Compare Banner Life Insurance vs. Protective Life Insurance

If you're looking for affordable term life insurance, you may need to compare Banner life insurance vs. Protective life insurance. The two companies are both known for their low prices and long term lengths. Before you choose a policy and a provider, it's a good idea to investigate your options.

What Kinds of Life Insurance Do Banner and Protective Offer?

Banner and Protective are both known for term life insurance, but that's not all they offer. Both providers sell a selection of life insurance products. 

Policy Options from Banner Life Insurance

Banner offers two types of life insurance: term life and universal life. 

Banner Term Life Insurance

Banner's term life policies are available in terms of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years. This type of insurance is open to people between the ages of 20 and 75; the available terms may vary based on your age. Coverage starts at $100,000, and every policy comes with a tax-free death benefit. 

Banner's term life policies can cost as little as $7 per month for certain people. You can expect to pay higher premiums if you're a smoker.

Banner Universal Life Insurance

If you're looking for affordable, permanent life insurance, Banner's universal policies may meet your needs. As long as you keep paying premiums on time, your coverage stays active — even if your health changes. 

Universal policies come with premium flexibility, which means you may be able to change how much or how often you pay. You also have the option to reduce the death benefit in the future if needed.

Over time, universal life insurance from Banner accumulates a cash value at a guaranteed minimum interest rate. If you decide to cancel the policy, you're entitled to the cash value amount.

Policy Options from Protective Life Insurance

Protective offers three types of life insurance: term life, whole life and universal.

Protective Term Life Insurance

Protective's term life policies are similar to Banner's. The company offers terms between 10 and 40 years. You can get coverage from $100,000 to $50,000,000 to create a tax-free death benefit for your beneficiaries.

Once you buy a term life policy, your premiums stay the same throughout the life of the policy. You may have the option to convert to a permanent policy before your term is up.

Protective Whole Life Insurance

Whole life policies from Protective last for your entire life, as long as you make the premium payments. Premiums stay the same as long as you hold the policy.

Protective's whole life insurance comes with a set interest rate that helps build a cash value. Down the road, you can make use of that value by withdrawing money or taking out loans against the policy.

Protective Universal Life Insurance

Universal life insurance is a permanent policy that earns cash value. As with whole life policies, you can borrow against that amount.

If you need flexibility, universal insurance delivers. If your situation changes, you can change the death benefit, premiums and payment schedule. Protective also allows you to use the policy's cash value to cover some of your premiums. 

Three universal policies are available through Protective:

• Protective Custom Choice UL: Affordable and flexible, this traditional universal insurance offers a minimum guaranteed interest rate. Premiums are fixed for a predetermined period of 10, 20 or 30 years. After that, payments can change. 
• Variable Universal: These policies give you the freedom to allocate part of your premium to several investments. You can choose the investments based on your interest in growth and your tolerance for risk. The cash value grows based on the performance of your chosen funds. Keep in mind that your premiums are also linked to your investments; if they lose money, your payment amount could increase. The death benefit is guaranteed as long as you make payments on time.
• Indexed Universal: When you choose indexed universal life insurance from Protective, your policy will be linked to one or more market indices. The cash value experiences gains and losses based on each index. To protect you, Protective offers a floor; however, your earnings are also capped. You may also have the option to choose a fixed account, where growth happens at a predetermined interest rate.

What Life Insurance Riders Are Available From Banner and Protective?

Banner life insurance and Protective life insurance both offer a modest selection of riders, including:

• Term insurance rider
• Children's term rider
• Accelerated death benefit
• Waiver of premium
• Accidental death benefit

Not all riders are available in all locations or with all policy types.

If you're buying term life insurance, Banner allows you to stack up to three different term riders on top of your original term. This strategy gives you more coverage in the early years of your policy, which can be helpful if you have more financial responsibilities due to children or property purchases. When the riders expire, your payments get lower.

Protective gives you the option to add a terminal illness rider to your term life insurance in certain states. That way, you can get access to part of your death benefit to help with healthcare costs.

Compare Banner Life Insurance vs. Protective Life Insurance: Ratings

Whether you're buying temporary or permanent life insurance, it's important to know the financial strength of your provider. It can indicate the company's stability and the likelihood that it will be able to meet its obligations to you and your beneficiaries.

Banner, under the strength of Legal & General, is backed by more than $8 billion in investments. The company has more than $780 billion of life insurance coverage in force. In comparison, Protective has $131.9 billion in assets and $1 trillion of insurance coverage in force.

Availability of Banner and Protective Life Insurance

Banner Life Insurance Company operates under the umbrella of Legal & General America; it serves Washington, D.C., and 49 states. It does not operate in New York; those residents are served by another Legal & General company, William Penn Life Insurance Company.

Protective Life Insurance also operates everywhere but New York state. If you're a New York resident, you may be able to find a comparable plan through the company's affiliate, Protective Life & Annuity Insurance Company (PLAICO).

Specific plans, premiums, benefits and coverage levels may not be available in all areas.

Can You Apply for Banner and Protective Life Insurance Online?

Both Banner and Protective offer online quotes for their term life insurance policies. However, to apply for any policy, you'll need to call to speak with an agent. If you have questions before you get to the application stage, Protective offers a live chat feature.