Prudential Life Insurance Review 2023

Last modified: September 8, 2021
  • Claims 9
  • Buying 8
  • Transparency 8
  • Coverage Variety 9
  • Value For Money 8
  • OVERALL RATING 8.4
  • Financial Strength A+
  • BBB Rating N/A
  • Coverages 9/10
  • Flexibility Policy Customization Available
  • Discounts N/A
  • Support Phone, Email, Live Chat
  • User Ratings 7/10
  • Availability Available in all 50 states
  • Pricing Average

About the Company

Prudential Financial, Inc. was established in 1875 and was founded by John F. Dryden in New Jersey. The Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 500 life insurance company has subsidiaries providing people with life insurance and other financial products such as investment management. 

Prudential Life Insurance Company sells products and services to institutional customers and retail across the United States and in more than 40 countries. They include life insurance, mutual funds, annuities, pension, retirement, pension-related investments, securities brokerage services, asset management and administration.

This was just a brief overview of the life insurance company. You can read the Prudential life insurance reviews to get a better idea about the company’s different coverage options and features. 

How We Reviewed 

Prudential has been around for several decades and sells its policies worldwide. It’s one of the life insurance companies most people consider when looking to get a life insurance policy. 

You can learn more about the life insurance provider by going through this review. The review discusses the various life insurance coverage options, discounts, financial strength rating, customer satisfaction, and more. 

For our review, we checked Prudential’s website to determine the availability of information and resources regarding its products and services. We looked at the Prudential life insurance rating to determine how well it performs in different areas such as filing claims, pricing, and quotes. Continue reading to learn more about the life insurance provider and how it stacks against the competition.

Where Is It Available?

Prudential life insurance is available in all 50 states. Prudential has a distribution network in the financial sector and operates from the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The company has more than hundreds of subsidiaries and over $4 trillion in life insurance. 

The Prudential life insurance number is 1-800-944-8786, 1-800-778-2255, and 1-800-575-7780 for different policies. 

Life Insurance Coverage Options

People can apply for the following coverage options from Prudential life insurance:

  • Prudential Term Life Insurance

  • Term Essential

The policy comes with business and death benefits. It covers mortgage payments, final expenses, and other debts. It replaces low income for your family. It’s affordable and customizable. You can add life insurance riders to add children, waive your premium if you fall ill or disabled, or cover yourself after an accident. 

  • Term Elite

The policy comes with death benefits. It covers mortgage payments, final expenses, replaces lost income for your family, and other debts. It has almost the same features as Term Essential, but with added benefits. They include applying your premium payments towards obtaining permanent life insurance if you convert your current policy to it in the first five years.

  • SimplyTerm

The policy comes with death benefit and covers mortgage payments, final expenses, and other debts, including lost income replacement for your family. It is affordable and accessible, as you can buy it online. You can apply for 10, 20, or 30 years of life insurance policy up to $500,000.

  • PruLife Return of Premium Term

The policy comes with death benefits and added income. It covers mortgage payments after your term ends. When your term ends, they will return your premiums tax-free to you. In the event you come down with a chronic illness, you can add the Living Needs Benefits rider.

  • PruTermOneSM

The policy comes with business and is for small business owners who need to pay off short term loans and require additional coverage. This is the only life insurance policy that offers term life insurance for one year at one time.

  • Prudential Universal Life Insurance


  • PruLife Universal Protector

The policy comes with legacy, business, offset taxes, and death benefit. The policy is good for anyone who wants to adapt their life insurance coverage and provide a guaranteed benefit for loved ones. It also allows you to adjust your premium and term. The flexible policy also offers riders to add children, covering you after you get into an accident, or waive premiums if you fall ill or become disabled. 

  • PruLife Essential UL

The policy comes with offset taxes, business, and legacy. Obtain this life insurance if the legacy is important to you. The policy offers an enhanced cash value rider, which allows you to access your money during your life.

  • PruLife SUL Protector

The policy comes with offset taxes and legacy. It is good for couples planning their estate. It covers the lives of two people and pays a death benefit if one of the two insured under it passes away. You can choose how and to whom you want to pass your wealth. You can pass it to charity tax-free as well.

  • Prudential Indexed Universal Life Insurance 

  • PruLifeFounders Plus UL

The policy covers business, offset taxes, illness, and death benefits. Good for people who want to maintain their insurance protection and want high cash value when they retire. You can choose from two options to build cash value. You can also add riders to cover minor children, waive the premium if you fall ill or become disabled, or cover yourself after you get into an accident.

