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Ladder Life Insurance Review
By Susan Doktor MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Founded in 2015, Ladder Life Insurance is a digital life insurance company. Its policies are underwritten by Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York in New York and Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America in all other states and Washington, D.C.
Ladder offers term life insurance with a simplified online application process. It earned a spot on our list of the best life insurance companies for flexible coverage.
Table of contents
- Ladder life insurance overview
- Ladder’s services
- Ladder’s credentials
- Ladder’s accessibility
- Ladder’s customer satisfaction
- Ladder vs. the competition
- Ladder life insurance FAQs
- How we evaluated Ladder life insurance
- Summary of Miami Herald’s Ladder review
Ladder life insurance overview
Ladder is a good choice for younger people seeking a relatively simple term life insurance coverage experience. The company offers a quick online insurance quote and application process. If you’re applying for less than $3 million in coverage, you likely won’t be required to take a medical exam.
However, Ladder only offers term life insurance to individuals aged 20 to 60. Some other life insurance companies offer term life policies to older individuals. Ladder also doesn’t provide other types of life insurance.
Ladder’s services
If you are interested in Ladder’s term life insurance, here are more details on what the company does and doesn’t offer, as well as its costs:
What it offers
- Term life insurance policies
- Flexible coverage with multiple term lengths from 10 to 30 years
- Online life insurance quotes
- Online application
- No medical exam policies for up to $3 million in coverage
- Medical exams are required for policies over $3 million and up to $8 million in coverage
What it doesn’t offer
- Permanent life insurance
- Policies for individuals over the age of 60
- Policy riders
- Joint policies
Ladder life insurance cost
Life insurance monthly premiums vary widely, depending on factors such as your age, selected coverage limits, term of your policy, health history and location. To determine how much a Ladder policy will cost, you can get a quote directly from the website and receive it in minutes.
By way of example, we requested a quote for a 30-year term, $500,000 in coverage for a 30-year-old female in good health. We received a quote of $48.30 per month.
Ladder’s credentials
Before purchasing any life insurance policy, it’s advisable to learn about a provider’s legal credentials. We researched these qualifications for both Ladder and Allianz Insurance Company of North America, which underwrites the policies Ladder sells.
Licenses and registrations
Ladder is licensed under statewide authorities in each state where it does business. The company is registered with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) under the number 62154.
Awards and certifications
In 2022, CB Insights added Ladder to its list of top 50 insurtech companies globally. The publication Fast Company named Ladder a finalist in its World Changing Ideas awards competition in the wellness category. Ladder has also been recognized in several Best Places to Work competitions over the past few years.
Regulatory or legal actions
Ladder doesn’t appear to be involved in any major lawsuits involving persistent consumer issues.
Ladder’s accessibility
The best life insurance companies offer broad eligibility, wide-ranging types of coverage and easy access to customer support. They also make the experience of shopping, purchasing and paying for life insurance easy for customers. Ladder fares well on some of these accounts, but customers may find the company lacking in other areas.
Availability
Ladder term life insurance policies are available nationwide to customers between the ages of 20 and 60.
Contact information
You can reach Ladder’s customer service team Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time by calling 844-533-7206 or via email at help.ladderlife.com. You can message the company via online form 24/7 or chat live during regular business hours. The company’s mailing address is Ladder Financial Inc., 100 Forest Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301.
User experience
Ladder’s website is relatively simple. You can request an online life insurance quote directly from its home page. The quoting process involves answering a few personal and health-related questions — Ladder says it should take about five minutes to complete.
There’s an insurance calculator on the website to help you figure out how much life insurance you need. However, we found that general educational life insurance information is scarce on the website compared to other companies.
Limitations
Ladder doesn’t offer as many life insurance products or coverage options as other life insurance companies. Notably, Ladder doesn’t offer whole life insurance policies.
Whole life insurance policies provide a different kind of protection than term life policies. They offer a cash value feature that can grow over time. By contrast, term life policies do not accumulate cash value. You pay monthly premiums, and if you die while your premium payments are up to date, your beneficiaries will receive a death benefit equal to the face value of your policy.
Ladder’s customer satisfaction
Ladder is an innovative company that provides an easy, quick process for obtaining life insurance. Overall, Ladder has a positive reputation among customer reviews and third-party ratings.
Customer complaints
Ladder earns an excellent rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars on the review platform Trustpilot based on over 2,400 reviews as of February 2023. Customers who reviewed Ladder mentioned speedy quotes, an easy application process and the availability of no-medical-exam policies as reasons for their positive assessments. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) does not rate Ladder.
Third-party ratings
Ladder doesn’t underwrite its policies. Therefore, it’s not rated by our commonly-consulted third-party organizations that assess companies in the insurance industry for financial stability, such as AM Best, Moody’s or Standard & Poors.
However, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, the company that underwrites the term life policies Ladder sells, is rated by these sources. We checked Allianz’s financial strength ratings and found that the company earns the following ratings:
- AM Best: A+ (Superior)
- Moody’s: A1 credit rating and a Positive outlook assessment
- Standard & Poors: AA credit rating and a Stable outlook assessment
In addition, Ladder earns an A (stable) rating from Demotech.
Ladder vs. the competition
| Ladder/Allianz | Ethos/Legal & General America | Bestow/Legal & General America | |
| AM Best rating | A+ | A+ | A+ |
| Types of insurance | Term | Term, limited whole life | Term |
| Coverage | $100,000 to $8 million | Term: $20,00 to $2 million Whole: $1,000 to $30,000 |
$100,000 to $1,500,000 |
Ladder life insurance FAQs
How we evaluated Ladder life insurance
We base our assessments of life insurance providers on these primary factors:
- Variety of product options, including term and permanent insurance policies
- Broad availability across age groups and locations
- Financial strength and stability as rated by third-party organizations
- History of regulatory actions
- Professional recognition and industry awards
- Customer experience
- Consumer ratings and reviews
Summary of Miami Herald’s Ladder review
Purchasing life insurance is often one of the most consequential financial decisions we make in our lifetimes. It’s not always clear what kind of insurance suits you best or how much coverage you need. But if you’ve decided that term life insurance is the right kind of coverage for you, Ladder insurance is an option to consider.
The company enjoys a positive reputation among consumers. Additionally, its underwriting partner, Allianz Insurance Company of North America, demonstrates noteworthy financial strength and stability.
