You should check out Ladder Life if you're seeking for a straightforward life insurance coverage that you can get fast and for the cheapest premium cost. They provide a quick, entirely online application procedure that can accept your application in just a few minutes. Additionally, a lot of applicants won't need to undergo a medical examination.
![]() |
Review of Ladder Life Insurance for November (2022) |
The flexibility to alter your coverage as necessary is Ladder Life's most distinctive feature, though. Once you have a policy in place, you can enhance the death benefit if you want extra life insurance protection. However, you can lower the death benefit if your need for coverage decreases. As a result, you are now responsible for both the policy's face value and your premium payment.
Life Insurance Ladder
Online life insurance is offered by Ladder Life through reputable life insurance providers. Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company, and Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York are a few of them.
Online applications are accepted for all positions. You will have access to qualified insurance professionals' support whenever necessary. They are paid a salary rather than commissions. They won't try to upsell you on more insurance than you require or other items that are primarily intended to boost their own profits.
Ladder Life Products
The only form of life insurance offered by Ladder Life is term. However, the business provides unique policy options. Once a policy is in effect, you can change the premium and the death benefit's payout amount.
Policy Types
Only term life insurance products are available from Ladder Life. Term life insurance is the least expensive sort of life insurance, thus this is only partially accurate. The complexity of whole life insurance vs term insurance is another consideration. The goal of Ladder is to offer the least expensive plans in the quickest length of time. That product type is best suited by term life insurance.
You should be informed that Ladder Life does not provide policy riders when you apply. These are supplemental coverage options that offer extra advantages but at a greater cost. Because of the higher premium, Ladder Life does not provide them.
However, one significant feature Ladder Life offers that is almost unheard of in the life insurance industry is the flexibility to change the amount of coverage on your policy. The word "ladder" appears in the firm name for this reason.
You can "ladder up" the death benefit amount if you need to raise your policy's value several years after purchasing it. On the other hand, you can "ladder down" the policy amount and reduce the death benefit if your need for life insurance coverage decreases. Simply by going to the Ladder Life account page, you can do either.
Naturally, the premium will rise as the policy amount is laddered up. Additionally, the premium will drop if the death benefit is laddered down. This gives you control over both the policy's face value and the premium you will have to pay.
Terms
The maximum term duration of an insurance is calculated by Ladder Life using a single, straightforward formula. Your age today plus the duration of the term cannot exceed 70. The longest term length, for instance, is 30 years if you are 40 since 40 plus 30 equals 70. The longest time is 20 years if you are 50 since 50 plus 20 equals 70.
They provide periods in five-year increments, ranging from 10 to 30 years. Therefore, regardless of your current age, 30 years is the longest term for which you are eligible. Your nearest birthday will be used as the basis for underwriting the policy. For instance, if you turn 45 in four months, you will be counted as being 45 years old rather than 44.
Cost
The rates for a Ladder Life policy will vary depending on a number of variables, like those for other life insurance plans. These include your age at the time of application, state of health, profession, interests, and even geography.
For a 40-year-old male non-smoker in good health with no known major illnesses in the family, we requested information and got the following quotes for $1 million in insurance coverage:
- 10 years – $37.50 per month
- 15 years – $47.70 per month
- 20 years – $61.80 per month
- 25 years – $96.90 per month
- 30 years – $114.30 per month
The following quotes for $1 million in coverage were provided after we requested a policy for a non-smoking, 40-year-old female in excellent health with no family history of serious illnesses.
- 10 years – $35.40 per month
- 15 years – $46.80 per month
- 20 years – $52.50 per month
- 25 years – $77.10 per month
- 30 years – $88.50 per month
Men pay somewhat greater monthly premiums than women do, which is standard practice in the life insurance sector. This is due to the fact that women often live many years longer than males do.
Due to the longer the term of the policy, the more likely it is that the company will ultimately pay the death benefit, the premium rate rises.
Limits
Policies from Ladder Life are offered with benefits starting at $100,000 and going up to $3 million. They will go up to $8 million, but candidates seeking benefits beyond $3 million must fill out a full application and undergo a medical examination.
Ladder Life insurance provide a single death benefit payment that is made to the beneficiaries in a lump amount following the insured's passing. There is no option to disburse rewards through a different payout method or in installments, unlike certain life insurance firms.
You must be informed that Ladder Life does not provide standard life insurance riders when you submit an application. Important clauses like accelerated death benefits (living benefits), double indemnity (increased death benefit for death resulting from an accident), and conversion provisions that let you change the term policy into a permanent, whole life policy before the term expires won't be able to be added as a result.