  • PruLife Index Advantage UL

The policy covers illness, offset taxes, business, and added income. It is good for people who want to maintain their insurance protection and want high cash value when they retire. You can use it to build cash value based on the S&P index.

  • PruLifeSurvivorship Index UL

The policy comes with offset taxes and legacy. Couples planning their estate should choose it. The coverage covers two people. When both people pass away, it’ll pay off the death benefit. You can add riders to the policy to increase cash value, illness, and protect your estate. 

  • Prudential Variable Universal Life Insurance 

  • VUL Protector

The policy comes with added income, legacy, offset taxes, legacy, and business. Choose this policy if your goal is to protect your assets, and you’re in a good financial place to take on moderate risks to receive moderate returns. 

  • PruLife Custom Premier II

The policy comes with business, offset taxes, illness, and added income. You can take out this policy if you plan to grow your assets, and you have the wealth needed to take on higher risks to get bigger returns. The no-lapse guarantee continues to cover you and your family in the face of a fluctuating market, causing the policy’s cash value to increase or decrease. This is also true in the policy’s early stages and is valid for up to 10 years when the money hasn’t reached the policy coverage’s limits. 

  • PruLife SVUL ProtectorSM

The policy comes with business, offset taxes, and legacy. You can use it to leave a legacy for your preferred organization or charity. The policy provides coverage for two people. When both people pass away, it pays out the legacy. With the policy, you also receive the option to choose from several riders and a no-lapse guarantee. 

Riders

People can add the following riders to their Prudential life policy:

  • Accelerated death benefit rider allows people access to a part of their death benefit in the event they fall ill with a chronic or terminal illness.
  • Child rider allows people to obtain affordable life insurance for their kids and gives them the option to convert it to permanent coverage down the line. 
  • Cash value rider allows people to obtain higher cash surrender in the event they need to surrender the coverage at the start. 
  • Estate protection rider increases the death benefit people receive by up to 100% if both people on it pass away within four years of buying the policy, and it is available on survivorship coverage options.
  • Waiver of premium rider waives the person’s premiums in the event they become disabled before they turn 60 and as long as they are still considered as disabled. If they become disabled before their 60th birthday, their premiums will be waived for as long as they are considered disabled.
  • Accidental death benefit rider provides an extra death benefit in the event they pass away due to an accident such as an auto accident.

Prudential Life Insurance Pricing 

Prudential life insurance quotes differ from person to person and are based on various factors such as age, gender, and medical condition. These factors will decide the monthly Prudential life Insurance payment

You can ask the customer representative for the Prudential life insurance payment options. 

To give you an idea of the Prudential life insurance cost, we took quotes for a 20-year term life insurance policy with $250,000 coverage for a person in good health. You can expect to pay $52 each month based on this estimation. Here are the quotes: 

Age Male Female
25 $19.47 $16.63
30 $20.78 $17.50
35 $21.22 $17.94
40 $24.94 $22.87
45 $30.62 $29.75
50 $46.59 $41.13

 

Prudential Life Insurance Discounts

Prudential does not offer any discounts to life insurance policyholders, including policyholders with more than one insurance product.

Customer Satisfaction and Financial Strength Review

Prudential has a strong financial strength rating with varying customer reviews regarding its products and customer service. There is no Prudential life insurance BBB rating, and the insurance provider is  not accredited by the Better Business Bureau. 

On the BBB website, the Prudential life insurance complaints are about 100, which is less, given the website has more than 20 million users. Most people complained about the insurance provider’s slow response times, change requests and issues, poor customer service, and failed correspondence. 

The 2019 J.D. Power study gave them 3 out of 5 stars in customer satisfaction, which is an average rating. They have a good financial rating. Prudential life insurance AM Best rating is A+, and the S&P rating is AA-. ConsumerAffairs gave them 3.2 stars, and Trustpilot 1.6 stars.

 

Platform Rating
BBB  N/A
ConsumerAffairs 3.2
Trustpilot 1.6

Customer Support 

The Prudential life insurance customer service can assist you with online accounts, life insurance policy, and filing death claims. There is more than one Prudential life insurance customer service phone number that you can dial.

