularly around the policyholder’s cause of death in the first two years of coverage.

Life insurance is a type of financial protection you can purchase to help provide for your loved ones if you pass away. When you buy a life insurance policy, you agree to a premium rate to the insurance provider in exchange for a death benefit. If you pass away while the policy is active, your named beneficiaries will receive the death benefit to use towards end-of-life expenses, living costs or other financial needs.

Formerly known as the CUNA Mutual Group, TruStage offers a wide variety of life insurance products. While it primarily sells life insurance to credit unions and businesses, it also offers personal products to individual policyholders. TruStage currently offers both term life and whole life insurance products, with guaranteed-issue whole life policies also available.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance is a type of life insurance coverage that is active for a specific term — usually 10 to 30 years — following the date you sign up for coverage. If the policyholder does not die during the term, the policy will not pay out the death benefits. However, you may have the option to convert your term policy into a whole life policy.

Unlike most insurance providers, TruStage does not offer a range of term options. Its only term length is five years, which means your rate may increase every five years if you choose to renew your coverage.

TruStage offers multiple options for term life insurance coverage, with death benefits between $5,000 and $300,000. TruStage offers term policies using a simplified application process, which means no required medical exam, health questions or blood testing.

While this range of death benefits is lower than most other major term life insurance providers, TruStage’s no-exam-required application could be beneficial for those with a health history that may result in higher premiums or exclusion from a standard policy.

Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance, which means it does not have a term. Instead, whole life insurance lasts for the lifetime of the insured person — so long as premiums remain paid.

Life insurance rates for whole life policies are typically higher than term policies. But as an added benefit, a portion of premiums paid into whole life insurance gets invested into a cash value portion of your policy, which you can access and borrow against while you’re alive.

TruStage whole life insurance insurance is available with death benefits ranging between $5,000 and $100,000, which is higher than most competing life insurance providers offering coverage through an online application and underwriting processes. Whole life policies lock in your premium for the course of your life.

TruStage also offers guaranteed-acceptance whole life insurance options, which means you will not be turned down for coverage due to health issues. These policies, which tend to be pricier than traditional whole coverage, are available for applicants between the ages of 45 to 80, but death benefit options are limited to $25,000.

For guaranteed-acceptance whole life policies, if your death is not accidental in the first two years, TruStage limits your benefits to a return of 100% of premiums paid plus 10%.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance

Generally, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance is an add-on you can choose to include with your life insurance policies. This type of coverage provides an additional cash payout if you die in a covered accident or sustain a qualifying injury that prevents you from returning to work permanently.

Like the payout from a life insurance policy, you or your beneficiaries can use the payout for any type of financial need, ranging from final expense bills to day-to-day bills.

TruStage does not offer AD&D insurance as an independent policy, nor does it offer it as an add-on after purchasing coverage. Instead, TruStage offers complimentary AD&D coverage to members of more than 3,500 credit unions across the country, with coverage amounts ranging between $10,000 and $300,000.

AD&D coverage also increases by 5%, up to 50% over 10 years, every year until the policyholder reaches age 70. The TruStage website provides a list of credit unions whose customers qualify for this additional coverage.

The cost of TruStage life insurance is based on your individual policy details and personal information. The factors that TruStage uses to calculate premiums include:

• Your age: As you age, you’ll see life insurance policies become more expensive.
• Your location: Some states have insurance laws that dictate the rules and regulations an insurance provider must follow. As a result, your ZIP code can play a role in premium pricing.
• Death benefit: The larger your coverage amount, the more your insurance company will need to pay if your beneficiaries file a claim. As such, your premium pricing increases as your selected death benefit increases.
• Tobacco usage: Generally, if you use tobacco products, you’ll pay more for most types of life insurance. TruStage says on its website that tobacco use increases rates for coverage above $100,000.

To help you get an idea of how much you might pay for insurance with TruStage, we requested several quotes for coverage. Overall, we found that pricing from TruStage is higher than some competitors, especially for term life coverage. The following sample rates are for a healthy male living in Madison, Wis.

TruStage and its sister insurance brands are issued by CMFG Life Insurance Company, which maintains an A rating from the independent credit rating agency AM Best. This indicates that the company has the financial stability to pay claims.

TruStage’s online reviews are mixed. It has a customer satisfaction rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot and 1.57 out of 5 stars on its Better Business Bureau profile. TruStage also has a higher-than-average volume of complaints relative to its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index.

Customers who reported a positive experience with TruStage often mentioned the company’s easy online application process. These customers seemed overall satisfied with the pricing and found representatives helpful when connecting over the phone.

However, some customers said they struggled to get their benefits after a loved one passed away, requiring continued documentation that multiple beneficiaries found frustrating. Many complained about the company’s marketing for its AD&D services, which include communications that appear to be from local credit unions.

“This company offered competitive pricing on a life insurance policy for my age group (60+ years old). I was glad to find it. The conditions are fair — a lesser payout amount if I die within the first two years, unless by accident. I was able to set up automatic payments after receiving my policy documents in the mail.”—Deborah P. via Trustpilot

“[Other companies] denied me for no reason. Navy Federal sent me a letter about this company and I was approved for whole life for cheaper [than] what other companies were going to offer for term life. Very satisfied.”—Joshua W. via Trustpilot

“My mom just passed away three days ago and TruStage Life of Canada is holding back $1,200 for a final document service that we do not need … [TruStage] is saying that my mom has to call to verify that we do not require final document services. My mom cannot call as she is deceased and now we are short money to have my mother buried. Beware of this company…” —Molly M. via Trustpilot

“TruStage Insurance Agency has been sending me three to five letters per month, posing as my credit union. It uses large red lettering and a yellow envelope and demands responses by a specific date as if a bill were overdue. The letters are intimidating, and receiving so many feels like harassment…”— June M. via Trustpilot

Overall, TruStage offers a few benefits compared to competing insurance agencies. TruStage’s pricing is usually higher than its competitors, and it offers only one term option.

Here’s how TruStage’s offerings compare to some of the best life insurance companies nationwide:

Overall, TruStage is a solid choice for life insurance, especially if you’re shopping for permanent life coverage online. Its online application process is simple and straightforward, providing you with tools to directly compare premium price changes among insurance coverage types.

You can sign up for TruStage whole life insurance with up to $100,000 worth of coverage entirely online, which is better than competitors including Liberty Mutual and Ethos Life.

However, TruStage only includes one term option for five years, which is significantly shorter than companies offering a range of options. TruStage could also benefit from expanding its maximum guaranteed-acceptance life insurance payout to remain competitive — especially in light of its higher pricing. But keep in mind that your quote will differ from our samples.

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 TruStages.

AM Best disclaimer

Sarah Horvath is one of the home service industry’s most accomplished writers. Her specialties include writing about home warranties, insurance, home improvement and household finances. You can find her writing published through distributors like HouseMethod, Architectural Digest, Good Housekeeping and more. When not writing, she enjoys spending time in her home in Orlando with her fiance and parrot.

Ryan Lasker is a financial writer and editor with bylines in Morning Brew, The Motley Fool, and several more. As a certified public accountant, he leverages his technical expertise in personal finance and tax to fuel his passion for teaching financial literacy. When he’s not writing, editing or working in a spreadsheet, he’s biking the D.C. trails or reading.