THE GOOD
No-medical exam options are available
High financial and third-party ratings
Guaranteed convertible policy
THE BOTTOM LINE
Liberty Mutual, the third-largest property and casualty insurer in the United States, offers a few life insurance products via another insurance company, Protective Life. Its main term life option, Passport Term, requires a medical exam. There are some no-med policies in the form of final expense term and whole life policies, but you should only consider Liberty Mutual if you need a quick-fix solution and are ready to pay very high premiums.
For our reviews, we rate carriers based on the premier term life product. For Liberty Mutual, that’s the Protective Series Passport Term term life policy.
The Details
The Good
No-medical exam options are available. Liberty Mutual’s Simplified Issue Passport Term and Simplified Issue Whole Life policies do not require medical exams. You’ll only have to answer a few medical-related questions.
High financial and third-party ratings. Financial rating organizations and third-party customer sentiment sites find Liberty Mutual to be pretty favorable.
Guaranteed convertible policy. Both the regular and simplified issue term life products contain guaranteed built-in convertible policies, so you can switch to a permanent plan without losing coverage.
The Bad
Very high premiums. Passport Term life insurance is very expensive, with higher-than-average rates for people in “very good” health. Most people shopping for life insurance are likely not in very good or “excellent” health, so there’s a good possibility you’ll be paying more than you should.
Overall lack of options. Compared to other large insurers, Liberty Mutual has only a couple of options available each for term life and whole life insurance. You’re limited to standard term or whole life, or simplified issue policies.
Minimal information available on the website. Life insurance is not Liberty Mutual’s main bread-and-butter. That’s reflected in its website, which contains few details about its policies. This makes shopping and comparing products more difficult than it needs to be.
Can’t apply online. If you want to apply for a policy, you’ll have to contact an independent agent. However, Liberty Mutual offers a phone line and a website for locating agents.
The Breakdown
The life insurance portion of Liberty Mutual’s business was acquired by another company, Protective Life. You can still shop for life insurance using Liberty Mutual’s website and agents, but all of the policies are issued by Protective Life rather than Liberty Mutual itself.
Through Protective, Liberty Mutual offers straightforward term life and whole life insurance packages that can be modified with a decent list of riders.
All scores in this review reflect the Protective Series Passport Term policy.
Term life insurance
Protective Series Passport Term Life
Passport Term is a basic term life product. It’s fully underwritten, so applicants will have to undergo a medical exam. Payments are guaranteed to remain level — that is, they won’t change — for that length of time.
There's a built-in option to convert to a permanent plan before the end of the term period. However, you’ll have to deal with increasing premiums at the end of your term if you want to continue your coverage.
| Eligible ages | 18 to 70 |
| Term lengths | 10-, 15-, 20-, or 30-year terms |
| Coverage minimum | $15,000 |
| Coverage maximum | Variable |
Coverage continues until 90 years of age or death.
Simplified Issue Passport Term
Liberty Mutual also offers simplified issue term coverage, which takes about 10 minutes for approval, requires no medical exam, and includes the option to convert to a permanent policy up to five years before the term’s end. This is a final expense product, which means it’s for funeral expenses and paying off lingering debts.
Since there’s no medical exam requirement, applicants instead answer questions about their health over the phone. You get almost immediate coverage, but will pay a higher premium for a lower coverage amount.
Anyone from age 18 to 65 can apply. But this policy maxes out at $250,000 of coverage, which is considerably less than you’d get with other policies.
Policy conversion
Term life policies with Liberty Mutual are convertible to a permanent plan up to the last five years of the policy term. Customers will not have to go through underwriting or a medical exam again.
Available riders
Liberty Mutual offers a handful of riders that policyholders can use to customize their coverage, including:
Accelerated death benefit rider. Included at no extra charge, this lets policyholders diagnosed with a terminal illness receive a portion of the death benefit.
Accidental death and dismemberment rider. This pays an additional death benefit on top of the base policy’s payout if the insured dies from a qualifying accident. There’s also added coverage in case of a serious injury. The issue ages are 18 to 55.
Child protection rider. This rider provides life insurance coverage for all eligible children, with a minimum of $10,000 and maximum of $25,000.
Disability waiver of premium rider. If you become totally disabled you will not have to pay premiums for a fixed period of time. This benefit is payable if the insured is unable to work for two years following disability.
All riders are subject to Liberty Mutual’s varying terms and conditions, and their availability may vary state to state.
Permanent life insurance
Liberty Mutual offers a simplified whole life, single-premium whole life, and universal life insurance policy.
Unless you have specific needs, we recommend most shoppers choose a term life policy over a permanent plan. Term life is easier to understand and more affordable in most cases.
Simplified Issue Whole Life Insurance Details
This policy does not require a lengthy application or a medical exam. Anyone from 15 days of age to 65 years old can be insured, but the maximum benefit is only $250,000. There’s a cash value component that you can borrow against in the form of loans.
These policies are typically for covering funeral expenses, medical costs, and other kinds of debt.
