SBLI Life Insurance Review: History, Ratings, & Policies Available

Last Updated: April 2020

If you are considering SBLI for your life insurance needs, this article will help you decide if they might be right for you. We often recommend SBLI term life insurance and have helped hundreds of people purchase a policy through them.

SBLI is a fantastic life insurance company, but that doesn’t mean they are the best for you. In this article, we will review SBLI Life Insurance, the history of the company, the products they offer, and how to compare them to other carriers.

• History of SBLI Life Insurance Company
• SBLI has Good Customer Service & Partnerships
• SBLI Life Insurance Company Ratings
• Life Insurance Products Offered Through SBLI
• Can you Qualify for SBLI Life Insurance?
• Compare SBLI Life Insurance to Other Carriers

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History of SBLI Life Insurance Company

SBLI, or the Savings Bank Life Insurance Company, has been in the business of offering insurance products for more than 100 years. The company was initially founded back in the year 1907, and since that time, it has been known for providing some of the lowest premium rates in the U.S. for both men and women.

One of the key reasons for this is the company’s long history of its financial strength and stability, as well as its extremely prudent investment approach, regardless of what is happening in the overall economy.

The company’s founder was Louis D. Brandeis. He wanted to provide life insurance that was both affordable and dependable to all of the families that needed it, which was a radical idea at the time. At the time the company was started, the United States was in the midst of one of the worst stock market crashes in the country’s history.

Initially started in Massachusetts, SBLI now offers products in 48 states and in the District of Columbia. It did not take long for SBLI to quickly expand its reach.

By 1930, the company had already reached the $100 million in assets under management mark, and by 1964, it had $1 billion in life insurance in force. Just 34 years later, in 1998, the company had reached $20 billion in life insurance in force. By 2012, life insurance in force had reached $125 billion, and over one million families were being served.

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SBLI has Good Customer Service & Partnerships

A big part of the reason SBLI has been so successful is its focus on superior customer service.

The company’s service reps can be reached between the business hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. They may also be reached via email. Customers can set up an account online to view and update their policy information, as well as make a premium payment or file a claim.

SBLI has a great deal of information on its website to help customers learn more about life insurance. This information is located in the company’s Learning Center.

SBLI’s Partnerships

SBLI is very involved in the community. The company has a long history of sponsorships and partnerships in the areas that it serves.

For example, just some of the areas in which SBLI has partnered include:

• The American Heart Association
• Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program
• Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk
• The New England Center and Home for Veterans
• The Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance
• The Rodman Ride for Kids
• Woburn Memorial High School
• The New England Center for Children

The company has also earned many endorsements from organizations such as:

• AAA Southern New England
• The Massachusetts Bankers Association
• AAA Merrimack Valley

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SBLI Life Insurance Company Ratings

Because of its strong financial stability and its extremely positive reputation for paying out claims to its policyholders, SBLI holds high ratings from the life insurance rating agencies.

Here are the ratings for SBLI Life Insurance:

• A.M. Best: “A” (excellent) rating
• Affordability Index: 9.8
• Ease of Applying: 9.9
• Customer Service: 9.5
• COMDEX Ranking: 76

A.M. Best is the industry benchmark for financial strength in the life insurance industry. The other three metrics are based on a number of factors including our industry knowledge of SBLI compared with other companies. The COMDEX ranking is a composite score that considers A.M. Best and other top ratings agencies.

Learn more about our process for reviewing life insurance companies here.

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Life Insurance Products Offered Through SBLI

SBLI Life Insurance Company offers several types of life insurance policies. These include both term and permanent.

Term Life Insurance

SBLI offers two different term life insurance policies.

They have a standard term life product with the following features:

• Level premiums
• 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30-year terms
• Face Amount: $100,000 and $50 million.
• Accelerated underwriting available for ages 18 to 60 on face amounts $500,000 and less
• Riders Available: accelerated death benefits, child rider, and waiver of premium

The best part of their term policy is the no-exam option.

It not only has some of the best non-medical exam term life insurance rates on the market, but you can get a decision on a policy up to $500,000 in coverage in 2 to 5 business days.

SBLI may request medical records if you have moderate health complications, however, you still do not need an exam. In this case, it will take 2 to 4 weeks to get covered.

If you are looking for no-medical exam life insurance, compare SBLI alongside other top life insurance carriers like Bestow Life Insurance.

SBLI also offers a product called SmartTerm 360.

This product has decreasing premiums and coverage amounts. For example, if you need more coverage in the next 10 years than you will in years 11 through 20, you can build a policy for that. You may get $1 million in life insurance for the first 10 years, then $500,000 for the next 10. When the coverage amount decreases, so does the premium, which saves you money over the lifetime of the policy.

