Last Updated: June 2020
If you are considering Aetna for burial insurance, this article is for you.
Below, we are going to review Aetna’s burial insurance policies and help you determine if they are the right provider for you. We will review the company’s history, financial ratings, pros & cons, and provide other burial insurance companies for comparison.
After helping 100’s of people purchase Aetna life insurance policies, this is our review.
- About Aetna
- Aetna Life Insurance & Financial Ratings
- Burial Insurance Products Offered by Aetna
- How to Apply for Aetna Burial Insurance
- Pros of Choosing Aetna
- Cons of Choosing Aetna
- Compare Aetna to Other Top Life Insurance Companies
Life Insurance is Boring. Let’s Get To The Root Of It! Here are the key takeaways…
Aetna is a reliable, financially stable life insurance company. They offer 3 burial insurance coverage options. Aetna has midline pricing but does not offer the most robust coverage out there. We recommend comparing other companies with an independent agent.
About Aetna
Aetna (American Continental Insurance Company) is one of the most popular insurance companies in the country. No doubt about it. Most consumers picture Aetna as being a leader in the health insurance market and even the work-sponsored health insurance market.
However, what some may not know is that Aetna also offers some midline final expense burial insurance plans.
Aetna was initially founded back in 1853. If you do the math, that makes Aetna one of the longest standing insurance providers in the industry with more than 160 total years in operation.
Aetna is part of the American Continental Insurance Company, who is the primary issuing company of the burial insurance products we will be discussing in today’s review. Aetna has been participating in the sales of life insurance policies since 1861, and in recent news, CVS Health acquired Aetna in November 2018.
Aetna Life Insurance & Financial Ratings
Financial strength ratings are always relatively essential to consider before deciding on which company to purchase life insurance with. It helps paint the picture on how stable and reliable an insurance provider will be in the event you genuinely need them.
Here are the ratings for Aetna Life Insurance:
- A.M. Best: “A” (excellent) rating
- Affordability Index: 8.9
- Ease of Applying: 8.9
- Customer Service: 9.1
- COMDEX Ranking: 86
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 Aetna 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.
Consumer Complaints and BBB Rating
When reviewing a life insurance provider, clearly, we all prefer to work with a company with fantastic customer service ratings. No doubt about that.
Life insurance is one of those purchases where you consistently make premium payments and hope your policy is never needed, but when it is needed, we need excellent service and great claims-paying as quickly as possible.
With Aetna, they had a shockingly fantastic customer service rating. 88% of policyholders decide to renew their policy with Aetna and currently the company is being provided 4/5 stars for the 4th consecutive year by J.D. Power and Associates.
These ratings are certainly something to consider and something that should help give you peace of mind if you do ultimately decide to purchase burial insurance coverage with the company.
As far as Aetna’s BBB rating, it’s a little more challenging to provide great in depth-analysis. Currently, Aetna does not have a Better Business Bureau rating but is still being provided an A+ ranking based on 39 reviews and sits on a 3.75/5 stars composite scores.
They have had a total of 581 complaints closed in the past 3 years, which is about what we are accustomed to seeing with companies that are the massive size of Aetna. You’re bound to make someone unhappy eventually with as many policyholders that Aetna currently has.
Burial Insurance Products Offered by Aetna
Now comes one of the most critical factors you need to be considering when purchasing burial insurance from any company. What products do they offer, and are they the best option for you?
Here are the current options you have choosing Aetna as your burial insurance provider.
Aetna Final Expense Whole Life Insurance
Aetna’s final expense whole life coverage is beneficial in a few ways.
Here are some of the advantages to this specific product:
- Coverage Never Expires
- You Have 3 Different Options
- Immediate Benefits is Possible
- Available for ages 45 to 89
- Premiums Are Locked (Monthly Payments Can’t Increase)
- Death Benefit is Locked (Total Payout Can’t Be Decreased)
This product is simply referred to by agents as the Aetna Burial or Aetna Whole Life Insurance. It has no catchy names like you may have seen during your shopping experience with other companies.
Another significant perk of choosing Aetna is that it’s available in nearly all 50 U.S. States.
Here’s a closer look at how burial whole life insurance policies with Aetna would work. It’s extremely straightforward to understand.
Whole life policies mean exactly what it sounds like. If you never miss a payment (lapse the policy), you will have coverage for life. This simply means that if something did happen to you at any time in life, your death benefit would be provided to your beneficiaries.
Graded Whole Life
Health conditions and other situations may arise where you need to consider one of the other burial plans available with Aetna. Another option is a graded Whole Life policy.
This plan is going to have the same rules applied as your level benefits planned discussed above. However, this plan will pay a limited amount of your death benefits during your first two years of paying on the policy.
