Guardian Life
Author: Kaitlyn Short
The Guardian Life Insurance Company is financial protection and insurance company that focuses on helping companies and families. They break down their services as planning for family, finances, business, and retirement and they provide several types of protection products related to these categories, including life insurance, disability income insurance, annuities and investments, individual dental insurance, workplace benefits, and 401(k) plans.
Guardian is a mutual insurance company, which means their company is owned by the policyholders who receive annual dividends from Guardian's profits. Guardian's focus and stated responsibility are to the clients and policyholders and this is reflected in their investments and commitments. Guardian began operating in 1860 and has over 150 years of solid experience and history.
The Good
- Clear Website
- Company Values
- Riders
- Customer Service
- Pricing
Variety of Insurance Policies
Guardian offers three types of insurance policies: term, whole, and universal: Term Life
- 10-, 15-, 20-, and 30-year coverage term lengths available
- Premiums do not increase during the initial term
- Option of upgrading to a permanent policy (whole or universal life) without additional medical exams within the first 5 years of the policy
- No cash value
Whole Life
- Coverage extends for the lifetime of the policyholder
- Premiums do not increase
- Accumulates cash value
- Qualifies the policyholder to receive annual dividends from Guardian
Universal Life
- Coverage extends for the lifetime of the policyholder
- Accumulates cash value
- Premium payments amounts are flexible
- Additional riders can be added
Clear Website
Guardian clearly presents the benefits of each policy type and explains how each policy type generally works. The website is clear, direct, and easy to navigate without extra advertisements or promotions to distract. Guardian is also pretty transparent about its products, services, and overall company values.
Company Values
One of the advertised benefits of Guardian is that as a mutual life insurance company, their priority is to their clients. This affects the ways they conduct business, how they invest and their long-term goals. It also makes whole, universal, and variable life policyholders eligible for annual dividends. While the dividends are not guaranteed, they can be used to repay policy loans, purchase additional insurance, reduce premium amounts, or simply provide a cash payment to the policyholder.
Riders
Guardian has several riders that can be added to the various policies, including a living benefits rider that does not increase the amount of the premium. This rider stipulates that if the policyholder becomes terminally ill, he/she can access up to 80% of the death benefit depending on the specific circumstances and policy.
Customer Service
Guardian provides customers with several reliable ways to contact their customer service departments, including a general customer service phone number and mailing address. For life insurance questions and concerns, they provide:
- Call center phone number
- Individual life call center fax number, email address, and mailing address
- Variable life fax number, email address, and mailing address
Pricing
Guardian's pricing is a little higher than many other insurance companies provide. The exact amount will depend on the policy holder's current health (including body mass), health history, and the results of a medical exam.
The Bad
- No FAQ
- Exclusions
- Extra Premiums
While Guardian Financial offers a number of quality products and services, there are some limitations to their life insurance platform. Prospective clients should be aware of the following items prior to enrolling in their insurance program:
No FAQ
While Guardian's website is clear and easy to navigate, they do not provide specific information about pricing, exclusions, fees, or riders for any of their life insurance policy types, nor is there a FAQ page. Potential customers must contact Guardian or find a financial representative in their area to receive a quote or have their questions answered.
Exclusions
There are only two main exclusions to each life insurance policy:
- if the insured commits suicide within the first two years
- if any false information was reported
Extra Premiums
Guardian offers a Long Term Care rider that includes the accelerated living benefits, and this can be added to a life insurance policy instead of being a separate policy. However, this is not built-in and will cost the policyholder an extra premium. It is also not generally available and can only be added to certain types of whole life policies. Because a variable policy gains cash value through investments in the market, there is both the potential for an increase in the value if the market rises, but the policyholder will also take on all the risks associated with investing in the market. If the market goes down significantly or consistently, policyholders run the risk of losing the original invested amount.
The Bottom Line
The Guardian Life Insurance Company is a well-established insurance company that focuses on providing protection services and products. They are a mutual life insurance company, which means their policyholders are also their stockholders and therefore may receive annual dividends and have a vote in the company.
Guardian offers four types of life insurance (term, whole, universal, and variable). Each has easy-to-find, general information online. They offer term life policies of 10, 15, 20, or 30 years and allow term policies to be converted to permanent policies within the first 5 years of the policy life. The premium amounts for their term policies are a little higher, but that higher price reflects the quality of services provided.
For each of the whole, universal, and variable life products, the policies last for the lifetime of the policyholder and accumulate a cash value. Additional riders are available, some for an added costs, but all the policies can have a living benefits rider added without any increase in the premium amounts.
Although Guardian's website is very clear and makes it easy to find information, they do not provide details or pricing information for any of their policies and potential customers will have to contact a representative in their area for more information.
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Dale L Farmer Littleton, CO
5 years ago
Review Source
Dave Brinton
6 years ago Edited September 14, 2021
