Protective Life Insurance Company Review

Is Protective Life a good insurance company?
Written by Rene Todd Fields
Written by Rene Todd Fields

Environmental and natural resource advocate and business owner, Rene Todd Fields, has more than 10 years of experience working within both private and public sectors and enjoys helping individuals understand their options and make solid coverage decisions.

Updated

Protective Life Insurance Company at a Glance

  • Founded in 1907
  • Protective Life is based in Birmingham, Alabama
  • Offers coverage for individuals
  • “A+” (excellent) rating by Better Business Bureau (BBB)
  • “A+” (superior) rating by AM Best
  • Large network of independent insurance agents
  • Strong financial stability
  • They offer life insurance, asset protection, and retirement products

Protective Life pros: Long-standing company with more than a 110 years worth of experience in the insurance industry. Provides a full range of term, whole, and universal life insurance, as well as retirement annuities. Offers fast and transparent application processes for potential customers. Online applications are available for term life policies. Offers transparent claims processing.

Protective Life cons: Concerning volume of customer service complaints by policyholders on the BBB website. In the 2020 J.D. Power US Life Insurance Study, Protective Life fell below the industry average for overall customer satisfaction. Not BBB accredited. More than 48 customer complaints filed against the insurance company through the BBB over the 12 months.

What Type of Insurance Does Protective Life Offer?

Protective Life is a specialty insurance company that accommodates both individuals and businesses and offers the following types of coverage.

Life insurance

  • Whole
  • Universal
  • Term

Retirement

  • Fixed annuities
  • Indexed annuities
  • Immediate annuities
  • Variable annuities           

Additional Services

  • Asset protection
  • Affinity program
  • Commercial mortgages
  • Structured settlements

For both businesses and individuals, Protective Life offers a range of life insurance and retirement options. Whether you are in the market for life insurance, retirement annuities, asset protection, or a combination, Protective Life might be the right choice for you.

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 Protective Life

Protective Life was founded in 1907, making it a well-established insurance company with more than a century’s worth of experience in offering quality life insurance, asset protection, and retirement annuities to businesses and people alike. Today, Protective Life still helps families provide financial security for individuals and their loved ones when they most need it.

Protective Life’s rich history and large size has helped it to earn a reputation as a markedly stable insurance company. The insurance company currently supplies coverage to Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio. According to LinkedIn, Protective Life has between 1,001 - 5,000 employees with almost 2,800 of them on the social media platform. Additionally, AM Best states that the insurance company belongs to the $2 billion or greater financial size category.

Protective Life‘s established status helps aid the carrier’s reputation as a financially stable insurance provider with a strong outlook for the future. AM Best is the leading global credit rating agency that monitors the insurance industry. They give Protective Life an “A” rating, which indicates the insurance company is an excellent choice for insurance customers. The “A” rating ensures that the insurance company can offer prospective customers secure, guaranteed coverage from a reliable and highly regarded insurance company.

AM Best is one of the oldest rating companies in the world and was established in 1899. Reviews from AM Best specifies an insurance company’s financial strength and solvency and are based on thorough evaluations of the company’s business profile, operating performance, and annual report. For clients not familiar with insurance companies’ reputations, AM Best’s ratings system allows them to make a knowledgeable decision about what insurance company they can trust to meet their needs and remain a strong, economically sound company in the long term.

What Discounts Does Protective Life Offer?

Protective Life offers a handful of discounts for their customers, most notably for life insurance. These discounts include the following.

  • Policy rider discount: Commonly referred to as policy riders and special endorsements, these components can be used to enhance a policy or to meet specific needs.
  • First-to-die insurance discount: A first-to-die policy is designed to cover the lives of two people at the same time. When one person dies, the surviving person receives the death benefit of the policy, which can be substantial.
  • Early-in-life purchasing discount: By purchasing a policy early in life, the more affordable a life insurance policy will be.
  • Healthy lifestyle discounts: Maintaining a healthy diet to control weight, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure can result in significant discounts.

An independent insurance agent can help find you more discounts available through Protective Life, helping you get the most out of your money and out of your coverage.

Use our directory to find the best insurance companies to meet your needs. Locate companies that specialize in your specific coverage needs and get connected to an agent near you.

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Protective Life Customer Service

Protective Life allows customers to handle claims over the phone or through their website 24/7. Many customer service options are also available through their official website, including payment options and policy information.

  • Customer service availability - Protective Life’s contact center for customer service has the following hours of operation.


Hours (Central)


Monday-Friday 8am - 5pm


Saturday Closed


Sunday Closed

Protective Life sells insurance through a network of insurance brokers, including independent insurance agents. Independent insurance agents are available to handle claims and insurance matters for you, making customer service simple.

Protective Life FAQ

What is Protective Life's average claim response time frame?

Protective Life’s claims reporting hotline is available for customers in need via a toll-free phone number. Customers can also submit claims and file appropriate documents online through the website, or via mail or fax. The insurance company does not make an official claims response time frame promise on their website.

What is Protective Life's customer service availability?

