Many mid to large companies provide life insurance as an employee benefit through Voya and its strong partner Reliastar Insurance.
Voya Life Insurance Review (2024)
The Voya life insurance company operations began in 1975 as ING Group and was rebranded in 2014. The company stopped offering policies to individuals in 2019 and now only focuses on term and whole life options as an employee benefit, primarily to mid and large-sized companies. It has 50,000 institutional clients and nearly 5.7 million individual retirement plan investors.
Voya partners with Reliastar Life Insurance Company to issue policies. Both have received solid AM Best financial strength ratings in recent years, and Reliastar has one of the lowest NAIC complaint indexes in the industry.
The company is headquartered in New York City and also offers workplace retirement planning, investment services, stop-loss and supplemental health insurance and other employee benefits plans.
Voya Life Insurance Overview
Voya scored a 3.0 out of 5 due to its limited availability only through employers and limited policy offerings. That is counterbalanced by offering no-medical exam insurance plans and a low consumer complaint index.
Voya also received average scores for the number and type of policy riders and communication options, which can be challenging for some policyholders
Voya Life Insurance Pros and Cons
Pros
- Employees can make payments through payroll deductions
- Low number of customer complaints for both Voya and Reliastar
- Educational materials available online
- Offers policies in all 50 states
Cons
- Policies offered only through employers
- Voya primarily targets mid- and large-sized companies
- Limited number of policy types are available
- Website has good information but can be hard to navigate
Types of Life Insurance Offered
When someone takes out life insurance, they are entering into an agreement with an insurance company. Essentially, the policyholder agrees to pay premiums, while the insurer agrees to pay out a death benefit to beneficiaries when the policyholder passes away. The amount of the premium and the size of the policy can vary based on a variety of factors, including age, gender, health and lifestyle. Additionally, some types of life insurance policies can even accrue cash value over time, which can be used for savings or investments and can be borrowed against in some cases.
You may want to learn more about how life insurance works as the first step in your research. Then, when shopping for a life insurance policy:
- Choose whether you want a term or whole life policy.
- Identify how you can customize the policy you want with riders.
- Determine how much coverage you need and when you need it.
- Get multiple quotes to make sure you get a competitive rate.
- Review each company’s financial health and customer ratings.
Voya Financial previously offered individual term, whole and universal life insurance policies. The company now only offers group insurance products to mid and large-size businesses with policies underwritten by Reliastar. Employees can enroll in or purchase life insurance through participating employers.
Consider consulting with a financial advisor or licensed insurance agent to ensure you are purchasing the right type and amount of life insurance through your employer.
There are two plan types available.
Term Life Insurance
When you purchase term life insurance, you are buying coverage for a fixed period, usually ranging from 10 to 30 years. In the event that the policyholder passes away during this time, the insurer will pay out a predetermined amount to the beneficiaries listed in the policy. Once the policy period comes to an end, the coverage will no longer be valid.
Many companies offer term insurance policies, and the top term life insurance providers offer affordable policies with customizable coverage options.
Voya offers term policies with the option to convert to a whole life policy if you leave your job or lose your eligibility for term life coverage. Many applicants consider this a form of supplemental group life insurance. Typically, term coverage for Voya policies is 10 to 30 years.
Employees can qualify without answering health questions or undergoing a medical exam.
Coverage maximums depend on your state and specific employer plan but are typically limited to $500,000 or less.
Whole Life Insurance
When you purchase whole life insurance, you are getting a permanent life insurance policy that provides coverage for your entire life, as long as you keep up with your premium payments. Unlike term life policies, whole life policies have a cash value component, which means that in most cases, you can borrow against the premiums you’ve paid into the policy.
Voya offers whole life insurance policies as an employee benefit, which you can take with you if you leave your job.
Employees can borrow against their Voya policy for emergencies or to supplement a retirement fund. Premiums for Voya’s whole life policies are fixed. They never change regardless of age or health.
Whole life policies can often be purchased in addition to term life policies, but the exact offering will vary by employer.
Voya Life Insurance Riders
Riders are add-on provisions to an insurance policy that let the policyholder customize and extend protection. Riders may require an additional payment on top of any regular policy premium, but this will depend on your unique circumstances through your employer.
Voya’s term and whole life policies feature optional accelerated death benefits for terminal illnesses. These enable policyholders to access a portion of the face value of their policy while they are still alive if a physician determines they have a terminal illness and have less than 12 or 24 months to live.
Voya also has a children’s term life benefit rider, which adds term life insurance to the policyholder’s base policy to cover existing and future children.
Some of Voya’s policies offer a waiver of premium for disability rider that allows the plan to stay in force if the insured becomes unexpectedly disabled because of illness or injury and cannot pay the policy’s premium.
