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Pacific Life Insurance Review: Flexible Policies and Outstanding Support

Review Updated
Kailey Hagen
Author: Kailey Hagen
Kailey Hagen
Kailey Hagen
Writer

Kailey Hagen has been writing about small businesses and finance for almost 10 years. Articles she's written for The Motley Fool have been syndicated to USA Today, MSN, and Yahoo! Finance. She specializes in personal and business bank accounts and software for small to medium-size businesses. She lives on what's almost a farm in northern Wisconsin with her husband and three dogs.

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This life insurer is a good fit for: People seeking excellent customer service and flexible policies who don't mind working with an agent. Read our full Pacific Life insurance review to learn about everything it has to offer.

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Best for Customer ServicePacific Life
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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Full Pacific Life insurance review

Pros

  • Excellent customer service
  • Good selection of policies
  • Variety of riders for easy policy customization

Cons

  • No online quotes
  • Limited account management tools
  • Whole life insurance only available through workplace plans

Pacific Life insurance at a glance

  • Average costs: Contact Pacific Life
  • Term life policy limits: $50,000 minimum for PL Promise Term, and $750,000 for Pacific Elite Term.
  • Whole life policy limits: Contact Pacific Life
  • Riders/Add-ons: Terminal Illness Rider, Waiver of Premium rider, Accelerated Death Benefit Rider, Children's Level Term Insurance Rider
  • Eligibility: Contact Pacific Life
  • Discounts available: None
  • Other insurances offered: Variable universal life insurance, indexed universal life insurance, life insurance with long-term care benefits

Top perks

Excellent customer service

Pacific Life ranked in the top five life insurance companies in J.D. Power's 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. This suggests that most of its customers are satisfied with its service. But even more impressive is how few complaints the company receives. An average National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint ratio is 1.00. A lower score indicates fewer complaints than normal and a higher score indicates more complaints than normal. Pacific Life's ratio was among the lowest in the industry at 0.01.

Good selection of life insurance policies

Pacific Life offers a variety of policies to suit many types of people. Besides term and whole life policies, it also offers a few kinds of universal life insurance. These policies last a lifetime and are flexible and more affordable than whole life policies. Pacific Life also offers policies that include long-term care benefits for those worried about health issues as they age.

Easily customize policies with riders

Most Pacific Life policies include several optional riders. These are things like accelerated death benefit riders for those who need to access their death benefit while still alive and disability waiver of premium riders. This keeps the policy in good standing if the policyholder can't keep up with the payments because they become disabled.

What could be improved

No online quotes

Pacific Life doesn't have an online quote tool. Those interested in its policies will have to contact a Pacific Life agent to get an estimate. This will take a little more time than an online quote tool, but it also ensures that customers get an accurate price.

Limited online account management tools

Policyholders hoping to make changes to their Pacific Life insurance policy must contact the company. There is an online account where customers can view their policy terms and pay bills, but they can't make updates to the policy itself.

Whole life insurance is only available through workplace plans

Pacific Life offers whole life insurance policies through workplace plans. But there isn't an option for an individual to buy one of these policies on their own. Those interested in a permanent life insurance policy should look into universal life insurance or consider another provider.

Pricing

Pacific Life offers competitive life insurance rates to most groups. Older adults and smokers pay more, but this is typical of all life insurers. Unfortunately, Pacific Life doesn't allow its customers to get a quote online. Those interested in its policies will have to set aside some time to call the company.

Alternatives to consider

For those who want to get a quote and manage their policy online: State Farm offers competitive life insurance policies and customers can get a quote online. The company provides great customer service and online account management tools as well. But it's not licensed in all states.

Read State Farm review

For those who want whole life insurance outside a workplace plan: Mutual of Omaha offers guaranteed-issue whole life insurance plans. There's no medical exam or health questions necessary to get this coverage. But its coverage limits may not be high enough for some.

Read Mutual of Omaha review

Policy options

Pacific Life offers a number of policy options in its lineup.

Term life insurance

Pacific Life offers two types of term life insurance policies: Pacific Elite Term and PL Promise Term. Pacific Elite Term offers 10-,20-, and 30-year term coverage with an attractive conversion benefit to any eligible Pacific Life cash value life insurance policy. PL Promise Term life insurance provides a simple and affordable death benefit protection for a specific period of time -- 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years.

For the Pacific Elite Term, face amounts range from $750,000 to $3,000,000 and up. The PL Promise Term policies have a minimum death benefit of $50,000.

Policyholders can choose how often they want to pay their premiums. They also have the option to convert the policy into permanent life insurance at any time before they turn 70. There's no extra underwriting approval necessary to make this happen.

Whole life insurance

Pacific Life's whole life insurance policies are only available to employers looking to offer this as an employee benefit. These plans offer fixed premiums and a guaranteed minimum interest rate.

Variable universal life insurance (VUL)

Pacific Life offers several variable universal life (VUL) policies that are designed to be flexible. With these accounts, the cash value component of the policy is invested in securities. The policyholder gets to choose from several investments. There are some guaranteed minimum interest options for those concerned about potentially losing money.

Indexed universal life insurance (IUL)

Indexed universal life insurance (IUL) is another type of flexible, permanent life insurance. IUL policies put the cash value in an account that tracks the performance of a popular market index without actually investing the funds. These policies have guaranteed floors to ensure the policyholder doesn't lose money if the index does poorly.

Life insurance with long-term care benefits

Pacific Life offers life insurance policies that can help policyholders pay for long-term care, should they need it. This is in addition to the death benefit that gets paid to the policyholder's heirs after they pass.

Riders/add-ons

You'll find a few riders or add-ons available with Pacific Life policies.

Accelerated death benefit rider

This rider enables the policyholder to access some of their death benefit while still living if they become terminally ill. This way, they can use the funds to help cover the costs of their medical care. This is available at no additional cost for the PL Promise term policies.

Disability waiver of premium rider

For those who have this rider, the policy remains in good standing for several months even if the policyholder is unable to pay due to disability.

Children's level-term insurance rider

This extends some life insurance coverage to the children of the policyholder, up to $10,000 per child.

Terminal illness rider

Policyholders can access up to $250,000 or 75% of the policy's death benefit if diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Application process

There's some basic information about Pacific Life's policies on its website, but customers must call the company to get a quote or apply for a policy. A Pacific Life agent will work with the prospective customer to identify how much coverage they need and which policy is the best fit for them.

Who is eligible for Pacific Life insurance?

Pacific Life doesn't publish specific eligibility information on its website. Presumably, policyholders must be at least 18 years old to buy a policy. For a Pacific Elite Term Plan, the maximum age for a 10-year policy is 75 years old, for a 20-year policy the maximum age is 65 years old, and for a 30-year policy the maximum age is 50. The age limit for a PL Promise Term policy is 70.

Those interested in a Pacific Life whole life insurance plan must have access to a qualifying workplace plan.

For more information on who qualifies for a Pacific Life insurance plan, contact the company.

Customer service and ratings

Pacific Life scored well above average in J.D. Power's most recent U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. It received the fourth-highest rating among 22 companies. It is ranked No. 5 with a score of 793 out of 1,000. The industry average is 774.

The company has also received very few complaints against it. It has one of the lowest NAIC complaint ratios of any life insurance company.

This life insurer is a good choice for:

Pacific Life insurance is a good option for:

  • Those who place a premium on customer service
  • Those who don't mind working with an agent to customize a policy
  • Those who want a flexible policy that gives them plenty of choices

But for those who prefer to manage their policy online, State Farm might be a better choice. And for those seeking whole life insurance they can buy on their own, Mutual of Omaha is worth a closer look.