Ethos Life Insurance Review

Ethos offers term life insurance at prices lower than traditional agencies. It's done completely online in just minutes. But what's the catch? Read on for the review.

	Overall Score	4.0
	Price	4.0
	Customer Service	4.0
	Financial Strength	4.0
	Ease of Use	4.0

5-point scale (the higher, the better)

Life insurance can be a very stressful topic. There are so many big decisions to make and fine print to study.

Ethos sets out to un-complicate this process. Its goal is for life insurance to not only be affordable, but also easy and pain-free for the modern person.

Instead of weeks spent meeting with agents, paperwork, and exams, Ethos created a process that's done online in just minutes. Because this cuts out the middleman, the rates can be kept low.

Just how does Ethos Life Insurance stack up? Is it worth it or is it a scam? Keep reading to find out.

• About Ethos
  
• What Ethos Offers
  
• The Application Process
  
• Reasons We Like Ethos Life Insurance
  
• Downsides
  
• How It Compares

About Ethos

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Ethos uses technology to offer low rates and a hassle-free application process. Instead of sitting down with an agent, the Ethos application takes place online. Most people don't even require a medical exam. When you're approved, their policies are issued online, as well.

Ethos is a new company only founded in 2017. But it is partnered with some of the largest life insurance companies in the nation. Its life insurance policies are issued by Assurity, which has been in business for over 125 years and has an A- (Excellent) rating by A.M. Best. Other partners include RGAx, Munich RE, and Aon.

These partnerships offer valuable financial backing to a newer company like Ethos and ensures that Ethos' policies are reliable and safe.

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What Ethos Offers

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Life insurance can be very complicated. Ethos makes it easier by offering only one type - term life insurance.

Term life is the easiest type of life insurance to understand. You select the coverage amount and the term. If you die within that term, your beneficiary gets the payout. If you outlive the term, then the policy just lapses.

Here's a snapshot of what Ethos offers.

• Terms of 10, 15, 20, or 30 years
  
• Coverage from $25,000 to $10 million
  
• Available to people ages 20 to 65
  
• Policies for people up to age 85
  
• Available in all states except New York

Your biggest decision with Ethos Life Insurance is the amount of death benefit want and the term you want to be covered for. That's it.

The Application Process

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Ethos aims to keep the whole process simple and painless. It takes just about 10 minutes to complete their 100% online application.

Here's how it works:

1. Preliminary Questions: The process starts with a screener. You answer some simple questions about your life and wellbeing:
   • What is your age?
     
   • What's your gender?
     
   • Do you use nicotine?
     
   • How's your health?
     
   • What state do you live in?

   And that's literally it. Click on "Check my price" to get an estimated quote from Ethos Life Insurance.

2. Get Estimated Quotes: Based on your answers, Ethos presents you with "Recommended Plans" and some initial quotes.

   Or you can choose your own coverage and term:

   Since you haven't officially applied yet, this quote is just an estimate.

3. Application: Once you choose the coverage and term, click "apply now" and you'll start the process. You'll enter your name and a beneficiary. You'll then enter other basic information such as your address, height, weight, birthdate, age, and gender. You'll then answer questions about your lifestyle (again). Finally, you'll answer questions about various health issues.

4. Underwriting: Each applicant is individually underwritten by Ethos. Your final rates are partially determined by your health and lifestyle. Depending on these factors, you may be required by Ethos to take a medical exam or lab appointment, although this is not required for most people.

Reasons We Like Ethos Life Insurance

Medical Exam May Not Be Required
Just like any other life insurance policy, each applicant is underwritten based on their qualifications. According to Ethos, many applicants don't need a medical exam or even labwork done. Ethos gives you the benefit of the doubt to keep your rates low.

If a medical exam is required, Ethos even covers the cost and makes scheduling the appointments simple (if you want more than $1 million in coverage, you may need an exam).

No Fees
The whole application process is online, so you don't deal with an agent. Because the process is mainly automated, Ethos can eliminate the administrative fees of a typical life insurance company and pass the savings along to its customers.

No Upsell
When you apply for life insurance the traditional way, the agent often works on commission and may try to upsell you to a more expensive and complicated plan. It's easy to get overwhelmed and choose a life insurance policy that you don't understand.

The Ethos Life Insurance application is all done online so there is no upsell. You won't feel pressured to pick something out of your budget. And you can thoroughly review the cost and options before purchasing your policy.

May Give Instant Approval
All applicants are different, but many people receive immediate approval from Ethos because of the automated underwriting process. If there's nothing that sticks out as risky on your application, you may be approved within a matter of minutes.

Accepts Applicants Up to Age 65
While you will only be eligible for a shorter term (typically 10 years), you can still get coverage. This is not the case for many other insurers who are hesitant to offer life insurance coverage to those past retirement age.

Pays Claims Within a Few Weeks
Losing a loved one is hard enough, but waiting months for the life insurance payment can make it even worse. Ethos pays claims quickly to help lessen the stress while you're grieving.

Guaranteed Premiums
Your premiums won't change for the entire duration of the policy. You don't have to worry about increasing premiums that become unaffordable as you age.

31-day Grace Period
If you can't pay your premium on its due date, Ethos offers a flexible 31-day grace period. If you don't pay within the grace period, you will lose coverage. If you want to obtain it again, you'll have to go through the application process again.

Customize by Adding Riders
On top of your regular term life insurance policy, you can customize your coverage by including a variety of riders like: Critical Illness Rider, Waiver of Premium Riders, Endowment Benefit Rider, and Child Protection Rider.

Downsides

The Fine Print May Cause Issues
If you receive a diagnosis of "invasive cancer" within 90 days of receiving the policy, the payable death benefit is greatly reduced.

Coverage Not Guaranteed
If you have certain medical conditions or make certain lifestyle choices, you may not get approved. If there are health issues, they may require a medical exam and an underwriter will then decide if you can get a policy, but it's not guaranteed.

Not Available in New York
At this time, the only state that Ethos does not service is New York. If you'd like to read more about term life insurance policies that are available to New Yorkers, be sure to check out our guide on the best term life companies.

How It Compares

How does Ethos compare with other online life insurance agencies? Here are some other popular companies:

Quotacy
Quotacy is more like a marketplace. You can compare quotes and plans from top life insurance companies. You can choose from term, whole life, final expense, and disability insurance. So this may be better for those who have more complicated needs than just term life insurance. Quotacy does the "shopping" for you, and also works as your advocate to help make sure you get the best-fitting policy.

Haven Life
Haven Life also only offers term life insurance. You complete the application process online and Haven Life offers tools to help you choose the appropriate amount of coverage. They do offer instant coverage in many cases, but if you don't qualify for it, you have 90 days to have the medical exam completed and for Haven Life to make an underwriting decision.

Bottom Line

Ethos Life Insurance "trims the fat" in order to help make the process of getting life insurance simple and affordable. Their online underwriting technology saves you time and can get you covered quicker than many other life insurance companies.

Ethos is a good choice for those looking for a fast and straightforward term life insurance company to protect their family after they pass away.

Because each applicant is different, we recommend that you obtain quotes from several life insurance companies to make sure you get the policy that covers you the best at the best price.