Symetra life insurance review: High customer satisfaction

Symetra is a highly-rated life insurance company, scoring well for customer experience and price. For many cancer survivors, Symetra offers the best rates.

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Headshot of Jessica Olivo

By

Logan SachonSenior Managing Editor, Life Insurance & ResearchLogan Sachon is a former senior managing editor of life insurance and research at Policygenius. As a journalist, her work has appeared in The Guardian, Business Insider, CNN Money, BuzzFeed, Money Under 30, VICE, New York Magazine, and elsewhere.&Jessica OlivoFreelance contributorJessica Olivo is a writer living in Connecticut. She specializes in web and blog content in a variety of topics such as parenting, business, and culture, as well as serialized and short fiction.After working in publishing and book publicity for many years, she transitioned to freelance writing full time.

Edited by

Adam MorganAdam MorganEditorial DirectorAdam Morgan is an editorial director at Policygenius who leads the life insurance and annuities team. Previously, he led editorial teams matrixed across multiple financial publications at Red Ventures — including Bankrate, NextAdvisor, Million Mile Secrets, and others. As a journalist, his work has appeared in Esquire, Scientific American, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere.

Updated|2 min read

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Symetra

Symetra logo

Policygenius rating

Our proprietary ratings methodology takes multiple factors into account, including customer satisfaction, cost, financial strength, and policy offerings. See the “Ratings methodology” section for more details.
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4.3

AM Best rating

AM Best is a global credit rating agency that scores the financial strength of insurance companies on a scale from A++ (Superior) to D (Poor).

A

Cost

Using a mix of internal and external rate data, we grade the cost of each insurance company's premiums on a scale from least expensive ($) to most expensive ($$$$$).

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$

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Policygenius awards

  • Best life insurance for a history of cancer 2023

The bottom line

Symetra is a highly-rated insurance company that is a solid choice for people with a variety of needs. It’s an especially good option for some cancer survivors, offering coverage when other insurance companies won’t.

Pros

  • High coverage amounts based on income

  • Best choice for people with a history of cancer

  • Good term life option for people over 70

Cons

  • Term rates are average for the industry, and many people will find their best rates elsewhere

  • Not available in some states, including CA, FL, DC, DE, ND, and SD

Basic coverages offered

  • Term life insurance: Symetra Term is a term life insurance policy available to people age 20 to 80 for coverage amounts starting at $250,000 and terms of 10, 15, 20, or 30 years.

  • No-medical-exam term life insurance: SwiftTerm is Symetra’s no-med-exam life insurance policy available to people age 20 to 60 for $100,000 to $2 million. (Note: This product is not available through the Policygenius marketplace.) 

  • Indexed universal life: Symetra has two indexed universal life insurance policies, including: Symetra Accumulator IUL and Symetra Protector IUL. (Note: These products are not available through the Policygenius marketplace.) 

  • Guaranteed universal Life: Symetra UL-G is Symetra’s guaranteed universal life insurance policy. (Note: This product is not available through the Policygenius marketplace.) 

  • Current assumption life insurance: Symetra CAUL is a current assumption universal life insurance policy, which has flexible premiums and a flexible death benefit. (Note: This product is not available through the Policygenius marketplace.) 

Additional coverages offered

  • Acceleration of death benefit for terminal illness: Included with term policies, the ADB rider provides up to 75% of your policy’s death benefit up to $500,000 if you are diagnosed with a qualifying terminal illness. 

  • Insured children’s term insurance rider: Available for an additional cost, this child rider adds life insurance coverage up to $10,000 for each of the insured’s children up to age 25. 

  • Waiver of premium rider: Available for an additional cost, the waiver of premium rider waives premiums during a period of qualifying disability. 

  • Accidental death benefit rider: Available for an additional cost, the accidental death benefit rider adds an additional sum to the death benefit if the insured dies by an accident. 

  • Additional term insurance rider: For an additional cost, the insured can add level term coverage for a family member or business partner to their policy.

Ratings methodology

Price

4.2/5

Our price rating scale looks at life insurance rates for a sample 20-year term policy with a $1 million coverage for a 35-year-old female non-smoker with a Standard Plus risk classification, the rating an insurance company gives you that determines your rates (if a company doesn't have a Standard Plus rating, we use its Standard rates). The quote we got from Symetra puts it in the second least expensive category for our rating system.

Customer experience

4.9/5

Symetra has fewer customer complaints than expected for a company of its size, with an index rating of 0.53 on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index, well below the expected rating of 1.00. Since fewer complaints means better customer service, Symetra scores highly on our customer experience scale

Transparency

3.9/5

Symetra scored below the industry average on our transparency rating scale, which rates access to information online and ease of communication with the company. Without the availability of an online quote tool or information about average rates, Symetra’s website is lacking some details and access that consumers may expect. While it does provide a general customer service phone number and a form to send an email, it does not offer communication tools such as an online support center or chat options.