Protective Life offers a toll-free phone line for potential and current customers to get in touch with them during restricted hours, Monday through Friday. However, the insurance company’s online claims reporting department can be reached 24/7.

What is Protective Life's claims process?

Customers can report claims via phone during business hours, however, Protective Life urges 24/7 claims reporting through their website. The following claims processing information is available through the official website on claims processing.

  1. Notify Protective Life: Visit online 24/7 or call 1-800-424-1592 during business hours.
  2. Filing a claim: The insurance company will send out a claim packet, simply provide the required information, which will include a certified copy of the death certificate and other beneficiary identification documents.
  3. Receive your funds: As soon as Protective Life receives all necessary documents and your claim is approved, they will send out a benefit payment within one business day.
  4. Financial counseling: After you receive your benefit payment, they suggest contacting your financial planner or Protective for resources to help you.

To begin a claim, notify Protective Life at the following link https://claims.protective.com/ or call 1-800-424-1592. Their claims team is available Monday - Thursday 7 am - 6:30 pm and Friday 7 am - 5:30 pm CST. You will need the following information to file a claim.

  • Your personal information including name, address, phone number, etc.
  • Information on the deceased including name, cause of death, social security number, etc.

Additional information about required documentation is listed on the insurance company’s website. Protective Life customers can also check the status of their existing claims online, 24/7.

Does Protective Life have good life and retirement insurance?

Protective Life offers policies up to $50 million, with very competitive pricing. They also offer both term and permanent life insurance, along with living benefit riders in case you become terminally ill. Protective Life is a financially stable and healthy company, which is good news for customers. The insurance company also offers other various types of life insurance and annuity products available to suit your needs.

Is Protective Life a good life insurance company?

According to reviews from across many platforms the insurance company has some pretty major issues with their online claims reporting, customer service, and phone payments. Google reviews are mixed and BBB reviews are pretty low. Protective Life is more than willing to speak with unhappy customers to try and resolve the customer’s issues. They offer low rates along with other discounts ensuring they can offer the most competitive rates for life insurance and retirement options.

Does Protective Life's website create a user-friendly experience for customers?

Customers can file claims, check claims status, pay bills, and update policy preferences through their official website. As far as social media is concerned, the insurance company does have a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, making itself more available to customers.

Protective Life Customer Reviews

bbb.org
“Took me 4 months to finish application. Rude customer service. Worst experience I've ever had with a "business". Consider this, I'm giving them my money, and this was my experience. Now imagine if I passed away while this policy was active how hard/impossible it would be to get the money my family would be owed. Stay far away from this company.” —Chris S.


bbb.org
“I have read the 29 reviews so far provided. It is clear to me that this company was negligent in acquiring the contract to administer the influx of policies from Liberty Mutual. I am a retired systems analyst, who has designed systems for numerous companies. Having 5 policies which were affected by the transfer, I am still scratching my head about how such mishandling of such important information for policy holders. Only 4 of the policies have been "minimally" handled by the system. The fifth, so far, is still "in limbo." When I logon to my account as an example I learn the following: the policy is for $10,000 (I knew that when I purchased the policy in 1972), A premium payment is due (actually the amount should say simply that the premium is a certain amount, since a payment had been made and acknowledged last month), there is a bill due on which the premium due is $0.00 (the amount due was for interest on a loan I had against the cash value), etc. etc. It is too bad this business did not hire competent Systems Analysts who have had experience in handing such a major task. And started the process long before the transfer!” —Roy M.


bbb.com
“Protective Life earned 4 stars out of 5 for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and financial strength ratings from A.M. Best.” —Nerdwallet rating


usnews.com
“In our ranking of the 16 Best Life Insurance Companies of 2021, Protective Life comes in No. 13 with a score of 3.7. It scores slightly higher than rivals like Mutual of Omaha and Prudential. However, Protective Life earns fourth place in our rating of the Top 5 Cheapest Companies Overall. As such, one of Protective's major strengths is its affordable price point -- especially for older customers. It is also a worthwhile choice for customers who would like a lot of customization options through riders, as well as some online tools. Still, customers will need to work with agents to purchase many of the policies, which some may find less convenient than purchasing coverage online. You may also need to reach out to a customer service representative for certain information on specific policies, as not all facts and figures are easily accessible on the Protective Life Insurance Company website. Consider the pros and cons below to help you decide if Protective is the right choice for you and your family.”


Google reviews
“Based on 34 reviews for Protective Life Insurance Company.”


TrustedChoice.com's Final Review

We award Protective Life a final rating of 2.4 out of 5 stars. The insurance company’s established reputation clearly shows Protective Life’s reputability and strength. Protective Life has notably strong financial stability and offers reliable coverage to customers in 5 states including Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio. However, there are a troubling amount of customer complaints about the insurance company’s claim responses and customer service, which shows that Protective Life still has plenty of room to grow. The Better Business Bureau has received a number of complaints filed against the insurance company within recent years, which also prevents them from being one of our top picks. It is plain to see that millions of customers currently trust Protective Life to take care of their life insurance and retirement product needs, which is definitely worth looking into further.

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