SelectQuote Life Insurance Review: 3 Need-to-Know Facts

Last Updated: July 2020

Disclaimer: We are NOT affiliated with SelectQuote. We are a competitor, and this is our review of SelectQuote life insurance services.

SelectQuote is the biggest life insurance agency in the US. You may have seen SelectQuote advertising on TV or the radio. If you are considering SelectQuote for life insurance, review how their company works below before you decide.

SelectQuote reviews from customers are easy to find, but we will help you decide if they’re right for you. There are some advantages and disadvantages when working with them that you should know.

3 Facts You Should Know About SelectQuote
Advantages to Working With SelectQuote
Disadvantages to Working With SelectQuote
SelectQuote Reviews from Agents & Consumers
The Best Alternatives to SelectQuote

Life Insurance is Boring. Let’s Get To The Root Of It! Here are the key takeaways…

Selectquote is the biggest life insurance agency in the US. They compare policies from 13 carriers to help people shop. Their life insurance agents use a high-pressure sales script & have poor customer service reviews. Healthy people can find a good policy, but people with medical conditions should look elsewhere.

3 Facts You Should Know About SelectQuote

We’ll start with several things that you should know before you do business with SelectQuote.

#1: SelectQuote is a Call Center

At SelectQuote, licensed agents have massive sales goals to hit and use high-pressure sales techniques to get you to apply for coverage on your initial phone call.

If you do buy a policy from SelectQuote, you’ll likely never be able to contact your agent again. You are working with a call center agent whose goal is to sell life insurance. Most independent agencies have agents who you can contact after your purchase, and make their careers around life insurance.

July 2020 Update: As of May 2020, SelectQuote is a publicly-traded company. Also, SelectQuote recently announced that they are hiring 1000 remote life insurance agents to sell final expense policies over the phone.

They will only offer Mutual of Omaha, Americo, TruStage, and AIG final expense plans. These companies all offer great final expense policies.

#2: SelectQuote Offers Policies from 13 Life Insurance Companies

While SelectQuote is independent, they only offer 13 life insurance companies:

American General Life Insurance Company (AIG)
Banner Life
Globe Life
Protective Life
Prudential
Companion Life Insurance Company
TruStage Life Insurance
United of Omaha
William Penn Life Insurance of New York
Lincoln National Life Insurance Company
SBLI of Massachusetts
Pacific Life Insurance Company
Americo

These are the same core companies offered by the other life insurance call centers. Nothing sets them apart. The life insurance quotes you receive won’t be any different from another call center.

When it comes to purchasing life insurance, the best advice we can give is to compare as many companies as possible. Often times, the life insurance companies offered by SelectQuote do not have the best price available.

A real independent life insurance agency or agent will search the entire market for the most affordable insurance policy available.

#3: Suze Orman is Paid to Endorse SelectQuote

Many consumers watch Suze Orman on TV and think that SelectQuote is endorsed by her because she passed some sort of integrity or value test.

SelectQuote has simply paid Suze Orman enough money to endorse them.

We have nothing against Suze Orman, but we just want consumers to know the truth behind her endorsement of SelectQuote.

Advantages to Working With SelectQuote

One of the biggest advantages of this company is that it is an independent agency. This means they can offer coverage from a variety of different life insurance companies.

So, if you have diabetes or another health impairment, you will find that this is good news because you will be able to see which insurance companies will be more lenient when it comes to having any kind of medical issues and pre-existing conditions.

SelectQuote has Low Rates for People in Good Health

For those with no health issues, SelectQuote’s guaranteed level rates will typically be some of the best on the market. They offer 13 life insurance companies, and the 13 companies they offer have great pricing for those without any health or lifestyle issues.

However, it must be noted that SelectQuote can’t offer you a lower insurance premium than any other agency. So, when you purchase the insurance policy through this company, it will be the same as if you were to purchase it from any other agent.

There are also guaranteed acceptance life insurance policies available for those with health issues.

Everything is Completed Over the Phone and Quickly

They have embraced technology and have made the process easy to secure life insurance coverage and schedule an exam for the consumer. They streamlined the sales process, so the life insurance application process doesn’t take much time.

It’s important to note that most online life insurance agencies have these same advantages. It’s really easy to get anyone who is healthy the best rates on the market. Every online life insurance agency has this technology.

So take these positive SelectQuote Reviews in context with everyone else. If you already have life insurance and want to know why you didn’t get preferred life insurance rates, we can direct you to someone who can help answer your questions.

Before you make your final life insurance purchase decision, we recommend looking into other top life insurance companies as well. See our reviews on Zander Insurance, Primerica Life Insurance, and United Home.

Disadvantages to Working With SelectQuote

There are a few disadvantages to working with SelectQuote as well.