Whole Life Insurance

SBLI also offers a whole life insurance policy for both adults and for children.

• Their whole life product offers guaranteed coverage as long as you pay your premiums.
• Premiums do not increase.
• It earns cash value plus interest that you can borrow during your lifetime.

Also, the cash value is allowed to grow on a tax-deferred basis – which means you only pay taxes once you take out cash against the policy.

They also offer different payment options including continuous, limited, and single premium payments.

SBLI also offers a whole life insurance option for children.

This coverage can be purchased on the life of a child who is between the age of 0 and 14. The coverage amounts can range between $10,000 and $1 million, and the policy can last for the lifetime of the child. The premium can be locked in, and the policy’s cash value can grow and compound over time.

Whole life insurance is more expensive than term, so for most people, term is a better fit. However, you can purchase a combination of both.

Other Coverage Products Offered by SBLI

SBLI also offers other products in addition to life insurance. These include:

• Annuities – An annuity can help to pay an income for the remainder of a person’s lifetime. These insurance products can start to pay out an income immediately, or they can allow their holder to save money over time, and then pay out the income stream starting at a date in the future.
• Elder Care – Due to our increasing life expectancies, it is likely that many people today will need long-term care. This care, however, can be expensive. A long-term care insurance policy can help to alleviate some or all of these costs.

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Can you Qualify for SBLI Life Insurance?

The biggest thing when considering SBLI is to ensure that you can qualify. Below, we will cover (in general) what SBLI won’t insure:

Uninsurable medical scenarios with SBLI:

• Aids/HIV + status
• ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
• Alzheimer’s disease or dementia or significant cognitive impairments related to functionality
• Cancer diagnosis within last 2 years
• Chronic pain treatment- severe, receiving disability, narcotic use
• Cirrhosis of the Liver
• Congestive Heart Failure
• COPD/Emphysema or chronic bronchitis- severe or with current nicotine use
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Defibrillator use
• Depression – severe, recurrent or with multiple in-patient hospitalization history
• Diabetes with co-morbidities that include significant cardiac disease, or impairment of renal function or mobility
• Heart/Cardiac Disease– multiple vessels diagnosed within 2 years or any past history with current nicotine use
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Multiple Sclerosis, if symptoms are progressing
• Organ Transplants, in most scenarios
• Quadriplegia
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Renal failure, Renal insufficiency- severe
• Stroke within 1 year
• Suicide attempt within 5 years
• Surgical repair of heart valves, aneurysms, intracranial tumors, major organs within six months, including gastric bypass

Uninsurable non-medical scenarios:

• Marijuana use, 4 or more times weekly
• Substance abuse/ misuse within the last 5 years
• Criminal activity- any history within the last 10 years
• DUI – more than 2 or under age 25 if within 1 year
• Unemployed (other than homemakers or retired) with minimal household income or dependent on SSI/disability benefits
• Bankruptcy filing within 2 years
• Liens/Judgements- outstanding activity that exceeds $50K

Scenarios that will likely be highly rated if determined to be insurable. A discussion with SBLI Underwriting via quick quote or hotline suggested prior to submission with details of impairment(s) :

Sub-standard medical scenarios with SBLI:

• Cancer treatment- diagnosis greater than 2 years ago (except for Basal or Squamous cell)
• Type of cancer, staging, grade, treatment, etc. required for best assessment
• Chronic Pain, mild-moderate, fully functional, one healthcare provider prescribing pain medication, no increase in dosage, not more than one medication
• Depression, moderate-severe, well managed, no in-patient hospitalization history
• Diabetes
• Heart/Cardiac Disease
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Renal insufficiency, mild-moderate, or progressing
• Respiratory ailments, mild-moderate, not dependent on oxygen treatment or regular breathing treatments, minimal impact to pulmonary function
• Stroke history within 5 years (uninsurable within last 12 months)
• Surgical repair of heart valves, aneurysms, intracranial tumors, major organs after six months, including gastric bypass

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Compare SBLI Life Insurance to Other Carriers

Even if you think SBLI is a good fit for your life insurance needs, it’s best to compare more than just one or two companies.

Once you find the type of policy and coverage you need, it becomes a matter of shopping for the best rates. Use our quote tool to review rates from SBLI against the other best life insurance companies on the market.

We have reviewed over 50 life insurance carriers and agencies here to help you compare rates and find the right company for your specific needs.

Here are some other companies to review that offer no medical exam life insurance policies.

• Sagicor Life Insurance
• Foresters Life Insurance
• Bestow Life Insurance
• Ladder Life
• Fidelity Life Insurance