Best life insurance companies in Georgia (2024)

The best life insurance companies in Georgia are Legal & General American, Brighthouse Financial, Lincoln Financial, MassMutual, and Prudential.

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By

Andrew HurstSenior Editor & Licensed Auto Insurance ExpertAndrew Hurst is a senior editor and a licensed auto insurance expert at Policygenius. His work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, ValuePenguin, and Property Casualty 360.

Edited by

Anna SwartzAnna SwartzSenior Managing Editor & Auto Insurance ExpertAnna Swartz is a senior managing editor and auto insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our car insurance coverage. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic.com, as well as an associate writer at The Dodo.
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Reviewed by

Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®Certified Financial PlannerIan Bloom, CFP®, RLP®, is a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius. Previously, he was a financial advisor at MetLife and MassMutual.

Updated|6 min read

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Unlike other types of insurance, where you live doesn’t affect what you pay for life insurance. Life insurance quotes will depend more on other factors, like the type of policy you buy, how much coverage you want, and personal details like your age and medical history.

That’s why our recommendations for the top life insurance companies in Georgia are similar to our picks for the overall best companies. But company availability can vary by state, and there are some state-specific life insurance laws and regulations you should know about before you buy a life insurance policy in Georgia.

Policygenius rating

Best for …

AM Best score

Number of complaints

Cost

Legal & General America

4.9/5 ★

Overall, cheapest, term life, smokers

A+

Lower than average

$

Brighthouse Financial

5.0/5 ★

No-medical-exam, young adults

A

Higher than average

$

Lincoln Financial

4.8/5 ★

Pre-existing conditions, marijuana users

A

Lower than average

$

MassMutual

4.9/5 ★

Whole life

A++

Much lower than average

$$$

Prudential

4.1/5 ★

Seniors

A+

Lower than average

$$

Methodology

Why you can trust our picks

Our recommendations are based on internal and external expert analysis, as well as our Policygenius Life Insurance Price Index, which uses real-time data from leading life insurance companies to determine pricing trends. When reviewing a life insurance company, our editorial team uses a proprietary scoring rubric with five factors — price, policy details, financial strength, transparency, and customer experience — to assign an unbiased rating between one and five stars. These ratings are also taken into consideration as part of our company recommendations. We don’t get paid for our reviews.

Our reviews and recommendations can help you find a reliable insurer for your family’s financial protection, but the best life insurance company for you depends on multiple factors. A licensed agent at Policygenius can support you during the application process to ensure you get the right coverage for your circumstances at the most competitive price.

Read more about our reviews methodology

The best overall life insurance company in Georgia is Legal & General America, which also does business under the names Banner Life and William Penn in other states. Legal & General America earned its top spot as the best life insurance company in Georgia thanks to its affordable rates and flexible policies.

You may even be able to find cheap life insurance from Legal & General America if you have certain health problems, like diabetes, or risk factors like smoking, that usually make it hard to find affordable coverage.

Legal & General America has the cheapest life insurance rates overall, including in Georgia (remember: your location doesn’t affect the cost of life insurance).

Since your life insurance rates have more to do with your specific profile and needs, the best way to find the cheapest life insurance for you is by shopping around and comparing quotes from multiple companies. Getting life insurance sooner rather than later is also a good way to save money, since rates only go up as you age.

The best term life insurance company in Georgia is also Legal & General, which offers term lengths up to 40 years, option — more than the normal 30-year maximum term offered by other life insurance companies. You can also choose benefit amounts in increments of $100,000, making it easy to get the amount of coverage that works for you.

Term life insurance is the most straightforward type of life insurance policy. You choose the term length (how long the policy will last) and the benefit amount (how much you’d want your loved ones to receive). Then you make regular payments to keep your policy active. If you die during your policy’s term, your family can collect a payment — it’s as simple as that.

Best no medical exam life insurance in Georgia: Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial is the best company for no-medical-exam life insurance. Brighthouse Financial takes the top spot because it offers policies with up to $3 million in coverage without a medical exam for certain qualifying applicants — higher benefit amounts than you’ll find with other no-med policies.