Consult with a life insurance agent to make sure the life insurance quotes you receive from your employer are competitively priced.
Cost of Voya Life Insurance
Life insurance rates are competitively priced throughout the industry. While each insurer has its own methodology to determine policy costs and payout processes, several factors are standard across the board. The premium you pay will normally depend on the following:
- Age
- Health and medical history
- Occupation
- Gender
- Lifestyle
- Policy type
- Coverage amount
Some states also let insurers factor in a FICO/credit-based insurance score when determining premiums.
Voya Customer Reviews
One way life insurance companies are compared is through consumer ratings. One is the widely used J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. However, Voya and Reliastar were not reviewed, so no comparison is possible using this metric.
Similarly, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) tracks the number of complaints insurance companies receive compared to their size and market share. The index is used to compare a company’s performance to other companies. Reliastar Life Insurance, the company that issues Voya life insurance policies, had a very low three-year average, which indicates the vast majority of customers were pleased with Voya and Reliastar’s service.
Here is a sample of customer reviews to get an idea of what people are saying about Voya:
“I had a heart attack back on June 23rd 2022. I have been paying for a critical illness policy through my employer since February 2016. I carefully submitted my claim with all of the supporting documentation and VOYA came through and promptly paid out my claim in full with no hassles at all. […] ” —Lance via Consumer Affairs
“I put in my claim on March 16, 2020, and received a direct deposit TODAY! Maybe the issue comes to people requesting paper checks? My experience with Voya was excellent! Just in time to get my medical bills paid before they can go to collections. Although, I did have to follow up on my review decision as it had exceeded 10 business days. […] My advice, read the fine print, understand what is and isn’t covered. This was truly a smooth process from uploading the claim online to getting payment.” —Tia via ConsumerAffairs
“I started out buying a life insurance policy from ING 8 years ago. After receiving my policy I had almost no contact with them. It was like pulling teeth trying to get information from them. Then Voya bought the policy from them and everything got even worse. […]” —Dennis via Consumer Affairs
“Voya claims they’ve mailed documentation, yet I don’t receive it. Or I mail documentation to them, and they supposedly never receive it. Pages of faxed documents are supposedly “cut off”. They need to update their entire process and incorporate the option to upload documentation via their website. I truly wish my employer would partner with another organization for our retirement accounts. ” —DeAnna B. via BBB
Comparing Voya Life Insurance with Others
Here’s how Voya Life Insurance compares to a few other life insurance providers.
Company | Policies Offered | Good to Know |
Voya Life | ||
Term and whole life policies, but only through employers as of 2019. | Reliastar underwrites policies. Very low consumer complaint index. Rated A by AM Best for good financial stability. Limited rider options. Website can be difficult to navigate. | |
Fidelity Life | ||
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 Life | Term life only in coverage amounts of up to $1.5 million to applicants ages 18 to 60. Term lengths range from 10 to 30 years in five-year increments. | Artificial intelligence (AI) technology simplifies the application process. Offers a 30-day “free look” period. Offers no permanent policy options or insurance riders |
Bestow Life | Term life policies only. Does not offer whole life insurance products. | Quick online applications with no medical exam requirement 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 Voya Insurance
Voya’s term and whole life offerings are only available through employers as a benefit. If your employer does not offer Voya life insurance, you cannot buy a policy. Voya has a strong financial rating from AM Best and a very low NAIC consumer complaint index, so you may want to consider it as an option if your employer offers it. We recommend getting quotes from different providers so you can be sure to get the best life insurance coverage for you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Voya Life Insurance
Voya’s website can be accessed anytime, or you can call (877) 886-5050 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Customers may also send email inquiries through its company portal at voya.com/contact-us.
Life insurance death benefit proceeds are generally not taxable. Voya does not report life insurance benefits paid to U.S. citizens. However, any interest paid on death benefit proceeds is taxable and is reported to the IRS.
Voya requires a certified death certificate for all claims at the company’s discretion and 100% of the time if the death benefit exceeds $500,000. The certified death certificate is the official legal record of death and cannot be easily duplicated, which acts as a fraud deterrent. A photocopy of the death certificate is acceptable for claims with death benefits payable of $500,000 or less.
Many policies pay for any cause of death. But some Voya policies provide that if the death results from a suicide, benefits are not payable if the death occurs during the first or second year the insured or dependent is covered for life insurance. Policyholders should refer to the policy provisions to determine the specifics of a policy in question.
Life insurance benefits cannot be paid directly to a minor beneficiary. Some states allow benefits to be paid under the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act or the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act if the death benefit amount payable to the minor is less than a specified dollar amount, which varies from state to state.