Protective Life Insurance Company Comprehensive Review for 2025

Established in 1907, Protective Life Insurance Company is a trusted provider known for competitive pricing, diverse coverage options, and financial stability.

In this review, we’ll show you everything you need to decide about Protective.

Why Choose Protective Life Insurance?

Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, Protective Life has grown significantly through strategic acquisitions, including 45 life insurance companies like Empire General and West Coast Life. Its acquisition by Dai-ichi Life Holdings in 2015 cemented its place as a global insurance leader, ensuring continued financial strength and innovation.

Key Stats (As of December 2023):

• Assets – $113 Billion
• Customers – 14 Million
• Life Insurance In Force – Over $1 Trillion

Financial Strength Ratings (As of September 2024):

• AM Best: A+ (Superior)
• Fitch: AA- (Very Strong)
• Moody’s: A1 (Upper-Medium Grade)
• S&P: AA- (Very Strong)

Protective consistently ranks among the top life insurance companies for financial strength, ensuring policyholders can trust its ability to meet long-term obligations.

The company is also known for its underwriting strength with certain high-risk life insurance underwriting topics.

Protective Life offers a wide range of life insurance products designed to meet your needs, from budget-friendly term life insurance to flexible universal life insurance options.

Protective’s Classic Choice Term stands out as one of the market’s most affordable and flexible term life insurance options, offering competitive rates and customization opportunities.

Product Highlights:

• Coverage Amounts – Starting at $100,000 ($250,001 in NY)
• Term Durations – 10, 15, 20, 25, 35, and 40 years.
• Renewability – Policies are renewable up to age 95 (Age 90 in NY)

Classic Choice Term Lengths Available by Age

Term Lengths	Ages	Tobacco Ages	New York Ages	New York Tobacco Ages
10-Year	18-80	18-75	18-69	18-69
15-Year	18-75	18-68	18-69	18-68
20-Year	18-70	18-62	18-67	18-62
25-Year	18-60	18-52	18-57	18-52
30-Year	18-58	18-43	18-56	18-43
35-Year	18-50	18-40	18-50	18-40
40-Year	18-45	18-40	18-45	18-40

While most of the above term lengths are available with many companies, only Protective and Banner Life offer a 40-year term life insurance policy.

Optional Riders:

• Accidental Death Benefit
• Waiver of Premium
• Terminal Illness Accelerated Death Benefit (not in NY)
• Children’s Term Life Insurance Rider

You’ll find our detailed rider guide in the life insurance products section of the website.

Conversion Options:

Protective allows policyholders to convert their term policies to permanent coverage during designated timeframes without the need for additional medical underwriting.

This feature ensures flexibility for changing life stages, making it easier to secure lifelong protection.

The conversion policies available depend on factors such as your age and how long you’ve had your policy.

Here’s the latest consumer-approved guide for Classic Choice Term.

Another term product Protective offers is the Costco term life insurance to its members. That product is different than the types of life insurance mentioned here.

Protective Life offers several types of life insurance policies, including universal life insurance and whole-life policies for those seeking lifelong coverage or cash value growth.

• Universal Life Insurance:
  • Advantage Choice – Cash value potential and Return of Premium (ROP).
  • ProClassic II – Cash value accumulation potential.
  • Lifetime Assurance – Guaranteed universal life insurance to age 121.
  • Survivor UL – Covers two people for estate planning.
  • Indexed Choice – Cash value growth tied to a stock market index.
  • Custom Choice UL – Discontinued
• Whole Life Insurance:
  • Non-Participating Whole Life – Whole life insurance.

The Protective Advantage Choice Universal Life (UL) policy offers lifetime protection combined with the flexibility to adapt to your changing financial needs. With guaranteed death benefits starting at $50,000, this policy ensures financial security for your loved ones while allowing you to adjust premiums or coverage as your life evolves.

Whether you’re planning for retirement, a child’s education, or managing unexpected expenses, Advantage Choice UL provides dependable protection that lasts.