Coverage/Eligibility
Again, Ladder Life provides protection for those 20 to 60 years old. Since each application is only for one person, it is not possible to apply jointly with your spouse or to include children. Separate applications must be submitted by each applicant.
Only US citizens and legal permanent residents who have resided in the US for at least two years are eligible for policies. The District of Columbia and all 50 states, as well as Ladder Life, offer policies.
Application Process
The whole application process is conducted online, which is one of the main ways Ladder Life keeps premiums cheap.
In as little as a few minutes, you can get coverage. You won't frequently be needed to get a medical examination. Ladder evaluates each application using the relevant medical databases. If your medical history allows, there won't be a need for an exam.
However, if your health history or application indicate that a medical exam is necessary, approval may be postponed for several weeks.
Ladder Life – Company Standing
Underwriting
Ladder Life will ask you for basic information like your name and email address when you fill out the application. They will also ask for the following details in order to determine the underwriting decision:
- Your height and weight
- The last time you used tobacco or nicotine products
- Your date of birth
- Has a biological parent or sibling been diagnosed by a physician with diabetes, cancer, heart disease, Huntington’s Disease, or Lynch Syndrome prior to the age of 60?
- Your annual household income
- How many children you have
- What is your remaining mortgage balance?
Your eligibility for life insurance coverage and the cost of the policy's premium will be based on the answers to these questions.
The company's decision to set a 60-year-old age restriction does seem to be an effort to recruit mostly young, fit candidates. You will need to submit an application elsewhere if you are above 60.
Be advised that if you obtain a policy with a death benefit of more than $3 million, the firm will demand a medical test.
Financial Strength
The most reputable insurance company rating agency in the business, A.M. Best, does not rate Ladder Life for financial strength because they are not the direct issuer of the policies they offer.
However, these are the ratings for the issuing companies:
- Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York, A+ (Superior)
- Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company, A (Excellent)
- Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, A+ (Superior)
Since all three of the firms have "A" ratings from A.M. Best, it is quite probable that each will have the resources to pay the policy death benefit if necessary.
Awards or Certifications
As of July 2022, Money.com ranked Ladder Life as "Best for Flexible Coverage."
Third-party Ratings
We have taken into account each of the three suppliers that power Ladder Life's credit ratings in addition to their financial strength ratings from A.M. Best. The company's capacity to satisfy its financial commitments and carry on business as usual is indicated by its credit rating.
Insurance Company / Rating Service | Moody’s | Standard & Poor’s |
Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York | A1 (5th of 21 ratings) | AA (3rd of 21 ratings) |
Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company | N/A | N/A |
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America | AA | Aa3 |
The news is as good here as it is with the ratings for financial strength. The credit ratings of each of the three businesses are displayed in the table below from two significant corporate credit rating agencies:
Ladder Life Service Ratings
The Better Business Bureau does not appear to have rated Ladder Life. Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, however, receives the highest rating from the BBB—an "A+"—and has been recognized by the organization since 1972.
In a similar vein, Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company has been recognized by the agency since 1990 and has an A+ BBB rating. However, Allianz Life Insurance Firm of New York does not have a BBB rating; this is perhaps because the company is associated with Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.
How Ladder Life Insurance Was Rated
Based on the supplied policy conditions, the size of the death benefits, and the cost of the premiums, we have assessed Ladder Life. Along with application eligibility, we've also considered the company's ostensible underwriting standards.
The company's reputation and financial standing as well as other people's knowledge about it have also been taken into account.
Finally, we looked at elements that distinguish Ladder Life in terms of the insurance market niche that they serve.
The Our Ladder Life Insurance Review in Brief
After researching Ladder Life, we have come to the conclusion that it is not among the top life insurance providers. Only term life insurance, for those predominantly in excellent health between the ages of 20 and 60, is available as an insurance product.
But the lack of policy riders is our largest issue. The lack of any from Ladder Life severely restricts the flexibility of their plans.
The absence of riders guaranteeing insurability (the ability to renew coverage without undergoing a medical exam), an accidental death rider, an accelerated death benefit rider, and particularly the absence of a convertibility rider are of particular concern.
A reintroduction of premium rider is another addition we would like to see, especially given the focus on term insurance. If the policy term expires without any benefits being given, that clause permits you to get a refund of the premiums you've already paid. Although this rider has a higher premium, it is a smart alternative to have with term insurance.
This is not to argue Ladder Life has no redeeming qualities. The firm distinguishes itself with its laddering method, which lets you enhance coverage as needed and decrease it when the need decreases.
As a result, it will be simpler for you to get a low-cost insurance while you are young and have little money, increase it when your family and/or financial demands grow, and then decrease it as those needs diminish.