MassMutual Life Insurance Review

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The Details

The Good

Immediate term policy available. MassMutual’s Direct Term life insurance policy provides an immediate decision, along with up to $1 million of temporary coverage. If you need coverage fast, this could be your solution. However, you will need to undergo a medical exam.

Financially stable. MassMutual has top marks from credit rating firms and financial institutions, including an A++ from A.M. Best. They’re a solid investment according to the pros, so no need to worry about losing out on benefits.

Potential to earn dividends. MassMutual is a mutually owned company, meaning policyholders have the chance to earn dividends. Like all mutually owned companies, however, there’s no guarantee you’ll receive anything.

Free policy for COVID-19 workers nationwide. Healthcare workers in hospitals, urgent care centers, and other hotspots in all 50 U.S. states can apply for 3-year term life protection, and all premiums will be paid by MassMutual.

The Bad

Pricier than average. MassMutual isn’t the best choice for seniors, smokers, or people with more serious health concerns. Unless you’re young and in tip-top shape, expect to pay high monthly rates.

Most policies require medical exam. All of MassMutual’s policies require applicants to undergo a medical exam. There are no policies with no-med options, except for the HealthBridge policy for frontline healthcare workers.

Most policies require agents to apply. Only the Direct Term policy has an online application. All the rest require calling up and speaking to advisory agents.

The Breakdown

Life insurance costs vary between shoppers due to individual details like age, gender, location, health, and habits such as smoking. Depending on all those, you could pay more or less than the industry average for term life insurance.

Unfortunately, MassMutual’s rates are not very competitive. Below you’ll see a sample of how much each age group will pay for a $500,000, 20-year-long Direct Term policy, which is MassMutual’s immediate decision term life product.

Unless you’re young, a non-smoker, and in decent shape, you’re going to pay a lot more than the industry average for MassMutual’s Direct Term policy.

For comparison, AIG offers an average rate of $24.74 for a healthy male in their 20s for a $500,000, 20-year policy.

So, unless you’re extremely healthy and okay paying more for coverage, you can find better rates with other carriers, especially if you have more complicated health conditions.

→ Want to know the best life insurance carriers for smokers? Then check out these companies .

Founded in 1851, Massachusetts Mutual (MassMutual) Life Insurance is a Fortune 500 company with billions in capital. Since it’s a mutually owned company, policyholders can potentially earn dividend payments. Of course, that depends on how well the company is doing.

According to financial ratings services and industry experts, MassMutual’s doing pretty well. With strong scores across the board, MassMutual is in an excellent position to pay out claims for policyholders’ beneficiaries and families.

Here are the ratings:

• A.M. Best: A++

• Moody’s: Aa3

• Standard & Poor’s: AA+

Credit rating firm A.M. Best focuses specifically on the insurance industry. They rate MassMutual an A++, the highest rating a carrier can get. That means MassMutual has a superior ability to meet the financial needs of policyholders.

Financial analysis firm Moody’s gives MassMutual an Aa3, the fourth-highest rating possible, meaning MassMutual is high-quality and subject to very low credit risk.

Standard & Poor’s grades MassMutual with an AA+, the second-best rating possible. That means the company is high-quality, financially sound, and has plenty of cash reserves to pay its debts.

While financial firms are confident in MassMutual, customers are a little more mixed in their response.

Here’s what customers and customer rating agencies think:

• BBB: B-

• Consumers Advocate: 4.6 / 5

• Consumer Affairs: n/a

• NAIC complaint index: 0.08

The Better Business Bureau grades companies based on advertising and customer complaints. They awarded MassMutual a B- because 12 complaints filed against the company were not resolved. There’s also a 1-star customer rating based on 12 reviews. Complaints mention difficulty accessing accounts and processing claims.

Consumers Advocate focuses on a company’s reputation, policies, and stability. They give MassMutual an “excellent” 4.6 out of 5.

Consumer Affairs has ratings for other MassMutual services, but not for life insurance.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) tracks complaints submitted to state insurance departments. Based on their complaint index, MassMutual has a 0.08 rating. A score of 1 represents the baseline average, and a zero means there weren’t enough customer complaints to count. MassMutual has fewer complaints than the average.

MassMutual offers term, whole, universal, and variable universal life insurance products. Most policies require speaking to an agent directly to apply.

However, shoppers can apply online for two policies: Direct Term, which is a term life policy that provides an immediate decision, and HealthBridge, a free term life insurance policy for healthcare workers responding to the COVID-19 situation.

This review focuses on the Direct Term life insurance product.

Term Life Insurance

MassMutual has three term life offerings: Direct Term, HealthBridge, and a standard term life option.

MassMutual Direct Term

MassMutual’s fast-track term life insurance product has a simple online application, $1 million in temporary coverage, and an immediate decision. There’s also a low starting minimum and a decent selection of term lengths. This policy is especially useful if you need term life insurance as soon as possible.

But there is a catch. To keep coverage you need to schedule and undergo a medical exam within 90 days of applying, which, depending on your health, could affect your monthly premium amount.

This policy is available everywhere in the United States, except New York.

Available riders

• Accelerated death benefit rider. This lets you access some of your benefit early if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and are expected to die within a year.

• Waiver of premium for disability. For an extra cost, this rider waives your monthly costs if you become totally disabled through illness or injury for six continuous months. Eligible ages are 18 to 59.