Financial strength

3.8/5

Policygenius determines a company’s financial strength using a rating system that combines the ratings from A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s into one overall score. While Symetra received an excellent rating of A with A.M. Best, it scored average with Standard & Poor’s, and below average with Moody’s with ratings of A and A1 respectively. Symetra’s financial health is linked to its parent company, Japan-based Sumitomo.

A closer look at Symetra life insurance

Who is Symetra best for?

Symetra is an excellent option for people with a history of cancer, including early-stage breast, cervical, colon, prostate, skin, testicular, or thyroid cancer. 

Symetra is also a good option for people who don’t have complicated health histories but also don’t see a primary care provider on a regular basis. Many insurers lower your risk classification for not seeing a primary care physician, but these people can receive favorable rates from Symetra as well. 

Symetra offers generous coverage amounts based on income compared to other carriers, especially for people in their 50s. It also has competitive options for people living in New York — who have fewer options than people in other states due to the state's strict insurance regulations — and for scuba divers.

What makes Symetra unique?

Symetra’s underwriting guidelines for people with a history of many types of cancer makes it unique among insurers. Many people in remission from cancer will find that they cannot get term life insurance, but Symetra is flexible with many cancers and generally considers applicants much sooner after remission than other insurers. That's why it's our pick for the best overall life insurance for people with a history of cancer. 

Who should consider a different life insurance company?

Symetra is not available in all states, and residents of CA, FL, DC, DE, ND, and SD will not be able to purchase one of their policies. Symetra’s rates are also higher than some of its competitors, and many people will find their best life insurance rates elsewhere. 

Expert opinions on Symetra

"For people with a history of cancer, there's no better carrier than Symetra. It offers policies to many people who cannot get term coverage anywhere else. It's are also a good bet for people over 70." —Matt Burke, licensed life insurance specialist at Policygenius

Symetra life insurance rates

The chart below shows average monthly premium prices for a 20-year term life insurance policy with $500,000 in coverage for non-smokers in a Preferred health classification; quotes are based on the Policygenius Life Insurance Price Index methodology.

Age/sex

Symetra average

Industry average

25-year-old female

$22.28

$21.08

25-year-old male

$28.35

$26.90

35-year-old female

$26.78

$25.58

35-year-old male

$30.97

$30.34

45-year-old female

$50.08

$47.86

45-year-old male

$62.91

$60.76

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Symetra history, reputation, and social responsibility

Symetra Life Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation, which was established in 1957. It was acquired by Japanese insurance company Sumitomo Life in 2016. In addition to life insurance, Symetra also offers annuities and group benefits products. Symetra is headquartered in Bellevue, WA. The company has over 2,000 employees and 1.6 million customers. [1]

Margaret Meister is Symetra’s president and CEO. She joined the company in 1998 and became president and CEO in February 2018. [2]  

In March 2022, Symetra launched its first corporate responsibility initiative, Symetra Social Impact. Its goals are focused on three priority areas — social commitments, sustainability and governance — and include funding 25 scholarships at historically Black colleges and universities by 2025, becoming carbon neutral by 2023, and creating a financial literacy program by 2025. [3]

Symetra in the news

  • In September 2022, Fortune named Symetra one of its 100 Best Workplaces for Women. (Fortune)

  • In August 2022, Symetra was named one of the best employers in Washington by Forebes on its 2022 Best Employers by State list. (Forbes).

  •  In May 2022, the Puget Sound Business Journal named Symetra a Top Corporate Philanthropist. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

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Symetra vs. other companies

Compare Symetra to similar life insurance companies using the table below.

Company

Policygenius rating

AM Best rating

Cost

Symetra

4.3/5

A

$$

State Farm

5.0/5

A++

$

Legal & General America

4.9/5

A+

$

MassMutual

4.9/5

A++

$$$

Lincoln Financial

4.8/5

A

$

Pacific Life

4.8/5

A+

$

Protective

4.8/5

A+

$

Corebridge Financial

4.6/5

A

$

New York Life

4.6/5

A++

$$

Transamerica

4.6/5

A

$

Guardian

4.5/5

A++

$$

Thrivent

4.5/5

A+

$$

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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. Symetra

    . "

    Company Profile

    ." Accessed December 17, 2022.

  2. Symetra

    . "

    Leadership team biography: Margaret A. Meister

    ." Accessed December 18, 2022.

  3. Symetra

    . "

    Symetra Social Impact

    ." Accessed December 17, 2022.

Authors

Logan Sachon is a former senior managing editor of life insurance and research at Policygenius. As a journalist, her work has appeared in The Guardian, Business Insider, CNN Money, BuzzFeed, Money Under 30, VICE, New York Magazine, and elsewhere.

Jessica Olivo is a writer living in Connecticut. She specializes in web and blog content in a variety of topics such as parenting, business, and culture, as well as serialized and short fiction.

After working in publishing and book publicity for many years, she transitioned to freelance writing full time.

Editor

Adam Morgan is an editorial director at Policygenius who leads the life insurance and annuities team. Previously, he led editorial teams matrixed across multiple financial publications at Red Ventures — including Bankrate, NextAdvisor, Million Mile Secrets, and others. As a journalist, his work has appeared in Esquire, Scientific American, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere.

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