PolicyGenius Review: How The Online Life Insurance Agency Works, Pros & Cons

Last Updated: August 2019

Disclaimer: We are not PolicyGenius. We are a competitor of PolicyGenius and this article provides a short, detailed, and fact-filled article to help your purchasing decision.

You’re likely here because you saw an ad for PolicyGenius and are looking for reviews and more in-depth information about the company.

In fact, you probably saw that ad online as they’ve had a ton of exposure and are at the top of all the search engines. Or even at a bus stop or a New York subway.

Either way, you’re here because you’re in the market for life insurance and want to make the best decision possible and PolicyGenius was the first to capture your attention.

In this PolicyGenius Review, you’ll learn:

• 3 Facts to Know About PolicyGenius
• How PolicyGenius Makes Buying Life Insurance Easier
• How is PolicyGenius Different from Other Insurance Sites?
• Review the Pros & Cons of PolicyGenius
• 3 Tips for Enhancing the PolicyGenius Experience
• How To Get Life Insurance Online and In Force Today

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3 Facts to Know About PolicyGenius

Before we dive into a review of PolicyGenius’ services, here are a few things you should know before doing business with them.

1. PolicyGenius has $151 Million in Venture Capital Funding

This is more funding than any “startup” direct to consumer agency has ever raised in the life insurance industry (Ethos is #2 at $106.5 Million).  They just raised $100 Million of that in January of 2020.

Being in the insurance business, there is no inventory to keep on the shelf, so the bulk of this money can go into marketing. This funding gives them the ability to be more visible than the majority of life insurance agencies around. PolicyGenius simply has the means to advertise more and that’s probably why you found them initially. That and both co-founders came from digital marketing consulting agency McKinney & Company which explains why their marketing savviness.

2. PolicyGenius has Access to the Top-Rated Life Insurance Companies

Since its inception in 2014, PolicyGenius represents companies like AIG, Prudential, Mutual of Omaha, Protective, and other big names in the life insurance industry.

Life insurance rates are the same no matter what life insurance agency you use. Everyone uses the same published rates. With that said, it’s important you shop with an agency that works with the best life insurance companies to make sure you get the best rates. PolicyGenius absolutely has the access to carriers a consumer would need.

3. PolicyGenius is an Insurance Agency

Many consumers think that PolicyGenius is a tech company. They actually make their money off the sale of insurance products.

The user experience is very friendly and doesn’t resemble your traditional life insurance agency website, so many consumers think they’re a software company.

With that said, their technology makes the buying process much easier and we’ll go into that next.

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How PolicyGenius Makes Buying Life Insurance Easier

They claim to make the process of buying life insurance easy. But what do they mean by “easy”?

They Help You Decide If You Need Life Insurance & How Much

For starters, they’ve designed a coverage calculator to take you step-by-step through your options, including figuring out if you even need life insurance in the first place. When you’re ready to shop, PolicyGenius makes it simple to compare your quotes and see what makes them different.

PolicyGenius Offers Guides to Learn about Life Insurance

If you need help getting started, their website also offers a robust library of helpful guides to get you up to speed on, say, the difference between “whole life” and “term life,” or what to look for in a carrier. Their “Learn Centers” are a great resource if you feel overwhelmed by confusing insurance-biz concepts and lingo.

They Have a Team of Experienced, Licensed Advisors

Once you apply, PolicyGenius’ team of licensed advisors (real people, not robots) handle the tough stuff, including paperwork.

Because PolicyGenius is not affiliated with any specific life insurance company, they’re able to offer unbiased advice tailored to your needs.

They can even help you shop around for a better offer if your final quote comes back higher than expected. And they’ll be in touch with you every step of the way, whether you prefer phone, text, or email.

If you’ve read any other articles on our blog, you’ll know that underwriting life insurance is an art.

It’s important it is to have an experienced agent that will paint your risk in the most favorable light to an underwriter. That’s how you get the best possible rates for YOUR unique situation.

Any veteran life insurance agent will tell you that your application, medical exam, and medical records are rigid. They are words on a paper and they need context to get the best possible rating in any impaired risk case.

All that being said, PolicyGenius does have underwriting experts available for the hard to place cases and experienced agents to navigate the tougher risks out there.

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How is PolicyGenius Different from Other Insurance Sites?

On their website, they list 2 reasons that they are different. I’ll give you 3.

1. You Work with Real Life Insurance Agents

They say that a lot of websites are lead generators where your name and information are being sold to other insurance agencies and PolicyGenius is different because they work with you personally.

This is true. Most of the life insurance websites on the web are owned by lead companies who will sell your information to the highest bidder in real-time through software called “ping trees”.

It’s a deceptive practice that gives our industry a bad name, but PolicyGenius actually helps consumers purchase life insurance.

2. They Offer a Great User Experience

They designed the user experience to be the best in class.

We’ll have to agree on that. It’s pretty, it’s engaging and it’s innovative. We’re big fans of their coverage calculator and other user-friendly technology on the website.

3. You can Complete the Process 100% Online

At the core of it all, PolicyGenius delivers instant quotes and an online application process where you don’t need to speak with an agent, although you can if you want.

One of the main reasons consumers choose PolicyGenius is because they can complete the process 100% online without any sales pressure.

Industry studies (from LIMRA) are showing consumers like yourself would like to educate themselves during the buying process.

PolicyGenius, allows you to do that because you’re moving at your own pace without an agent waiting for you. You can make fully informed decisions and feel comfortable with your purchase.

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Review the Pros & Cons of PolicyGenius

Learn the benefits and disadvantages of choosing PolicyGenius for your insurance needs.

