Unlike other types of insurance, where you live doesn’t affect what you pay for life insurance. Your life insurance quotes depend more on the type of policy you buy, the amount of coverage you get, and personal details like your age and medical history.
That’s why our recommendations for the top life insurance companies in Ohio are similar to our picks for the overall best companies. But even though living in Ohio won’t affect that you pay, where you live will affect some state-specific laws around life insurance and the companies available in your area.
Policygenius rating | Best for … | AM Best score | Number of complaints | Cost | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.9/5 ★ | Overall, cheap rates, term life, smokers, young adults | A+ | Less than average | $ | ||
4.9/5 ★ | Whole life | A++ | Much less than average | $$$ | ||
4.8/5 ★ | No-medical-exam life | A+ | Less than average | $ | ||
4.8/5 ★ | Pre-existing conditions, marijuana users | A | Less than average | $ | ||
4.1/5 ★ | Seniors | A+ | Less than average | $$ |
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.
Best overall life insurance company in Ohio: Legal & General America
The best life insurance company in Ohio is Legal & General America, which also does business as Banner Life and William Penn in other states. We like Legal & General America because of its affordable rates — there’s a good chance you can find cheap life insurance even with a medical history that could mean higher rates at other companies.
We also like that Legal & General America has an A+ rating for financial stability from AM Best, and that it receives 65% fewer complaints from policyholders than expected, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Cheapest life insurance company in Ohio: Legal & General America
Legal & General America has the cheapest life insurance in Ohio, but remember: life insurance rates don’t depend on where you live. Legal & General America is our pick for the overall cheapest life insurance.
The best way to find cheap life insurance for your lifestyle and needs is by shopping around and comparing quotes from different companies. It’s also a good idea to get life insurance while you’re still relatively young, since it will only get more expensive as you age.
Best term life insurance in Ohio: Legal & General America
The best term life insurance in Ohio comes from Legal & General America. Legal & General America offers affordable rates and flexible term lengths of up to 40 years — longer than the 30-year terms most companies offer.
Term life insurance is a straightforward type of life insurance, and the best choice for most people. Here’s how it works: choose the length of the policy (the term) and the amount you’d want your loved ones to get in the event of your death (the benefit amount). If you die, your family will receive a payment.
Best no-medical-exam life insurance in Ohio: Pacific Life
The best company for no-medical-exam life insurance in Ohio is Pacific Life. You may be able to get up to $3 million in coverage without taking a medical exam, and Pacific Life accepts no-med applicants as old as 70.
A no-medical-exam life insurance policy is like a normal term life policy, except getting coverage takes less time since you don’t need to go through a medical exam. You can usually only get this kind of coverage if you’re in good health, though each company has different eligibility rules.
Best whole life insurance in Ohio: MassMutual
The best whole life insurance company in Ohio is MassMutual. AM Best awarded MassMutual an A++ rating for financial strength — meaning you can count on MassMutual’s stability, which is especially important for permanent life insurance.
A whole life policy is a policy that you keep for life, and it’s guaranteed to pay out no matter when you die It also has a cash value component that can gain interest over time, and even pay out dividends. You can also access your cash value portion.
Best life insurance for seniors in Ohio: Prudential
Prudential has the best life insurance in Ohio for seniors (people between 60 and 75). You may even be able to get affordable life insurance with Prudential if you have an age-related health condition, like arthritis or osteoporosis.
Best life insurance for young adults in Ohio: Legal & General America
Legal & General America is the best life insurance company for young adults in Ohio. It offers some of the cheapest life insurance rates for people in their 20s and 30s regardless of their health profile. The company offers no-medical-exam and instant-decision options for young people who are in excellent health or have just one or two minor and well-controlled health conditions.
Best life insurance for pre-existing conditions in Ohio: Lincoln Financial
Lincoln Financial has the best life insurance if you have pre-existing conditions. Normally having a pre-existing condition like arthritis, a past stroke, high blood pressure, or diabetes makes life insurance more expensive, but Lincoln Financial offers better rates than other insurance companies for these and other health conditions.
Best life insurance for marijuana users in Ohio: Lincoln Financial
The best life insurance company for marijuana users in Ohio is Lincoln Financial. That’s because Lincoln Financial offers marijuana users non-smoker rates, meaning your rates could be two to three times cheaper than with companies that classify marijuana users as smokers.
You need to let your life insurance company know if you use marijuana — even if it’s infrequent. Your life insurance company can deny a future claim if it finds out you lied on your application, which puts your beneficiaries at risk.
Best life insurance for smokers in Ohio: Legal & General America
The best life insurance company for smokers in Ohio is Legal & General America. Life insurance will always be more expensive than average for smokers, but Legal & General America has better rates for tobacco users.
You can also re-apply for coverage after a year of being smoke-free — other insurance companies require you to be two years free from smoking before you can re-apply.
How is life insurance different in Ohio?
Living in Ohio doesn’t affect the cost of your life insurance, but there are some state-specific laws and regulations that you should be aware of before you buy a policy. [1]
Contestable period: The contestable period in Ohio is two years after you buy a policy. If your insurance company finds out during this time that you misrepresented yourself when you applied for coverage, it can deny a claim.
Free look period: There’s no mandatory free look period in Ohio. That means that, unlike in other states, companies aren’t required to give you a time period after buying during which you can cancel your life insurance and receive a full refund.
Grace period: The grace period in Ohio is 31 days. That means that you have 31 days to make up a missed payment before your insurance company can cancel your policy.
Guaranty Fund protection: If your life insurance company goes bankrupt, Ohio will step in and cover up to $300,000 of your death benefits and $100,000 of your policy’s cash surrender value.
Time to settle a claim: Your life insurance company has to process a claim within two months after receiving proof of death.
Largest life insurance companies in Ohio
Many of the largest life insurance companies in the country offer policies in Ohio. Here are the 10 largest life insurance companies in Ohio by market share. [2]
Company | Market share in Ohio |
|---|---|
MetLife | 15.04% |
Northwestern Mutual | 5.86% |
Prudential | 4.58% |
Lincoln Financial | 4.51% |
New York Life | 4.08% |
State Farm | 3.38% |
MassMutual | 2.79% |
Western and Southern | 2.51% |
Nationwide | 2.47% |
Minnesota Mutual | 2.35% |
Globe Life | 2.22% |
What happens if a life insurance company goes bankrupt in Ohio?
It’s not common for life insurance companies to go bankrupt, but if yours does, the Ohio Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association will cover part of your policy’s benefits as long as you keep paying your premiums.
The Ohio Guaranty Association covers you for up to $300,000 in death benefits and $100,000 in cash surrender value while you still live in Ohio. If you move, you can continue receiving protection from your new state’s Guaranty Association.
How to find a lost life insurance policy in Ohio
You can find a lost life insurance policy in Ohio by searching the Life Insurance Policy Locator Service from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. But you can only search for a missing policy if you have a connection to the deceased person.
Average life insurance rates in Ohio
Based on our analysis of Policygenius data from 2023, the average monthly premium for a relatively healthy 35-year-old in Ohio 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, 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 | $23 | $34 |
Male | $19 | $29 | $48 | |
30 | Female | $15 | $23 | $37 |
Male | $18 | $29 | $49 | |
40 | Female | $22 | $35 | $61 |
Male | $25 | $43 | $75 | |
50 | Female | $44 | $78 | $139 |
Male | $57 | $102 | $188 | |
60 | Female | $108 | $194 | $355 |
Male | $149 | $268 | $500 |
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 09/01/2024.
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