Prudential Life Insurance offers 11 policies with customizable options, such as free riders, with some policies. Prudential’s life insurance policies range from term policies to variable universal policies — but no whole life policies are currently available. If you’re considering purchasing a policy from Prudential, learn about each policy, along with the pros, cons and average costs to help affirm that you’re choosing the best company for your needs.
Lindsey Crossmier Financial Writer Lindsey Crossmier is an accomplished writer with experience working for The Florida Review and Bookstar PR. As a financial writer, she covers Medicare, life insurance and dental insurance topics for RetireGuide. Research-based data drives her work. Read More
Lamia Chowdhury Financial Editor Lamia Chowdhury is a financial content editor for RetireGuide and has over three years of marketing experience in the finance industry. She has written copy for both digital and print pieces ranging from blogs, radio scripts and search ads to billboards, brochures, mailers and more. Read More
Eric Estevez Owner of HLC Insurance Broker, LLC Eric Estevez is a duly licensed independent insurance broker and a former financial institution auditor with more than a decade of professional experience. He has specialized in federal, state and local compliance for both large and small businesses. Read More
Fact CheckedA qualified expert reviewed the content on this page to ensure it is factually accurate, meets current industry standards and helps readers achieve a better understanding of retirement topics.
How to Cite RetireGuide.com's ArticleAPA Crossmier, L. (2023, May 3). Prudential Life Insurance. RetireGuide.com. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://www.retireguide.com/life-insurance/companies/prudential-life-insurance/
MLA Crossmier, Lindsey. "Prudential Life Insurance." RetireGuide.com, 3 May 2023, https://www.retireguide.com/life-insurance/companies/prudential-life-insurance/.
Chicago Crossmier, Lindsey. "Prudential Life Insurance." RetireGuide.com. Last modified May 3, 2023. https://www.retireguide.com/life-insurance/companies/prudential-life-insurance/.
Prudential Financial has been providing financial products and services to customers for over 145 years. As of August 2022, Prudential has $1.41 trillion assets under management.
Prudential has a U.S. Individual Life & Group Insurance Division — which has operations in Asia, Europe and Latin America — and an International Insurance Division, which distributes insurance policies through markets in Japan, Korea and other foreign countries.
You can purchase a wide range of financial products and policies from Prudential, such as life insurance, health insurance and annuities. Prudential’s individual life insurance policies have made $155 million in sales in late 2022.
Prudential is a well known and trusted company in the industry. All public insurance ratings suggest this to be true.
AM Best and Fitch Ratings provide ratings for life insurance companies that test the company’s financial strength and ability to meet financial commitments. Prudential has a relatively high rating, meaning you can likely trust the company to pay out life insurance policies in a timely manner.
Prudential Financial Ratings| Fitch Ratings | AA- (Stable) |
| AM Best | A+ (Superior) |
Prudential offers term, universal, indexed universal and variable universal life insurance. Prudential doesn’t currently offer whole life policies. There are 11 different types of life insurance policies available from Prudential.
Life Insurance Policies Offered by PrudentialYou should always compare life insurance policies when determining which to purchase. You should also account for how much life insurance coverage you need. Some policies have coverage limits or are simply more affordable in the long run.
A term policy, for instance, is more affordable than most universal policies according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. For example, a term policy with a $500,000 death benefit is typically going to be more affordable than a universal policy with the same amount of coverage.
Your premiums for all Prudential term life insurance policies — SimplyTerm, Term Essential and PruTerm One — are level. This means, your premiums stay the same while your policy is active.
One unique quality of Prudential term policies is the flexible payment schedule. While term policies are charged monthly, your payment schedule can be monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or annually.
Did You Know?All Prudential term policies can be converted into any permanent life insurance policy without needing a new medical exam.
Source: Prudential FinancialThe face value and age limits vary depending on which term policy you choose. Some policies even come with free riders. Learning more about each of Prudential’s term policies can help you decide which would suit your financial and lifestyle needs.