Pro: Compare Quotes & Buy A Policy, All In One Place

Applying for a fully underwritten life insurance online is easy and intuitive. You compare all your quotes side-by-side, and if you want to move forward, you can complete the process on your own time without the assistance of a licensed agent.

It’s a gorgeous process and easy to use.

Pro: Get the Right Amount of Coverage – No More, No Less

PolicyGenius does a great job with the coverage calculator. It will take you step-by-step to figure out how much life insurance you need.

Many websites out there offer blanket advice like “10 times your annual income” or “enough to cover your mortgage & any debts”. The problem with blanket advice like this is everyone is different and PolicyGenius goes above and beyond by making this self-serve needs analysis available.

Pro: Get Jargon Free Help

Research until you’re comfortable with making a purchasing decision.

Their guides and calculators don’t use insurance jargon that I’m likely guilty of using in this article by habit. And if you ever have any questions, their licensed advisors can help out by phone or chat as well.

Pro: No Sales People To Speak With (Unless You Want Them)

You can apply online without speaking with any “salesperson”, but if you do need assistance you can talk to someone.

This can also be a bad thing too because their system doesn’t give accurate quotes for those with health conditions – but neither does any other life insurance site on the net, including ours.

Even though PolicyGenius asks you health questions in their online questionnaire, they don’t drill down deep enough to get the data needed to provide an accurate quote if you have any combination of health concerns. That’s why PolicyGenius has experienced agents backing their technology up.

Con: They Don’t Offer the Smaller, “Niche” Carriers

For some situations, PolicyGenius may not be the best fit.

To their credit, they offer some of the most competitive and well-known companies around, but there’s a lot more they’re missing. PolicyGenius isn’t working with the many of the “smaller” carriers that offer some of the best rates for specific demographics of people.

Granted, these smaller carriers would only be helpful for a small percentage of the life insurance buying pool, but it’s worth mentioning.

Every life insurance company looks at your health and lifestyle differently and if you’re going for the best term life insurance rates and have a set of unique health conditions, these smaller companies might be helpful.

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3 Tips for Enhancing the PolicyGenius Experience

Here are a few ways you can make sure you get the most out of PolicyGenius.

1. Get a Cover Letter if You Have Health Issues

If you’re applying for a policy with PolicyGenius and have any health issues, ask your agent to draft a cover letter and for you to approve it. Make sure they’re going the extra mile to get you the best possible rating.

With high-risk life insurance, we need to gather a lot more detailed information and then submit a cover letter to the life insurance company that paints your risk in the most favorable light possible.

All life insurance underwriters see is what’s in your application, medical exam, and medical records. Don’t you want the opportunity to explain a few things to them?

Writing cover letters will also “humanize” your application to an underwriter who can now draw a connection to you.

2. If Your Rate is Higher Than Expected, Try Again

If you’re approved at a higher rate than you applied for, meaning the rate you were approved for is higher than the rate you were quoted on the PolicyGenius website, ask your agent for details why and if you disagree with their findings, take 1 of 2 routes:

1. Ask for a “reconsideration request” with the company. You must give a good reason why – something they may have missed or even a doctor’s note explaining why the reason they gave you a higher rate is false.
2. Ask to shop it with different carriers. Use the information they gave and have PolicyGenius Quick Quote” it with different carriers. All that means is your agent will email your risk (including the reason why you were given a higher rate) anonymously to other carriers and they’ll respond with 2-3 days of their possible rating.

Life insurance carriers don’t like to underwrite a case and use all their time and resources and not place the case in force. They want you to get coverage. Sometimes, they just need more information.

3. Engage the Agent & Be Clear About Your Health

Engage the agent assigned to you and be 100% transparent about your health. I know many reading this don’t want to speak with an agent, but I can with certainty say that they have your best interests in mind and want to help you secure the best rate available. That’s what independent life insurance agents take pride in doing.

So don’t hide any information about your health or lifestyle as they will come up when the insurance companies underwrite your application. The MIB (Medical Information Bureau), MVR (Motor Vehicle Report) and Rx (Pharmacy) report will detail anything that you don’t provide to an agent.

Securing life insurance is an art.

You need to balance the budget, field underwriting, your specific needs, and timeline. I believe PolicyGenius has the experience to manage all of these proactively IF you engage the agent during the process.

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How To Get Life Insurance Online and In Force Today

Many consumers are looking for life insurance with no medical exam required. If you’re between the ages of 18 and 70 and are in good health, this is possible.

Traditional life insurance is a long process and a lot of people who have the intention of protecting their family with life insurance get frustrated with having to take a medical exam, wait for medical records to be released to underwriting, and then have the underwriter review and potentially ask more questions.

Because of this process, around 50% of people who start the application process drop out and don’t end up getting coverage for their family.

By simply giving the option of a no medical exam policy, many of our clients take it to forgo the long arduous underwriting process. So make sure you ask your PolicyGenius agent about these no exam options.

There are several no medical exam carriers that allow you to purchase coverage online and over the phone and get a decision.

You Can Use PolicyGenius to Get Covered Fast

If you’re in the market for life insurance and consider yourself a “do it yourself” type person, PolicyGenius’ life insurance offering has the best platform, hands down. You get the option to self-complete and you have licensed advisors ready to answer any questions.

It’s how life insurance should be purchased. Consider comparing quotes from PolicyGenius to other agencies, listed below.

• Leap Life Insurance
• Progressive Life Insurance
• Health IQ Life Insurance
• Sproutt
• GEICO Life Insurance

We’ve reviewed some other agencies and they’re not so nice reviews: (Zander Insurance and Primerica Life Insurance to name a couple). I say this so you don’t think we’re out there praising every agency.

PolicyGenius is, admittedly, one of the great life insurance agencies out there.