Pacific Life Insurance Review

Pacific Life insurance was founded in 1868 and initially offered life insurance, retirement annuities, and investment products for both businesses and individuals. 

Over the years, the company has added to its offering. Currently, it provides term life insurance and a wide variety of permanent life insurance policies, including indexed universal life insurance.

Pacific Life has received an A+ rating from AM Best, one of the world’s largest credit rating agencies. This rating indicates that Pacific Life has a high degree of financial security, and will be able to pay out their customers’ claims. 

The company was also awarded 4th place in the 2021 J.D. Powers’ Customer Satisfaction Survey, indicating that most of their customers are highly satisfied with their service. 

Headquartered in California, Pacific Life sells its products across the country, although some of them are not available in New York. Its range of insurance policies includes:

• Term life insurance policies.

• Whole life insurance policies.

• Universal life insurance policies.

If you’re considering signing up with this insurer, read our Pacific Life insurance review to learn everything you need to know about their policies, insurance riders, and how their offering compares to other life insurance companies.

Pacific Life Insurance Benefits and Limitations (Pros & Cons)

What Are the Different Types of Life Insurance Policies?

One of the most daunting aspects of buying life insurance is understanding the different types of insurance policies and which is best suited to your needs. 

If trying to find the right type of life insurance feels overwhelming, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.

Here are some of the most common kinds of insurance policies and explanations of what each of them means:

Term life insurance

Term life insurance is a type of life insurance policy that is taken out for a set period (also known as the “term”). The terms are most frequently ten, twenty, or thirty years.

If the policyholder passes away while their term life insurance policy is active, their insurer will pay out their death benefit to their beneficiaries. 

If the term expires and the policyholder does not pass away, the policy will be canceled and the policyholder will need to buy a new life insurance policy.

Term life insurance is usually the most affordable life insurance policy and is a good option for those who want coverage for a specific period in their life—for example, while paying off their mortgage. 

It is also an ideal option for those who are on a tight budget but want to ensure their family will be protected if they pass away.

There are various types of term life insurance policies, including:

This is the most straightforward type of term life insurance policy. Both the insurance coverage and premiums remain the same throughout the term. If the policyholder adds optional benefits to their policy, this may increase the cost of their premium.

Like level term life insurance, the premium and coverage for yearly convertible insurance also remain the same throughout the duration of the policy. The difference between these two types is that yearly convertible term insurance can be converted to a whole life insurance policy that provides lifelong protection.

Million plus level term life insurance is a level term life insurance policy where the policyholder has $1 million or more in insurance coverage.

Permanent life insurance

Unlike term life insurance policies, permanent life insurance policies do not expire after a set term. Instead, they remain active until the death of the policyholder.

There are two types of permanent life insurance policies:

Whole life insurance policies have fixed benefits, a set coverage limit, and a fixed premium. These policies also feature a savings component. 

This means that a portion of the policyholder’s premiums accumulate in a savings account that they can draw from or borrow against.

Universal life insurance policies are more flexible than whole life insurance. They allow the policyholder to update their benefits and coverage at any time during their policy’s duration.

These policies also have a savings component that policyholders can borrow against or draw from.

What Types of Life Insurance Does Pacific Life Provide?

Customers can choose from five types of life insurance products with Pacific Life:

• Term life.

• Whole life.

• Indexed universal life.

• Variable universal life.

Want to learn more about each of the policies Pacific Life offers? Keep reading to find out which one may be best suited to your needs.

Pacific Life term life insurance

Pacific Life’s term life insurance is generally the most affordable of their life insurance options. As we have outlined, term life insurance only provides coverage for a specific term and then expires. 

This makes it an ideal option for customers looking for low-cost insurance that covers a specified period of their lives (e.g. until you’ve paid off your mortgage or up until retirement).

Pacific Life has two types of term life insurance policies:

• PL Promise Term.

• Pacific Elite Term.

• 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30-year term options.

• Premiums remain level and can be paid annually, quarterly, or annually.

• The minimum death benefit coverage is $50,000.

• You can convert your PL Promise Term policy into a universal life policy at any point, as long as you are under 70 years old.

• 10, 20, and 30-year term options.

• Premiums remain level and can be paid annually, quarterly, or annually.

• The minimum death benefit coverage is $750,000.

• You can convert your Pacific Elite term policy into a universal life policy at any point, as long as you are under 70 years old.

Pacific Life whole life insurance

Whole life insurance often appeals to those who want permanent yet simplified life insurance with solid guarantees.

Pacific Life provides three whole life products:

• Pacific PremierCare Choice 100

• Pacific PremierCare Choice Max. 

• Pacific PremierCare Choice Multi-Pay Max. 

While each of these policies has unique features, there are also some similarities: 

• They can only be issued to customers between 35 and 70 years old.

• There is a minimum coverage limit of $36,000.

• There is a $600,000 maximum coverage limit.

• The policyholder can add optional long-term care and terminal illness benefits.