Temporary coverage

MassMutual provides up to $1 million coverage between the time of application and your medical exam, and it lasts until full coverage kicks in, you cancel your application, or your application is declined. Policyholders receive this coverage only if qualified. Typically, that means you must be in good health.

Policy conversion

MassMutual lets term life policyholders convert to permanent life plans without medical exams or questions, but only for a period of two to 10 years, depending on age. Policyholders can extend that time frame for an extra cost. They will also need to consult a financial advisor to complete the conversion.

HealthBridge Free Term Life Insurance

MassMutual offers a guaranteed issue and free 3-year term life insurance policy to doctors, nurses, lab technicians, cafeteria workers, and other healthcare workers and hospital employees on the frontlines of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The death benefit for applicants ages 18 to 50 is $25,000, and $10,000 for ages 51 to 60, with annual incomes of less than $250,000. There’s no medical exam or testing required, and the premiums are paid in full by MassMutual. The policy expires after the three years are up.

As of January 2021, HealthBridge is available to healthcare workers nationwide. It was originally available only to applicants in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Standard term life

MassMutual’s regular term life product is similar to Direct Term, except there’s no immediate decision and you have to apply through an advisory agent. Term lengths are 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, or 30-years, and coverage amounts start at $100,000. Eligible ages are 18 to 79 (for 10-year terms). Term policies can be converted to permanent ones without a fee or medical exam.

You can add accelerated death benefit or waiver of premium for disability riders to this policy.

Permanent life insurance

MassMutual has several permanent policies on offer, including a whole life product with the potential for dividends, universal and variable universal life policies, and a hybrid long-term care and whole life insurance plan.

Participating Whole Life Insurance Details

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MassMutual’s whole life plan provides medically underwritten lifetime coverage and builds cash value, which you can use to pay for college tuition, retirement funds, or other expenses.

Although not guaranteed, MassMutual whole life policyholders are eligible to receive dividends.

To apply and find out more information, you need to contact an agent.

Universal Life Insurance Details

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Universal life insurance is permanent life insurance but with flexible premiums. This means you can potentially change how much you pay from month to month, depending on your financial situation.

This policy has the potential to build cash value, which you can borrow from at any time to use for retirement costs or other expenses.

To apply and find out more information, you have to contact an agent.

Variable Universal Life Insurance Details

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This is a permanent life insurance policy with a cash-value component that lets you invest in stocks and bonds. Premium payments are flexible, so you can choose how much and when you pay. You also have the choice of a level, or fixed, death benefit or one that builds interest. You can also borrow from the account.

We can’t recommend variable universal life policies for most people. A fluctuating market means your premiums and death benefits will change, plus there are fees, charges, and commissions that can bleed your investment dry.

Unless you’re Scrooge McDuck, there’s no reason to go with a variable universal life policy instead of a cheaper traditional term life policy.

CareChoice One Long Term Care and Life Insurance Details

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The CareChoice One product is a single-premium whole life insurance policy that comes with a long term care insurance rider, which is money taken from the death benefit to help pay for medical care, nursing home or hospital costs, and other expenses.

CareChoice One also comes with a surrender value that increases over time. Basically, if you cancel the policy during a certain period you can receive the cash value back minus any charges, debts, or fees.

There’s the chance to skip the medical exam for this policy but that’s ultimately up to the underwriter.

This policy can also provide dividends, though they’re never a guarantee.

You won’t find a lot of detailed policy information on MassMutual’s website. Coverage ranges for most products are absent and there’s no rider information for anything except the term life packages. To find out more you have to call an advisory agent, which the website can help you with.

There is no live online chat help, either. You can call customer service or email but those services are mainly for existing MassMutual customers since they ask for the last four digits of your Social Security Number and policy number.

On the bright side, you’ll find a convenient online quote tool for the Direct Term policy — which you can apply for online. There’s also a blog, but it’s more general life insurance information, nothing specific to MassMutual products. There’s a calculator that can help you figure out your coverage needs as well.

Application process

Direct Term applicants can easily apply online and gain an immediate decision, but they will have to schedule and undergo a medical exam. There are no no-med options from MassMutual, unless you’re applying for CareChoice, which may still require a medical exam depending on the results of underwriting.

You’ll have to speak with an agent for other MassMutual policies.

Turnaround time

Expect to wait up to two weeks for most policies.

Policy delivery

Policies are delivered electronically or in the mail.

More Info

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State availability

MassMutual agents can be found in 49 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. MassMutual products are not available in Alaska.

Change method

You can change your address and beneficiary online. There are also multiple forms available in PDF format. To cancel your policy you need to call customer service.

Payment methods

MassMutual currently does not accept online payments by credit card. Policyholders can pay annually or monthly. You can pay the following ways:

• Recurring online payment via bank account
• By phone via bank account
• By mail via check

Digital tools

Besides the online quote tool, MassMutual has a mobile app that lets you manage your account and policy, update your address and contact info, view billing details, make payments, and set up automatic payments.

Claims documentation

To claim a death benefit you need to call a MassMutual rep, who will require the following:

• Name, phone number, and address of beneficiary
• Name, date of birth, and date of death of the insured
• The insured’s policy number and Social Security number
• The insured’s will
• A copy of the death certificate

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