A no-medical-exam life policy works just like a normal life insurance policy, except you don’t need to go through the medical exam process. You can sometimes get a no-medical-exam life insurance policy in as little as 24 hours.

Best whole life insurance in Georgia: MassMutual

The best company for whole life insurance in Georgia is MassMutual. MassMutual is our pick for whole life insurance because of its strong financial ratings — it earned a A++ rating from AM Best, which means you can count on its long term stability. 

A whole life policy is a type of permanent life insurance, meaning it’s guaranteed to pay out when you die. It’s kind of like a combination between a savings account and a life insurance policy, since it also includes a cash value component that gains interest over time. 

MassMutual reliably pays dividends on the cash value portion, which can be a big perk depending on your policy.

Best life insurance for seniors in Georgia: Prudential

Prudential has the best life insurance for seniors in Georgia. If you're 60 or over, you may still be able to get affordable life insurance with Prudential even if you have common age-related health conditions like arthritis or osteoporosis.

Prudential also offers final expense life insurance, which is best if you’re between 60 and 70 years old and you want to be sure your family will be able to pay for funeral services and burial costs after you die.

Best life insurance for young adults in Georgia: Brighthouse Financial

According to our research, Brighthouse Financial has the best life insurance for young adults. Life insurance is usually most affordable when you’re in your 20s or 30s, but even among this age group, Brighthouse Financial had the cheapest on average rates.

Best life insurance for pre-existing conditions: Lincoln Financial

Lincoln Financial is the best life insurance company if you have a pre-existing condition. Medical conditions like arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, or bipolar disorder, normally make finding affordable life insurance hard, but Lincoln Financial may have better rates for applicants with pre-existing conditions.

Best life insurance for marijuana users in Georgia: Lincoln Financial

The best life insurance company for marijuana users in Georgia is Lincoln Financial because occasional marijuana users can still qualify for non-smoker rates. On average, non-smoker rates are two to three times cheaper than smoker rates.

Even though marijuana is illegal in Georgia, you need to let your life insurance company know about any marijuana use, even if it’s infrequent. Your life insurance company can deny a future claim or cancel your coverage if it finds out you misrepresented anything when you signed up for coverage.

Legal & General America is the best life insurance company for smokers in Georgia. If you’re a smoker your life insurance will be more expensive than average — you could pay two to three times more than a non-smoker. 

But we found that life insurance rates from Legal & General are cheaper than average for smokers, and you can apply for lower premiums after being one year smoke-free.

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How is life insurance different in Georgia?

Living in Georgia won’t affect your life insurance rates, Georgia does have some laws and regulations around life insurance that you should know about before you buy. [1]

  • Contestability period: The contestability period in Georgia is two years after you buy a policy. If during this time your life insurance company discovers you lied or misrepresented yourself when you signed up for coverage, it can cancel your coverage or deny a claim.

  • Free look period: The free look period in Georgia is 10 days, that’s the amount of time after you buy life insurance when you can cancel your policy and still get a full refund.

  • Grace period: According to Georgia law, you have 30 days after missing a payment to pay your premium before your life insurance company can cancel your policy.

  • Guaranty fund protection: If your life insurance company goes out of business, Georgia will cover up to $300,000 of your policy’s death benefits and up to $100,000 of its cash surrender value.

  • Time allowable to settle a claim: Life insurance companies in Georgia must settle claims within two months after receiving proof of death.

Largest life insurance companies in Georgia

Many of the largest life insurance companies in the country operate in Georgia — though they might offer coverage through a subsidiary. Here are the 10 largest life insurance companies in Georgia. [2]

A bar graph showing the largest life insurance companies in Georgia.

Company

Market share in Georgia

Northwestern Mutual

9.45%

MetLife

6.35%

New York Life

6.19%

Lincoln Financial

4.27%

Prudential

4.22%

State Farm

4.10%

MassMutual

4.10%

Guardian Life

2.91%

Transamerica

2.82%

Globe Life

2.59%

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What happens if a life insurance company goes bankrupt in Georgia?