Primarily, their agents have less time for you because they have to make calls throughout the day. Read below for a more in-depth look at some of the cons of working with this company.

SelectQuote Agents Must Use a High-Pressure Sales Script

We know a few agents who have left SelectQuote and told us about their sales quotas, so they had to put some pressure on you. They are trained to complete as many applications as they can.

Basically, you’re a number to their bottom line.

In order for these agents to make a good living, they have to sell a good amount of policies each month which means they don’t dedicate as much time as they should to each person. This can ultimately lead to agents becoming short on the phone so they can quickly move onto their next call.

There is No Customer Service from Your Agent

An annual review of your life insurance policy is standard in the life insurance industry.

However, this is not performed by SelectQuote. You will never hear from the insurance agent who sold your policy. You won’t be able to call your insurance agent with questions, because if your agent still works for SelectQuote, they won’t return your calls.

SelectQuote Cannot Get Great Rates for People with Health Problems

SelectQuote call center agents are not well-trained in underwriting impaired risks.

They simply don’t have the knowledge of the life insurance underwriting process that they should to provide high-risk life insurance shoppers with the best rates.

A good agent will know which companies view certain conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer most favorably. From there they can help you get the lowest rates.

SelectQuote Agents Upsell Home and Auto Insurance

Some agents have admitted that they are required to upsell their home and auto insurance to people who are calling in for life insurance policies.

Some have said that they need to ask people about their interest in other policies as many as three times per call. When this happens, it makes people feel as if the company is more interested in their bottom line rather than helping out their customers.

These are the biggest SelectQuote complaints we hear from customers.

We replace SelectQuote policies regularly simply because the SelectQuote agent used the wrong company for the health condition or presented the risk incorrectly to the underwriter, costing the consumer money.

Your life insurance agent is the one who will obtain the best life insurance prices, so it matters which life insurance agent or agency you choose.

Be sure to compare SelectQuote to our 10 best life insurance companies or find reviews on over 50 companies and agencies before making your decision.

SelectQuote Reviews from Agents & Consumers

We know current and former agents for SelectQuote, and have clients who used to have life insurance policies with SelectQuote.

What Their Agents Think

We actually know a few agents in SelectQuote’s call center. Their script is so aggressive that at one point if they didn’t ask you if you wanted a home or auto insurance quote at least 3 times during a phone call, they wouldn’t give that agent any new leads for a week.

This might explain why their agents often break off to form their own agencies or leave the life insurance business altogether.

What Consumers Think About SelectQuote

We receive dozens of emails from people who have bad experiences at SelectQuote and apply with us instead.

Many people claim they never fully understood what they were buying and most of the time the rate was more expensive than they quoted. These types of sales tactics are probably why we hear about so many SelectQuote complaints.

SelectQuote Does Have a Strong BBB Rating

SelectQuote is accredited by the BBB and has an A+ rating. Again, it’s not that they’re a bad company, but there are better options when it comes to life insurance.

Obtaining the most competitive rate on your term life insurance policy is about using the right life insurance company for your unique situation. Your independent life insurance agent should be knowledgeable and have access to all the top-rated carriers on the market.

Unfortunately, SelectQuote falls short here.

A life insurance agent’s main duty is to present your application in the most favorable light to the underwriter with the information that’s provided. It’s common in our industry for an agent to submit a “cover letter” with your application painting the overall picture of your health and background to the underwriter. This presentation is critical when obtaining the most favorable rate possible.

SelectQuote does not submit a cover letter to underwriters.

This is a huge disadvantage to SelectQuote clients. If you’re applying for a 30-year term, million-dollar policy, for example, you’d want to make sure your agent has a deep understanding of the best carriers for you. Otherwise, you could end up spending more money than you need to.

The Best Alternatives to SelectQuote

We’ve spoken with so many consumers whose SelectQuote reviews have conveyed poor experiences with them.

At best, you will get good rates with poor customer service. At worst, you may pay too much for life insurance.

Instead, you should look for a trusted independent agent who can shop more than only 13 companies for you. A few options to review include:

PolicyGenius – This is a good alternative if you want to go through the process without ever speaking with an agent. Their platform allows everything to be done online.
Haven Life – If you’re in good health and looking for term life insurance, check out HavenLife.com for an instant decision term life insurance up to $1M.
Rootfin – Fill out the quote form on this page to see instant quotes. One of our independent agents representing dozens of companies will reach out and help find a policy that fits your situation.

So whether you are seeking to purchase life insurance for yourself or life insurance coverage for your parents, we can help.

Here are some other life insurance agency reviews for you to consider along with SelectQuote.

If you have a current SelectQuote policy that was issued up to 3 years ago, we can likely save you money on those premium payments you’re making.