AIG Life Insurance Review 2023

Not all life insurance companies offer as wide a range of life insurance plans and options as AIG does. If you are unsure of whether you want to opt for the term, whole, or permanent life insurance, then AIG might be the option for you. It provides a wide range of customizable life insurances with various coverage options. In this article, we compile important information from multiple resources, including AIG Life Insurance reviews.  

About the Company

AIG is a multinational company that provides consumer and commercial services to clients in more than 75 countries over 4 continents. Some of the company’s services include life and retirement insurance, travel insurance, financial advisory, and accidental death and health insurance. The group includes the following insurance companies:

• American General Life Insurance Company
• The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company
• The United States Life Insurance Company.

American International Group (AIG) was founded in 1919 by Cornelius Vander Starr in Shanghai, China. It is a public limited company with annual revenue of around $49.75 billion dollars as of year-end 2019. The firm is currently headquartered in New York, United States. 

AIG has regional headquarters in every country the company operates in or has subsidiaries in. Its vast reach makes it one of the biggest insurance companies worldwide. Moreover, its diverse range of insurance services and well-known name in the insurance world make it a popular choice indeed. 

The company has an A+ rating by Fitch for its life insurance services. Even though regulators receive a large number of complaints about AIG Life Insurance Company, the number can be attributed to the company’s size and scale of business operations and not deteriorating quality of service. 

How We Reviewed

We follow an extensive procedure to bring you an authentic and detailed review. Mentioned below are the steps we follow to compile our review.

• We first analyzed the website to identify features that stand out, coverage types, ease of use, and more. 
• We then asked for quotes in different conditions to get an idea of the high-end and low-end price points.
• We also studied reviews and visited sites with AIG life insurance ratings to gauge the customer satisfaction rate.
•  Lastly, we uncovered data on the company’s financial strength.

Through our research, we found out whether the site is well-explained or not. Is the interface user-friendly or confusing? Is it easy to use and understand for all users of all ages or just for tech-savvy clients? We analyzed the entire customer experience before we put together our review.

Where is it Available?

AIG life insurance provides insurance services in all states across the US except for Houston and New York, where it provides insurance via its sister companies. Even though AIG headquarters are in New York, the company provides life insurance via the United States Life Insurance company in the city and via The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company in Houston.

Life Insurance Reviews

AIG life Insurance offers three types of life insurance plans, making it ideal for people looking for flexibility. Whether you are a newly-wed couple, a parent to be, or a senior with life-threatening health conditions, there is an option for all. The three types of life insurances provided by AIG are:

• Term Life Insurance,
• Universal Life Insurance,
• Guaranteed issue Whole Life Insurance

Term life insurance offers coverage for up to $10 million for a period of 10 to 30 years. You get to enjoy the benefits of a fixed premium throughout the entire term. The policy can cover funeral costs, credit card debts, college education for children, housing, medical bills, and other childcare-related expenses. You can get all this and more for a premium as low as $14 per month. 

Universal life Insurance by AIG life provides permanent coverage to the buyer. You can enjoy life stress-free, knowing that you have AIG life insurance policy backing you up. With it, you can get supplemental retirement income, tax diversification, and the option to accumulate cash. You can choose your coverage type, monthly premium, and coverage period. 

Not many insurance companies offer guaranteed insurance coverage, especially to aged individuals. However, AIG life guarantees insurance coverage to all individuals between 50 to 85 years of age. The coverage option ranges from $5,000 to $25,000. The guaranteed AIG life insurance for seniors does not require any medical exam or health-related questions. 

Acceptance is guaranteed.  However, the company follows the graded death benefit policy. You will get a lower death benefit if you pass away after a few years of purchasing the policy. You can get the full benefits if you pay a 100% premium in the first two years or pay the full cost of the death benefits within three years.

The company has a very limited range of life insurance riders, which can be off-putting for many. On a life insurance policy, you can get the Accidental Death benefit, terminal illness, waiver of premium in case of disability, and Child riders.  There are many competitors out there who offer a wider range of riders to their customers.

Life Insurance Pricing

Pricing and rates for life insurance by AIG vary by age. The company suggests you get life insurance as early on in life as you possibly can. The sooner you buy life insurance, the lower the premium will be. If your needs change and grow, you can always upgrade your coverage plan. 

You can also reach out to the company and speak to an agent to get an AIG life insurance quote and an idea of the payment and coverage plan you should be purchasing. The graph below is an accurate representation of the average monthly payment plan by age and by gender.