Prudential Term Life Insurance Comparison Chart| Type of Term Policy | Term Lengths Available | Free Riders Included | Face Amount Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| SimplyTerm | 10-, 15-, 20- or 30-year term lengths | Terminal Illness Rider | $100,000–$1 million |
| Term Essential | 10-, 15-, 20- or 30-year term lengths | Living Needs Benefit | $100,000–$1 million |
| PruTerm One | 1 year (renewable) | Living Needs Benefit | $50,000–$10,000,000* |
*Minimum face value will increase to $250,000 if you’re over 76 years old.
Prudential offers two universal life insurance policies — PruLife Essential UL and PruLifeSUL Protector — that both offer lifelong coverage. You can build cash value with each universal policy, with a portion of the monthly premiums earning fixed interest.
The premiums are flexible, meaning, you can adjust the amount and when to make payments.
Face value limits and age restrictions vary depending on which type of universal policy you’re considering. Understanding each type can help you determine if one of Prudential’s universal policies suit your needs better than the other.
Prudential Universal Life Insurance Comparison Chart| Type of Universal Policy | No Lapse Guarantee | Free Rider | Age Issue Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| PruLife Essential UL | Yes | Living Needs Benefit | 0–90 |
| PruLife SUL Protector | Yes | Guaranteed Policy Split Rider | 18–85 |
The PruLife SUL Protector policy is unique compared to other universal policies. The PruLife Sul Protector policy offers a death benefit that covers two individuals, with a death benefit payable upon the death of the second insured.
The other noteworthy feature is the Guaranteed Policy Split Rider. This rider allows the policy to be split into two individual policies if the insured individuals get divorced.
AdvertisementPrudential offers three indexed universal life insurance policies — PruLife Founders Plus UL, PruLife Index Advantage UL and PruLife Survivorship Index UL. All policies have lifelong coverage with cash value that builds tax-deferred interest that is credited to an indexed account’s performance. You can access the death benefit while you are still alive.
Each indexed account has a minimum cresting rate of 0%, and the maximum crediting rate varies by policy. The riders you customize with each indexed universal life policy also varies depending on which policy you choose.
Prudential Indexed Universal Life Insurance Comparison ChartPrudential offers three variable universal life policies — the VUL Protector, PruLife Custom Premier II and PruLife SVUL Protector. All of Prudential’s variable universal policies have lifelong coverage with tax-deferred cash value. You can access your cash value while you’re still alive.
Your cash value grows by being placed into underlying investment options, like bonds and money market portfolios. Prudential includes free riders and different investment options with each variable universal policy type.
Prudential Variable Universal Life Insurance Comparison ChartThe cost for a life insurance policy from Prudential ranges depending on what type of policy type you choose, your overall health, age and the coverage you need. If you’re young and healthy, Prudential will likely have average prices compared to competitors.
For example, Prudential has similar prices compared to State Farm for a 30-year term policy.
Estimated Cost for a 30-Year Term Policy with $250,000 of Coverage| Life Insurance Company | Estimated Monthly Premium |
|---|---|
| Prudential | $17.12 |
| State Farm | $19.14 |
*Premium quote is based on a 25-year-old woman looking for coverage.
If you need a higher coverage amount, expect your premium quote to be higher. The table below shows average Prudential costs for $1 million of coverage, along with age increases.
Cost for 20-Year Term Policy from Prudential| Age | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| 35 | $80.06 | $102.81 |
| 45 | $143.06 | $187.69 |
| 55 | $318.06 | $440.56 |
| 65 | $977.81 | $1,471.31 |
*Quotes are based on a 20-year Term policy with $1 million in coverage
Prudential doesn’t have quotes for their universal policies online. You will have to contact one of their representatives to confirm average costs or receive a personalized quote.
Prudential is a trusted company that has been around for over 150 years and they have a variety of policies with free add-on riders. Prudential also has decent ratings from numerous credit rating agencies.
However, Prudential does not have a whole life policy available. According to the Insurance Information Institute, whole life is the most popular type of permanent life insurance. Not having whole life policies available limits their customers’ options.
Prudential also lacks easy access to quotes online. The only type of policies you can get an estimated premium quote for is the term policies.
Pros and Cons