Call 1-800-944-8786 for policy numbers starting with the letter “V,” 1-800-778-2255 for all policy numbers, and 1-800-575-7780 for intermediate and weekly premium policies with a policy number starting with the letter “M” or a policy number with 9 digits. 

The Prudential life insurance customer service hours for policy questions and filing claims are Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and customer service hours for intermediate and weekly premium policies are from Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Ease of Buying and Claims Handling

You can get a quote from Prudential from the company’s website by answering a few questions. If you like the quote, you can buy life insurance online, or you can contact them to buy a quote. The Prudential life insurance claim process requires you to fill out a form with the requested information. 

The Prudential life insurance claim form asks you to fill in the policy and social security numbers, name of the insured, date of birth and death, and the funeral home’s name and number. You can file a Prudential life insurance claim within minutes, as it only takes 7 to 8 minutes to file a claim online.

Comparison With Competitors 

We compared Prudential with two of its major competitors on the market:

Prudential vs New York Life Insurance

Both offer a similar range of products. You can purchase whole life insurance from New York Life, but not from Prudential, as they only sell term life insurance. 

Prudential vs Northwestern Mutual Insurance

The maximum age to apply for life insurance is 80 with Northwestern Mutual and 65 with Prudential. Northwestern Mutual also doesn’t offer as many riders as Prudential does. Northwestern Mutual has whole life insurance, whereas Prudential does not.

Pros & Cons

The Pros

  • Sells a wide variety of life insurance policies
  • The policies are highly customizable
  • Very high coverage limits

The Cons

  • Whole life insurance policies are not available
  • A long list of policy options may cause confusion
  • Lengthy approval process

Final Verdict

Prudential offers numerous term life and universal life insurance plans. You may be eligible for possible rate reductions if you change your lifestyle, such as quitting smoking. They are also a good choice for people older than 60 or people who aren’t in good health due to Prudential’s lenient underwriting guidelines. 

They also have a good financial strength rating, and most customers are satisfied with them. They are not a good fit for you if you want to get whole life insurance and/or want a short and quick approval process, as it can take around 8 weeks for approval to come unless you choose the expedited option. We hope the Prudential life insurance reviews help you make the right decision.

FAQs

How do you buy Prudential’s life insurance?

You can buy online or through an agent.

What does Prudential’s life insurance cover?

Prudential’s term life insurance plans cover specific terms, and its universal life insurance plans cover a custom term or until the insurer’s death.

Can I choose my Prudential agent?

You can choose your agent if you know their name or look for one through an online directory. The life insurance company can also help you find an agent near you or have one contact you.

Are all Prudential life insurance products available to apply for online?

Prudential only offers SimplyTerm policy with an online application, and you will have to buy all other products through an agent.

Can a Prudential agent submit my life insurance application if I started it online?

You can start the SimplyTerm policy application online, and an agent can complete it for you. 

How long do you have to claim Prudential life insurance?

State laws determine how long you have to file a claim to receive insurance benefits. An agent can help regarding it.

How much can you borrow from your Prudential life insurance policy?

You can borrow the entire amount, given the plan is not in default and the loan value exists.

Can I get a discount on my Prudential life insurance premium if I have other policies with Prudential?

No, they don’t offer discounts.

Do all Prudential life insurance policies pay dividends?

No, they don’t anymore. 

Can I receive my Prudential documents electronically?

With your consent, you can request to receive your documents electronically. 

What is the maximum amount of life insurance coverage I can currently apply for with Prudential?

The maximum coverage they offer is up to $75 million per life insurance policy with higher limits depending on the case. 

Does Prudential’s life insurance pay for suicidal death?

State laws determine if life insurance will cover death by suicide. People who have had the plan for two years or more may be eligible to file a claim. An insurance agent can better guide you regarding it. 

Can you get Prudential life insurance if you have cancer?

The life insurance provider may cover certain cancers, but approval of coverage largely depends on the type of cancer, age, and treatment. 

Does Prudential life insurance cover a drug overdose?

State laws determine if life insurance will cover a drug overdose. People who have had the plan for over 2 years may be eligible to file a claim. An insurance agent can better guide you regarding it.

What benefits do Prudential life insurance policies include?

Prudential life insurance reviews show that the company has some additional benefits. Term life insurance policies come with tax-free death benefits. You can get other benefits through Prudential’s universal life plans, such as tax-deferred cash value and various options for interest crediting.