The graph gives you an idea of the average AIG life insurance rates by age. The company recommends that you buy insurance as soon as you can to get a good deal with a low premium. Each year that you stall the purchase, you add a good 8 to 12% to the cost of the policy.

The ideal age to purchase life insurance to get the best rates is 25-34. You can put in different term lengths and coverage plans to find one that is most affordable for you. For those aged 35-54, life insurance is more of much-needed financial security than it is for 25-34-year-olds. Here, consider buying permanent life insurance instead of term to get the maximum benefits at affordable price points.

AIG life insurance costs and premiums rise substantially for those aged above 55, but the guaranteed life insurance policy of the company makes it ideal for many. You can expect to pay almost $100 dollars per month for a $25000 coverage plan.

Out of all life insurance plans, term life insurance is the most affordable one. A 40-year-old male can expect to pay around $13.81 per month for a $250,000 coverage plan while a 40-year-old female can expect to pay around $13.59 for the same plan.

Life Insurance Discounts

The company does not offer AIG discounts of any sort. If you want reduced rates, then you have to purchase the policy at a younger age. The older you get, the higher the price becomes. You can, however, customize your insurance plan to find the policy that suits your budget and covers your insurance requirements. 

Customer Satisfaction and Financial Strength Review

You can find customer testimonials on the company’s site praising its quality of customer service. The average rating is 4.75 out of 5 stars. However, most of the reviews are from 2018 and 2019, and in recent years, regulating agencies have received an onslaught of complaints against the company. In fact, AIG life insurance complaints have now exceeded what is normal or acceptable for a company of this size.

Many long-term customers complain about the increased premium becoming too hard to manage financially. There have also been multiple complaints about miscommunication and cancellation of policies. 

The average time to resolve customer complaints also seems to be extensive, which has bred a sense of frustration in many customers. 

There is no AIG life insurance BBB rating as the business is not BBB accredited. However, there are over 268 complaints on the platform, of which only 164 were resolved in the past 12 months. One of the customers also filed a follow-up complaint saying she was only partially refunded and had issues with the claims procedure.

As far as financial strength ratings go, the company is financially stable and considered investment-worthy. 

• Moody – A2 (Stable)
• Fitch – A+ (Stable)
• Standard and Poor’s – A+ ( Strong)
• AIG Life Insurance AM Best rating –  A (excellent)

Customer Support

Customer testimonials on AIG’s website praise the customer support network. However, the majority of negative reviews across multiple other platforms depict prevalent dissatisfaction with the average response time, usefulness in the resolution of complaints, and more. 

You can contact AIG through the customer service helpline on weekdays from 7 am to 7 pm Central time. You can even reach out to the company online by logging into your account and filling an online application or a complaint. 

If you cannot access the account or reach the AIG Life Insurance customer service helpline, you can search the website’s blog and Frequently Asked Questions section to access answers on how to purchase a policy, file a claim, and more.

Ease of Buying and Claims Handling

The claims process appears to be straightforward. To file a claim, you have to fill out the death claim form. Once you submit the form, a member from the claims handling team will contact you within 24 hours. 

If the claim is less than $15,000, then you may be eligible for expedited claims processing. Even if it isn’t expedited, you can expect to receive a check within 5 business days via mail. 

If the AIG Life Insurance claim exceeds $15,000, all beneficiaries will receive a claim packet within 5 business days. The packet includes forms and details about the required documentation etc. Once you submit all documentation via your selected mailing method, the claim review process starts. According to the company, the process takes around 5 business days and 3 to 5 days to mail. 

However, a prevalent complaint on review forums regarding the claims process is that the entire process is very time-consuming. There appears to be a substantial amount of back and forth between the company and the beneficiary even after the submission of all documents and the AIG Life Insurance claims forms. Customers also face similar problems when filling out cancellation forms and filing for refunds.

Comparison with Competitors

AIG’s three main competitors are New York Life, Prudential, and Transamerica.

• AIG vs. New York life– New York Life has a better market reputation than AIG Life Insurance. The company also has better financial strength than AIG, and the customer satisfaction rate also seems to be higher. In fact, New York life insurance also offers Variable Universal Life Insurance, which AIG does not.
• Prudential vs. AIG Life Insurance – Prudential Life Insurance does not offer whole life insurance but offers variable universal life insurance instead. However, Prudential is a lot costlier than AIG life. Even though it does offer a lot more riders, the price point places it out of reach for many. 

• AIG vs. Transamerica – Both companies compare well in terms of size and total customers served. However, AIG is a lot more affordable and has a slightly better performance and reputation than Transamerica, making it a better option.