Indexed universal life insurance is similar to universal life insurance, but these policies offer flexible premiums and death benefits. The cash value of these policies will fluctuate based on the performance of an index, such as the S&P 500.

Pacific Life offers five types of indexed universal life insurance policies:

• Pacific Horizon IUL.

• Pacific Trident IUL.

• Pacific Discovery Xelerator IUL 2.

• Pacific Indexed Accumulator 6.

• Pacific Indexed Estate Preserver 3.

Pacific Life’s variable universal life insurance

• Permanent life insurance that provides protection throughout your lifetime.

• Flexible premiums.

• Flexible death benefit options.

• You can draw or borrow from the savings component.

Pacific Admiral VUL

• Premium permanent life insurance that provides protection throughout your lifetime.

• Flexible premiums.

• Flexible death benefit options.

• You can choose to save via a portfolio of investment options or indexed accounts.

Policy Add-ons and Additional Benefits (Policy Riders)

Insurance policy riders are optional benefits that you can add to your insurance policy for comprehensive protection. While these provide additional coverage, they are not available on all types of life insurance policies and are likely to increase the cost of your premium.

Pacific Life offers the following policy riders:

Chronic illness care

If you are diagnosed with a chronic illness, you can request an advance on your entire death benefit up to $3 million, and receive this via annual or monthly payments.

Terminal illness benefit

If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, you can get up to 75% of your death benefit paid out earlier.

Long-term care rider

If you are diagnosed with an illness and require long-term care, this rider will reimburse your care expenses for between two and eight years. 

Accidental death benefit rider

If your death is the result of an accident, your beneficiaries will receive an additional death benefit sum.

Children's level term insurance rider

You can get up to $10,000 coverage for each dependent child aged between 15 days and 18 years old.

Disability waiver of premium rider

If you become disabled, your policy premiums will be waivered if you have this optional add-on. This is only available to policyholders under 65 years old.

Pacific Life Insurance Reviews and Ratings

If you’re trying to understand which life insurance company is right for you, it’s essential to compare the ratings they have received from various rating agencies. 

These ratings will show you whether the company is financially stable and how satisfied consumers are with their products, giving you a good overview of whether they are reliable. 

Here’s how Pacific Life insurance compares to other life insurance companies:

Payments and Claims from Pacific Life Insurance

Payments

Unlike many other life insurance companies, Pacific Life does not have a mobile app. However, you can sign in to their website to make payments online. Once on their website, you can set up recurring payments and update beneficiaries, but you can’t cancel your account.

If you want to cancel your life insurance coverage with Pacific Life, you will need to directly call or email them.

Claims

If your beneficiary needs to make a claim from Pacific Life after your death, they can notify the company online. After this, your beneficiary will be provided with step-by-step information guiding them through the claiming process.

Your beneficiary can also call Pacific Life directly or speak to one of their insurance agents for help submitting a claim.

Our PolicyScout Final Review

Now that you’ve read our Pacific Life insurance review, you may be wondering whether they’re the right insurer for you.

Pacific Life is a reputable life insurance company that has received an A++ rating from AM Best and 819/1,000 points from J.D. Powers. This indicates that it is financially stable and customers are satisfied with the service they have received from Pacific Life.

Most of Pacific Life’s insurance policies are universal life insurance or whole life insurance. Although the company offers more insurance riders than many of its competitors, many of these riders are limited to policyholders who have a universal or whole life insurance policy. 

Many life insurance companies do not cover policyholders who are over 75 years old, so if you are an older person, Pacific Life may be a good choice for you as they provide coverage to policyholders who are up to 90 years old.

Pacific Life does not have a comprehensive online offering or a mobile app. This makes it a good option for those who prefer to handle their insurance by talking directly to an agent. 

If you want to learn about an insurer’s offering online before receiving a quote, you may find it frustrating that Pacific Life provides limited information about their coverage and qualification requirements on their website.

Overall, our PolicyScout rating of Pacific Life is positive—but it’s important to note that the only way you can be sure they are the right insurer for you is by reading reviews and comparing quotes. Read our life insurance reviews to get a better idea of how Pacific Life compares to other insurers.

Want to learn more about Pacific Life insurance? Talk to one of our skilled consultants to find out whether they’re the best insurance company for your unique needs. Give us a call at 1-888-912-2132 or send an email to Help@PolicyScout.com.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Pacific Life Insurance

Is Pacific Life a reputable life insurance company? 

Pacific Life is a reputable life insurance company that has received an A++ rating from AM Best. 

AM Best is the world’s largest financial credit rating agency and only awards an A++ to insurance companies that have demonstrated the ability to meet their financial obligations to their policyholders.

Is Pacific Life insurance available in my state?

Some of Pacific Life’s insurance products are not available in New York.

Does Pacific Life insurance require a medical exam?

If your life insurance coverage is $249,999 or lower, you will not need to take a medical exam.