This policy’s optional Return of Premium (ROP) Endorsement provides significant value by allowing you to recoup 50% of all premiums paid in year 21, or 100% of premiums paid if you cancel your policy in year 26. North American for Life & Health offers a similar ROP feature.

It’s a rare feature in the industry that adds financial flexibility and peace of mind for policyholders.

What sets Advantage Choice UL apart is its premium flexibility. You can choose a level premium for lifetime coverage, adjust payments based on your income, or even skip premiums without losing guaranteed coverage (subject to policy terms).

Designed for those seeking reliability and adaptability, this policy combines robust protection with practical benefits to help you plan for both today and tomorrow.

Get the consumer-approved guide for Advantage Choice.

The Protective ProClassic II Universal Life (UL) policy offers a unique combination of affordability, flexibility, and lasting financial security. This policy provides guaranteed death benefits starting at $25,000, ensuring your loved ones are protected while allowing you to build tax-deferred cash value.

Protective ProClassic II is an excellent choice for retirement planning, handling unforeseen expenses, or building a lasting legacy. It’s a superior alternative to an over-priced final expense policy.

What makes ProClassic II UL stand out is its customizable features. You can choose between a level death benefit for lower costs over time or an increasing death benefit that grows with your policy’s cash value.

Flexible premium options allow you to adjust, skip, or increase payments (subject to limits) to fit your budget.

The ProClassic II is a universal life insurance policy that combines death benefit protection (up to age 121 if you like) with the potential for cash value accumulation.

Here is Protective Life’s consumer-approved guide for ProClassic II

The Protective Lifetime Assurance UL policy is a straightforward and reliable universal life insurance option designed for those who value predictability and guaranteed coverage.

Offering lifetime protection with stable, fixed premiums, this policy ensures your loved ones are financially secure without unexpected costs. With guaranteed death benefits starting at $50,000, it’s a practical choice for long-term planning and peace of mind.

An optional Return of Premium (ROP) Endorsement allows policyholders to receive 25% of their premiums back if they cancel coverage after the 10th policy year, making it a compelling choice for those seeking added value.

Good companies to compare return of premiums include Corebridge Financial a Pacific Life.

Ideal for individuals who want dependable lifetime coverage, Protective Lifetime Assurance UL simplifies life insurance with its guarantees.

Here’s Protective’s Consumer Approved Lifetime Assurance Guide

The Survivor UL is a universal life insurance policy that insures two people’s lives. As a second-to-die policy, it pays a death benefit upon the death of the second insured. This policy may be used for estate or legacy planning, providing liquidity to beneficiaries.

Flexibility is a cornerstone of the Protective Survivor Universal Life as you may adjust premiums or skip them in some instances, or modify the death benefit if your needs change. The policy allows for guaranteed coverage to age 121 if desired.

Other life insurers that offer survivorship coverage include Mass Mutual, Guardian, New York Life, and Prudential.

The minimum face amount is $250,000. A survivorship life policy is cost-effective vs. insuring two individuals with separate policies.

Get Protective’s consumer-approved Survivor UL guide.

The Protective Indexed Choice UL is a flexible premium, indexed universal life insurance product that combines lifetime protection with the opportunity for cash value growth. Designed for individuals seeking cash value growth, the policy offers two interest-crediting options: a fixed-interest account and an indexed account tied to the performance of the S&P 500®.

There’s no shortage of index policies available from Corebridge Financial, Equitable, American National, Lincoln National, and more.

The Indexed Choice Ul provides flexibility to increase or decrease the death benefit (subject to limitations), adjust premium payments, and offer access to cash value after the first year through policy loans or cash withdrawals.

With a minimum face amount of $100,000, the Indexed Choice universal life policy offers a great solution for individuals seeking death benefit protection and cash value accumulation.

Protective – Indexed UL Consumer Guide

Protective Life’s non-participating whole life insurance policy is designed to provide permanent coverage with guaranteed premiums, cash values, and death benefits. Unlike participating whole life policies, this policy does not pay dividends.

The minimum face amount starts at $1,000 in most states, while West Virginia requires a minimum face amount of $25,001. The policy offers a reduced paid-up insurance policy where the coverage amount is reduced and no further premiums are required.

