Life insurance is a necessary part of securing your families future, but picking a company can be a difficult decision.
While you should explore and get quotes from multiple carriers, this review of Fidelity life will detail everything you need to know about them.
Company History
Fidelity Life started in 1986 with a focus on life insurance from the beginning. The company wanted to help middle Americans invest in robust but affordable coverage, and they’re still achieving that today.
For workers in the Midwest and Northern States, insurance had traditionally been offered through east coast life insurance carriers, and the company aimed to change this.
Fidelity Life was initially named Mystic Workers of the World and began life as a fraternal benefit society.
Their expansion was aggressive, and by 1915 Fidelity Life had more than $100 million of life insurance policies in effect. This growth coincided with the rapid swelling of this section of the American population.
The 1920s saw adverse financial conditions spread throughout the US, however, despite this, Fidelity Life managed to increase assets by 100%. The name was changed during the 1920s with Mystic Workers of The World consigned to the history books.
By 2007, Fidelity Life became a stock insurance company. This brought about increased access to capital along with much more flexibility for operations. An added benefit was affiliate relationships with the other top mutual insurance companies.
Fidelity Life purchased eFinancial in 2009. This company specialized in distribution and distribution support. The acquisition enabled Fidelity Life to make substantial changes to its life insurance processes on the sales side leading to improved products and streamlined service. As with everything the company does, the customer comes first, and they benefit from improved processes leading to efficient underwriting and rapid approval.
Today, Fidelity Life has over $25 billion of life insurance in effect with the same focus on growth and customer service. The same desire to provide ordinary middle Americans with effective and affordable life insurance is apparent, and, while it might be a niche market, it’s a strong niche and one that Fidelity Life continues to serve well.
Coverage has always been intended to help with living expenses, to meet final costs, and to fund education while also leaving a worthwhile legacy for survivors.
There’s a full selection of term life and whole life policies with the option to extend coverage for accidental death.
Their headquarters have always remained in Des Plains, Illinois.
Insurer Ratings
Fidelity comes with an A- rating from AM Best Company which translates to excellent. This is an indication of both financial strength and the likelihood of claims being paid out in a timely fashion.
Since 2014, Fidelity has been a Better Business Bureau accredited company and is rated A+, the highest possible grading on a scale of A+ through F. Very few customer complaints (just 37) have been closed within the past three years.
Life Insurance Products Offered
Fidelity has a broad selection of life insurance policies. While the choice is considerable, the policies are all relatively simple.
There’s some crossover between categories here, but we have grouped the policies in the usual categories and make reference to any combinations of term life and permanent coverage that deviate from the standard-issue policies ordinarily available.
Term Life
With term life coverage, you’ll get death benefits but no investment component leading to cash accumulation.
Three Fidelity term life insurance policies are as follows:
- RAPIDecision Life
- RAPIDecision Express
- RAPIDecision Senior Life
RAPIDecision Life
Priced reasonably, this term coverage comes with a face value of up to $1 million.
As the name suggests, approval is swift, and there’s no medical exam required. You can get a decision in as little as 48 hours making this ideal if you need guaranteed coverage in a hurry.
Although technically a term policy, you’ll also get aspects of permanent coverage. Part of the policy is for level premium term life. This pays out death benefits for all reasons except those specifically listed in the exclusions. The other part of the policy pays out in the event of accidental death.
If you opt to undergo a medical exam during the first six months of coverage, the blend can be adjusted. Coverage can then increase if you’re actually in better health than expected, but if you’re not in excellent health, you won’t be penalized.
Coverage can sometimes be extended with level premiums and no subsequentmedical underwriting.
RAPIDecision Express
This policy offers the same quick decision about coverage and is available for anyone between the ages of 18 and 65.
Coverage ranges from $50,000 to $250,000.
RAPIDecision Senior Life
With RAPIDecision senior life insurance, this policy is for those aged 50 to 85.
You can opt for term life and also for whole life if that makes more sense. Term coverage can be taken for ten, twenty or thirty years and depends upon the age of the applicant. Death benefits are paid when the insured dies at any stage after year three. The whole life variant of this senior’s policy sees the premium locked in and guaranteed not to increase regardless of age or health status. With this variant, cash value accumulates, and the policy will mature if the insured reaches the age of 121.
Whole Life
Fidelity offers whole life coverage in the form of the RAPIDecision Guaranteed Issue policy.
This whole life policy comes with death benefits up to $20,000.
A medical exam is not required, and you won’t even need to answer a questionnaire. Approval is guaranteed for anyone aged 50 to 85.
Alongside death benefits, cash value accumulates while premiums and coverage stay level throughout the life of the policy. Death benefits are payable from year four with a reduced benefit payable if death occurs during the first three years of coverage.
Other Coverage
Aside from regular term and whole life, you can take on other policies from Fidelity to cater to a range of needs.
RAPIDecision Final Expense
If you’re aged 50 to 85 and you want to meet final expenses of up to $35,000, you’ll need no medical for this policy, and you might even be accepted with certain adverse health conditions.
This burial insurance policy gives peace of mind that your loved ones will be protected against the unexpected and high costs of burial and other final expenses that might otherwise burden them.
Other Products Offered
Accidental death benefit coverage is extremely affordable and is available for anyone aged 20 to 59.
Limits fall between $50,000 and $250,000.
Coverage deals with deaths within 90 days of an accident. There are understandable exclusions in place from alcohol or drug-related deaths to suicide or death in military service or war zones.
Not all of these policies are available in all states, so you should check carefully.
There are no other financial products offered since the core focus remains on life insurance in all its many forms.
Alternatives
Fidelity is known for is guaranteed issue policies, which may not be the best fit for your needs. These are three alternatives that might fit you better.
Americo – A direct competitor of Fidelity for final expense policies.
USAA – If you are a former member of the military or close family member to someone who was, USAA can get you some amazing rates on life insurance
Symetra – One of the best companies for universal life and and guaranteed universal.
Fidelity Life Insurance Review Bottom Line
Fidelity is a top company with high ratings from the various ratings agencies. If they end up having the best prices, then they are well worth using for your life insurance needs.
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