Single-Payment Whole Life Insurance Details
Another policy with a quick approval that doesn’t require a medical exam. It offers a guaranteed death benefit larger than the single payment, meaning there are no monthly or annual premiums. Rather, you pay everything up front and receive a guaranteed death benefit. This type of policy is also known as prepaid life insurance.
Unless you’re planning on transferring large amounts of wealth, we don’t recommend this type of policy for most people. They’re typically very expensive, especially for older, less healthy individuals. They don’t work well as investment options either since they’re more complicated and yield lower return rates than a regular IRA or 401(k) account.
Liberty Mutual’s universal life policy has a cash value component and offers lifetime coverage. Both the premiums and death benefit are flexible depending on the customer’s financial situation.
However, universal life policies are typically too complex and expensive for most people, which is why we recommend looking at term life options instead.
Most people will pay above the national average for life insurance with Liberty Mutual. Across all age groups — except the 60s range, which isn’t available for quoting — prices are higher than most other competitors.
We based our sample quote on a non-smoking male from California in “Very Good” health applying for a $500,000, 20-year term policy:
| 20s | $31.05 | $27.00 |
| 30s | $36.45 | $30.37 |
| 40s | $71.10 | $60.76 |
| 50s | $193.95 | $151.54 |
| 60s | N/A | $493.98 |
Rates current as of November 2021, according to Policygenius data.
Applicants in excellent health will pay closer to the average.
You’ll notice there’s no sample quote for people over 60. Those in their 60s and above will have to call Liberty Mutual for a quote.
→ Read more about finding affordable life insurance?
To see if the century-plus-old Liberty Mutual will last long enough to meet the financial obligations of policyholders, we turn to the expertise of credit and financial ratings companies.
All three organizations give Liberty Mutual top ratings, so there’s no need to worry when it’s time to file a benefits claim.
Here’s what the financial guys have to say:
A.M. Best: A
Moody’s: A2
Standard & Poor’s: A
A.M. Best, a credit rating company that focuses on the insurance market, gives Liberty Mutual an A rating (effective November 8, 2021). That means the company’s outlook is stable.
Bond credit rating agency Moody’s rates Liberty Mutual at A2, which describes the company as financially secure and a worthwhile investment according to Moody’s rating scale.
Financial analysis firm Standard & Poor’s rates the insurer with an A, meaning Liberty Mutual has strong financial stability.
Any complaints found about Liberty Mutual are centered around the company’s auto, home, and renters insurance, not so much life insurance.
Here’s the breakdown from top customer ratings agencies:
Consumers Advocate focuses on the policy offerings, reputation, and stability of insurance companies. They have positive reviews for Liberty Mutual’s life insurance.
Consumer Affairs lets verified users rate and write reviews about companies. Based on those reviews, Liberty Mutual scores 4.1 out of 5. Commenters mainly complain about Liberty Mutual’s auto and home products.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) counts complaints submitted to state insurance departments. They give Liberty Mutual a zero on their complaint index. A score of 1 represents the baseline average, while a zero means there weren’t enough customer complaints to count. According to the NAIC, Liberty Mutual’s life insurance products have barely received any complaints.
Life insurance isn’t the main focus for Liberty Mutual. That becomes obvious when you visit their website, where you’ll find few details about their product offerings. This can make the shopping experience more tedious than it needs to be.
There is no way to apply online and no online chat help, either.
Application process
Prospective customers must contact an agent to apply. Liberty Mutual has a phone line and website where you can find local agents. Most applicants will have to undergo a medical exam and answer health-related questions before approval.
Turnaround time
Unless you’re applying for the simplified issue policies, most people will have to schedule, undergo, and then await the results of a medical exam. Liberty Mutual applicants will likely wait longer than average.
Policy delivery
The final policy is delivered electronically.
State availability
Liberty Mutual is available in 50 states. Some policies, riders, and other options will vary state to state.
Change method
Liberty Mutual has a customer portal where you can change beneficiaries, update addresses, and obtain forms.
Payment methods
Liberty Mutual customers can pay by credit card, mail-in check, phone, or automatic bank draft.
Deductions from your paycheck are also possible.
There’s an online quote tool and a coverage calculator that asks for income and basic personal info before suggesting an amount based on your responses.
There’s also an app where you can manage claims and view ID cards, but it’s more auto- and home-focused.
Claims documentation
To file a benefits claim, the beneficiary must fill out a form and fax, mail, or email the following information to Liberty Mutual:
- Name, phone, address
- Policy number
- Certified death certificate
- Coroner’s and police report (if applicable)
- Court order (if beneficiary is an estate or minor)
- Trust document (if beneficiary is a trust)
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Protective offer online quotes?
Yes, but just for Passport Term. All you have to do is enter basic information like your birthdate, height, weight, and desired coverage amount and term limit.
Do I need to take a medical exam?
Most likely, yes. Passport Term is a fully underwritten term life policy, so you will need to schedule and undergo a medical exam with a physician. Liberty Mutual also offers guaranteed issue, no-med term life and whole life policies.
Can I apply for Liberty Mutual’s life insurance products online?
Unfortunately, no. Since life insurance isn’t Liberty Mutual’s main focus, anyone curious about applying with them will need to contact a local agent.