Life insurance companies don’t usually go bankrupt, but if yours does, the Georgia Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association will cover part of your life insurance benefits as long as you keep making payments.

Georgia’s Guaranty Association covers up to $300,000 of your policy’s death benefits and $100,000 of its cash surrender value. You’re covered while you live in Georgia, but another state’s guaranty association can cover you if you move out of state.

How to find a lost life insurance policy in Georgia

The Life Insurance Policy Locator Service from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners can help you find a missing life insurance policy — as long as you’re a family member of the deceased or are authorized to get information about their estate.

The Georgia Unclaimed Funds website can also help you find unclaimed life insurance benefits that were turned over to the state.

Average life insurance rates in Georgia

Based on our analysis of Policygenius data from 2023, the average monthly premium for a relatively healthy 35-year-old in Georgia buying a $500,000, 20-year term life insurance policy is $27 per month ($307 per year) for women and $32 per month ($373 per year) for men.

Keep in mind that while life insurance rates depend on many factors particular to you, like your age, your health history, your habits and lifestyle, and the amount of coverage you want, your location does not affect what you pay for life insurance.

Age

Gender

$250,000 coverage amount

$500,000 coverage amount

$1 million coverage amount

20

Female

$15.01

$22.65

$33.63

Male

$19.18

$30.20

$47.51

30

Female

$15.17

$22.98

$36.90

Male

$18.19

$29.32

$48.89

40

Female

$21.66

$35.27

$60.65

Male

$25.39

$42.94

$75.24

50

Female

$43.92

$78.29

$139.50

Male

$56.69

$102.50

$188.29

60

Female

$107.83

$194.16

$354.51

Male

$149.38

$268.04

$499.98

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Methodology: Average monthly rates are calculated for male and female non-smokers in a Preferred health classification obtaining a 20-year $250,000, $500,000, or $1,000,000 term life insurance policy. Life insurance averages are based on a composite of policies offered by Policygenius from Brighthouse Financial, Corebridge Financial, Foresters Financial, Legal & General America, Lincoln Financial, Mutual of Omaha, Pacific Life, Protective, Prudential, Symetra, and Transamerica, and the Policygenius Life Insurance Price Index, which uses real-time data from leading life insurance companies to determine pricing trends. Rates may vary by insurer, term, coverage amount, health class, and state. Not all policies are available in all states. Rate illustration valid as of 04/01/2024.

Frequently asked questions

What is the number one life insurance company in Georgia?

Legal & General America is the number one life insurance company for Georgia residents. It offers great rates and meets coverage needs across a wide range of applicant types. The company also features many term length options for term life insurance.

What is the life insurance free look period and grace period in Georgia?

Georgia residents have 10 days to cancel their new life insurance policy within the free look period and receive a full refund. They also get 30 days to make up for a missed payment before their coverage can be canceled.

What types of life insurance are available in Georgia?

Georgians can buy all of the main types of life insurance, including the two most popular: term life insurance and whole life insurance. They can also purchase no-medical-exam policies with accelerated underwriting, as well as final expense insurance.

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References

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Policygenius uses external sources, including government data, industry studies, and reputable news organizations to supplement proprietary marketplace data and internal expertise. Learn more about how we use and vet external sources as part of oureditorial standards.

  1. Justicia Law

    . "

    Required Policy Provisions Generally - Georgia

    ." Accessed November 07, 2023.

  2. National Association of Insurance Commissioners

    . "

    Life and fraternal insurance industry 2021: Top 25 groups and companies by countrywide premium

    ." Accessed August 21, 2023.

Author

Andrew Hurst is a senior editor and a licensed auto insurance expert at Policygenius. His work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, ValuePenguin, and Property Casualty 360.

Editor

Anna Swartz is a senior managing editor and auto insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our car insurance coverage. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic.com, as well as an associate writer at The Dodo.

Expert reviewer

Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®, is a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius. Previously, he was a financial advisor at MetLife and MassMutual.

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