Individuals who need to purchase this plan often have health conditions that would disqualify them from getting approved for the immediate basic benefits plan we discussed previously.
Modified Aetna Whole Life
This plan also mimics the plan we have discussed already. The only difference is that this plan will not pay any death benefits during the first two years of owning the policy. If you happen during this period, you would be returned all your premiums paid plus interest. After the waiting period is complete, you would be provided full benefits in the event anything happened to you.
Modified plans are for individuals who can’t qualify for option A or B discussed previously. We also want to emphasize that you shouldn’t stress over this section of the review.
More health conditions can be approved for coverage than you may think, and we also plan to detail these scenarios for you further down in this article.
However, anytime you are shopping for life insurance, we always recommend working with an independent life insurance agent. Sometimes if you are told you need a modified plan with one company, it’s completely possible to be approved for level benefits with another company with unique health underwriting niches.
Don’t risk coverage or overpay for your coverage when you have any solution at your fingertips. Experts and licensed agents can truly help.
Riders and Additional Options Available
Additional perks, riders, and options are always a great thing when it comes to life insurance. Who doesn’t want something for free?
Unfortunately, Aetna isn’t resting on its financial strength ratings by providing these perks to consumers. Aetna is one of few burial insurance companies that offer zero riders or additional options you can add to your life insurance policy.
Before you turn the other way, realize that the coverages offered by Aetna are considered black and white already.
A lot of additional options don’t make much sense, but at the same time, other companies often provide other options with whole life policies such as paid-up additions or additional payouts for accident-related deaths or even children’s whole life options you can to your policy.
How to Apply for Aetna Burial Insurance
To apply with Aetna, you will simply talk to an agent who represents the company. This can be either an independent agent who represents Aetna and many other insurance providers, or a direct agent for Aetna.
Following this step, you will simply answer basic demographic and health questions. This is considered Step 1.
During Step 2, Aetna will run a prescription check. That’s really all there is to it.
Aetna does not run a MIB (Medical Information Bureau) check on you, and they do not require a medical exam.
Based on the answer, providers during the previous steps will determine if you are eligible for the immediate, modified of graded benefit plans.
Underwriting Guidelines with Aetna
Now that you know how to apply with the company, we are assuming you want to know which health conditions are considered “good” and which are considered “bad” with Aetna.
Here are the conditions that will disqualify you from immediate or modified coverage.
- Currently hospitalized, in a nursing facility, or hospice care
- Require the use of oxygen
- Non-treated aneurysms
- Any conditions requiring bone marrow, stem cells, or organ transplants
- Kidney dialysis
- Alzheimer and Dementia
- Lou Gehrig’s (ALS)
- 12 months or less life expectancy
- AIDS or HIV
Outside of these primary “knockout questions”, you have a good chance of being approved during the application for immediate benefits.
With those conditions, you can still turn to the modified plan that requires the 2-year waiting period before paying full death benefits to your beneficiaries.
Who Should Consider Aetna?
Aetna can be a good company to consider in unique situations.
- Aetna is a good secondary burial insurance company to consider if you are over 85 or under the age of 50.
- Aetna’s graded plan above is also a great choice for people who need life insurance with congestive heart failure or cardiomyopathy.
- Aetna also has low life insurance rates for tobacco users over 70 years old.
Clearly, Aetna also has reliable financial strength ratings and strong customer service, so if these are areas of high importance, it’s worth adding them to the list of companies to compare quotes with.
Outside of this, we really don’t recommend the company in most circumstances. Too many other great options are available such as United Home Life, Mutual of Omaha, Prosperity Life, and even Liberty Bankers Life.
Aetna is not the cheapest nor the most robust coverage you can get, so don’t get sidetracked into paying more for less.
Pros of Choosing Aetna
Anytime we review a burial insurance provider; we find it crucial to illustrate the most significant benefits consumers can enjoy choosing the company for coverage.
Here are the advantages of choosing Aetna:
- Long, stable, and reliable history in the marketplace
- Coverage for ages not covered by other companies
- Simple and easy to apply for burial coverage
Cons of Choosing Aetna
On the other hand, we find it important to discuss the weaknesses of the company before you make the wrong decision.
Here are the most significant disadvantages of choosing Aetna:
- More competitive rates are available
- More robust coverage is available
- Some health conditions can’t qualify for level benefits
Compare Aetna to Other Top Life Insurance Companies
At the end of the day, we understand that the options for coverage seem endless, and you ultimately just want to get your family protected. You’re making the best first step just by reading this review.
Always ensure you are comparing rates with multiple burial insurance providers. This guarantees that you are getting the lowest price for the best coverage, with the best provider every time.
Be sure to compare Aetna to our 10 best life insurance companies or find reviews on over 50 companies and agencies here, before making your decision.
Here are some other final expense life insurance companies to consider along with Aetna.
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