Other life insurance companies that offer smaller whole life insurance policies include Colonial Penn, Mutual of Omaha, Gerber Life, and Foresters.

The whole life policy offers a waiver of premium rider for an additional cost, as well as a no-cost terminal illness accelerated death benefit rider.

It’s an ideal policy for individuals seeking straightforward permanent insurance protection, without complex features or market-driven risks.

In addition to its products, Protective offers many riders that may be added to your Protective policy.

The availability of riders depends on several factors, including the state where you reside, age, underwriting rating received, product chosen, occupations, etc.

Protective Life riders enhance your policy’s flexibility, allowing you to customize coverage to better suit your needs. Examples include:

Accidental Death Benefit Rider – provides an additional benefit if you die in an accident.

Children’s Term Rider – This is a low-cost way to add $1,000 – $20,000 of coverage for your children.

Conversion Choice Rider with ExtendCare – Allows clients to convert their policy to more Protective permanent products over the level period of the policy minus two years, up to 18 years, or the anniversary nearest the insured’s 70th birthday. It also offers access to chronic illness protection with ExtendCare at the time of conversion to a permanent product.

Extend Care Rider and Chronic Illness Accelerated Death Benefit Rider – The rider available varies by product type. This rider advances a portion of the death benefit when the insured cannot perform at least 2 of the Activities of Daily Living.

Disability Benefit Rider – May provide a monthly benefit in the event of total disability.

IPO – Income Provider Option – This is a rider that allows you to have the death benefit paid to your beneficiaries over a period of time rather than as a lump sum.

The potential benefit of selecting this rider when you buy insurance is that it may lower your premium costs or allow you to select a greater death benefit for the same premium.

Protected Insurability Rider – This rider allows you to increase your coverage without providing further evidence of insurability.

Waiver of Premium Rider – Waives premiums if you become disabled. There is a 6 month waiting period before this benefit becomes available.

Please let us know if any of these riders interest you, and we will provide quotes to you with and without these riders.

Remember that riders may or may not be available in your state based on your age, rate class received and the life insurance product chosen.

Protective excels in several high-risk life insurance underwriting areas, including:

• Heart Conditions
• Diabetes
• Prostate Cancer

Strengths:

Older Applicants – Another advantage that Protective offers is a separate set of underwriting guidelines for age 70 or older. Compare that to companies like Banner Life that use one set of guidelines for all applicants.

Another company that offers older age underwriting guidelines is Prudential.

Pro Credit Program – Protective’s Pro Credit Program stands out, enabling applicants to upgrade their underwriting class from standard to preferred. This is particularly beneficial for those with minor health issues like high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol levels.

Challenges:

• Stricter family history guidelines
• Lower cholesterol cutoffs compared to other companies.
• Use of NT-ProBNP test, which flags cardiovascular risks.

Companies like John Hancock, Banner Life, and Lincoln National will give you their preferred best rates for a parent’s cancer death before 60, while Protective will drop you into its standard rate class.

Known for its competitively priced term life insurance and universal life insurance policies, Protective makes it easy to get a policy.

Protective offers its Velocity platform, designed to simplify the application process:

• TeleLife – Apply over the phone
• PLUS – Protective Life Underwriting Solutions offers accelerated underwriting.
• Electronic Delivery – Policies are delivered electronically

Protective Consumer Guide to Life Insurance

The goal with Protective is to get you approved as fast as possible.

Yes, Protective has a great claim-paying history dating back to its first claim in 1909. Protective is committed to paying your life insurance claim as quickly as possible. Generally, claims take 3-4 weeks to pay, although there are instances where it may take longer.

Like most companies these days, Protective offers online access to you so that you may review your policy and make changes easily.

Protective Life is a reliable insurer with competitive term, universal, and whole life insurance. While some underwriting guidelines are stricter, their affordability and strong customer service make them a top contender for many applicants.

We’re here to help you find the right policy for your needs. Ready to explore your options with Protective Life? Request your free personalized quote today and secure the coverage that best fits your needs.