Principal Financial Group Insurance Company Review

Principal Financial Group at a Glance

Principal Financial Group Pros: Principal Financial Group is a well-established and financially strong company with high ratings from A.M. Best, BBB, and numerous other financial ratings bureaus. Seen as having competitive rates and favorable underwriting for people with common medical conditions. Offers a lot of information online, extended customer service hours, and online payments. Offers a variety of common life insurance riders.

Principal Financial Group Cons: Not a BBB accredited business. Does not offer as many term options and riders as other life insurance carriers. Certain customer service activities (cancelling the policy, changing the beneficiary) require phone calls and traditional mail. Principal does not work with independent insurance agents.

What Type of Insurance Does Principal Financial Group Offer?

Principal Financial Group offers a variety of insurance policies, retirement plans, and employee benefits to individuals and employers, including the following:

This list of insurance products available from Principal Financial Group is not exhaustive. 

Using our insurance company directory can help you find the best insurance companies that specialize in your specific coverage needs. The company directory can also help you get connected to an agent near you.

What to Know About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group was founded in 1879. It began offering insurance products before branching out to sell a range of investment and retirement planning products. Today, Principal is a Fortune 500 company with offices across the globe.

Principal Financial Group has earned top-tier ratings from the four major agencies, including an A+ “excellent” rating from A.M. Best. AM Best is a credit rating firm that assesses the creditworthiness of and/or reports on over 16,000 insurance companies worldwide. The A.M Best rating points to the insurance company’s ability to pay claims, debts, and other financial obligations in a timely manner. Customers can expect that Principal has the necessary cash reserves to pay out claims, an essential factor in evaluating any insurance company before purchasing a policy.

Principal has $701 billion in assets under management, and over 32 million customers worldwide. Along with its strong financial position, Principal is committed to community leadership and involvement.

What Discounts Does Principal Financial Group Offer?

Principal does not make information about its specific discounts or reward programs readily available.

Principal Financial Group representatives can help you learn about ways to save. 

Principal Financial Group Customer Service

Individual insurance customers can contact Principal Financial Group in the following ways:

You can also get help by contacting a Principal Financial Group office.

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Principal Financial Group FAQ

What is Principal's average claim response timeframe?

Principal has a separate claims process for its individual life insurance and disability insurance customers. For life insurance customers, the insurance carrier’s website promises a standard processing time of 7 – 10 business days after receiving all of the pertinent claims documents. For its disability insurance customers, Principal promises a response in seven business days once the insurance company has received all of the information it requires related to the claim.

What is Principal's customer service availability?

Principal offers customer service by phone Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm CST. Customers can also reach the insurance company by phone, fax, email, and via Facebook and Twitter. Life insurance customers can initiate the claims process online or by phone, and important claims forms and information are provided online for both life and disability insurance customers.

What is Principal's claims process?

The carrier’s claims process is different for individual life insurance and disability insurance customers.

Life Insurance Claims Process

Customers can access the documents they’ll need using the insurance company’s claims requirements tool or by downloading a claims packet from the website. Customers can also call the company to initiate a claim.

Disability Insurance Claims Process

To initiate a disability claim, customers can reach the carrier via email, phone, fax, or mail. Principal will then send a claim form to be completed and returned by the customer. After the claim is received, a dedicated claims contact will keep the customer up to date throughout the review process, with a response promised within seven days of receipt of all pertinent claims information and documentation. ‘

The claims form and other required forms can also be downloaded directly from the company’s website.

Does Principal Financial Group create a user-friendly experience for customers?

Principal’s official website offers a lot of information, but customer service and claims information is a little difficult to find after wading through multiple Help Topics. The carrier allows life insurance and disability insurance customers to initiate the process online or download all of the pertinent forms. Customer service is available 7:00 am to 7:00 pm CST, allowing for plenty of time for customers to get the answers they need. Customers can also message the company via Facebook and Twitter. The company promises a 7 to 10 day turnaround for most claims once all of the information has been received.

Does Principal have good life insurance?

Principal Financial Group offers individual and group life and disability insurance, as well as other group benefits for employers. Principal’s life insurance offerings include term life insurance, permanent life insurance (including universal life, indexed universal life, variable universal life, and survivorship life insurance). The company also offers temporary life insurance coverage of up to $1 million.

Principal offers several riders for its life insurance policies, including:

• Accelerated death benefit rider: Provides up to 75 percent of the death benefit (up to a $1 million maximum) if the policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal illness. There’s no extra charge for this rider.
• Child protection rider: Adds eligible children (aged 14 day to 18 years) to the policy when it’s issued, with coverage available between $5,000 and $25,000.
• Conversion extension rider: Allows the policyholder more time to convert their term policy to a permanent one. It activates at the end of the full level premium period or when the turns 70, whichever comes first.
• Disability waiver of premium rider: Waives the premium as long as the insured is totally disabled, subject to rider limitations.

You can learn more about the carrier’s offering by visiting their website or speaking with a local representative. 

Is Principal a good insurance company?

Principal was founded in 1879, giving it well over a century of experience in the life insurance business. It has received high ratings from A.M. Best and the BBB, and provides a comprehensive and stable set of life and disability insurance for individuals, as well as group policies for employers. There are not a lot of customer reviews to be found, but those that exist are both positive and negative. Overall, however, Principal Financial Group can be considered a good insurance company.

Principal Financial Group Customer Reviews

Yelp

“I had a very pleasant experience with Principal. I spoke to a representative who helped me get through the process for a simple term life policy. He was helpful and explained everything. Also great with email and phone communications/follow ups. The process went fairly quickly. Cost was average compared to two others I've looked into. If you're looking for life insurance policy, I'd recommend.”

Yelp

“I have never received a run around from a company more than this insurance company. They will do everything they can to not pay your claims. They will deny even if you submit everything they require and ask you to resubmit, resubmit, resubmit. Then the time is up and your past timely filing and then they don't have to pay. Buyer Beware.”

TrustedChoice.com's Final Review

We award Principal Financial Group a final rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. To begin with, Principal has a long history in the life insurance industry. Its high ratings from A.M. Best and the BBB speak to its unquestionable financial strength, one of the most important factors in choosing a life insurance company. The carrier provides a variety of life and disability insurance options for individuals and businesses. Principal reportedly offers competitive rates and favorable underwriting for people with common medical conditions—a huge positive for customers who may have trouble finding affordable coverage elsewhere. It offers extended customer service hours and promises prompt claims resolutions.

Customers report both positive and negative experiences with the carrier, calling into question if the company’s promises are kept in their real-world interaction with customers. What’s more, Principal does not work with independent insurance agents, which can make accessing its policies more difficult in some communities. We recommend finding out more about the carrier online or with the help of a qualified financial advisor.

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