AIG Life Insurance Review
Best for Term Life Policies
A life insurance policy ensures that your loved ones will be taken care of if you pass away. There are multiple types of policies but, generally speaking, they each charge an annual or monthly premium and provide coverage to your named beneficiary when you die.
AIG, or American International Group, is a longstanding financial institution that offers a variety of life insurance policies through its insurance branch, AIG Direct. We found AIG to be the best provider for term life insurance policies, though it might not be the best company if you’re looking for a whole or universal life insurance policy.
It’s important to shop around and do your research to find the best life insurance plan. This AIG life insurance review will walk you through the pros and cons, offers and benefits, to help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.
- AIG Life Insurance Pros and Cons
- AIG Life Insurance Products
- AIG Credentials
- Cost of AIG Life Insurance
- AIG Accessibility
- AIG Customer Satisfaction
- AIG Life Insurance FAQ
- How We Evaluated AIG Life Insurance
- Summary of Money’s AIG Life Insurance Review
AIG Life Insurance Pros and Cons
- High coverage with no medical exam (up to $2 million)
- Flexible term lengths
- A+ rating with AM Best
- Same day decisions
- Access to living benefits included in several policy options
- No online quotes
- Higher-than-average customer complaints
- No-exam insurance options are limited
Pros explained
Living benefits
Living benefits allow you to access the benefits of your life insurance policy if you need them before you pass away.
For example, if you have AIG’s Quality of Life term insurance or other policies with an added terminal illness rider and you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, you can access your benefits to help pay for your medical care and support your family while you’re sick.
Flexible term length options
Term life insurance is a type of life insurance policy that covers a preset term, not the insurance holder’s whole life. Term life insurance policies generally offer higher coverage than whole life policies and can be adapted with riders.
AIG term life insurance offers flexible term lengths., which helps you stick to your budget and build a life insurance policy that suits your needs.
With AIG, you can choose a term between 10 and 35 years. Coverage for a term life policy starts at $100,000. If you opt for AIG return of premium life insurance, you’ll get your whole premium returned when you outlive your term.
Same day decisions
While AIG doesn’t offer online quotes, it does provide same-day decisions on its policies with no medical exam, such as Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance (AD&D Insurance) and Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance. If you apply for a no-exam policy with AIG, you can have your offer right away.
What is no-exam life insurance? A no-exam policy lets you buy life insurance without visitng a doctor and skipping all medical tests usually required for the underwriting process. All you have to do is apply online, talk to an agent, download statements and get started. It’s faster than term life insurance with an exam, but the coverage won’t be as high and is usually more expensive.
Cons explained
Online quotes aren't available
A lot of insurance companies offer fast online quotes, but AIG life insurance quotes take a little longer.
Online quotes are helpful when you’re comparing policies and prices between insurance companies. With AIG, you’ll have to talk to an insurance agent about your health, age and financial obligations to get your life insurance quote. It isn’t the biggest hindrance, but it does slow the process down.
Customer complaints
When compared to other insurance companies, AIG has a higher rate of complaints on its life insurance products.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is an independent company that rates insurance providers based on the number of complaints they receive. According to the NAIC consumer insurance search tool, a complaint ratio of 1.0 is standard. AIG has a score of 0.49, which is much better than average.
But there’s a catch: when it comes to AIG Direct’s life insurance products, that score goes up to 2.82. That means AIG Direct receives nearly three times the normal amount of complaints about its life insurance policies.
This isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker — customer complaints aren’t always accurate — but it is something to take into consideration.
AIG Life Insurance Products
AIG offers a range of life insurance products, including term and whole life policies, as well as multiple riders.
Available life insurance plans
Here are a few types of life insurance plans available with AIG:
- Term life insurance: AIG offers affordable rates and flexible term lengths that range from 10 to 30 years, in five year increments. Due to its customizable options and affordability, term life insurance is a popular choice for many customers.
- Final expense insurance: Final expense insurance works to provide help family members cover costs associated with funerals and interments. AIG offers its Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance that provides coverage between $5,000 to $25,000 for these purposes. Premiums can start as low as $21 a month for a $5,000 policy.
- Universal life insurance: This is a type of life insurance plan that has a cash-value component that grows over time on a tax-deferred basis. AIG offers universal life (UL) policies that combine the benefits of whole life insurance with flexible options to increase or decrease your benefit amounts.
Additionally, some AIG life insurance policies are available for people as old as 80, making it a good contender for the best life insurance for seniors.
Insurance riders
A rider is an add-on option that you can use to customize your insurance policy. AIG offers a range of insurance riders, including:
- Waiver of premium: This rider will raise the cost of your premium but ensures that the premium will be waived if you become disabled.
- Child term: AIG gives you the option to add a child to your term life insurance policy. This provides a death benefit in the unfortunate event that your child dies.
- Accidental death benefit: An accidental death benefit rider adds additional benefits for your loved ones in case of a tragic accident.
- Accelerated death benefit (ADB): This rider is also known as a living benefit and allows you to access your life insurance benefits before you pass away. AIG offers three types of ADB riders for universal life policies: chronic illness, terminal illness and critical illness.
Limitations
All insurance companies have their limitations and AIG is no exception.
For example, while AIG does offer no-exam medical insurance, options are limited. No-exam policies are only available through Corebridge Financial, a branch of AIG Direct.
AIG also has age limits for many of its policies, as well as policy limitations for smokers and people with pre-existing health conditions. You should talk to an AIG agent about the limitations of your policy before you decide it’s the right insurance organization for you.
AIG Credentials
AIG is an established and certified insurance provider. There are plenty of AIG life insurance reviews online — some more positive than others. The best way to get to know a company is to look into its credentials from unbiased reviewers.
Awards
AIG Retirement Services has won some awards in the past. Today, AIG Life and Retirement is known as Corebridge Financial. It’s a relatively new organization with no significant awards to report.
We weren’t able to find any awards specific to AIG’s life insurance policies.
Financial strength ratings
AIG has an A+ rating from AM Best, an independent reviewer that scores companies based on their financial strength.
A high financial strength rating is a positive sign for AIG’s customers. It means the company is currently on a strong financial footing and there’s less risk of losing your policy due to company failure in the near future.
Third-party ratings
The J.D. Power 2021 Individual Life Insurance Study gave AIG a score of 729 out of a 1,000-point scale, which is below the industry average.
The JD Power score is mostly a reflection of AIG’s customer satisfaction and complaints, not its financial strength or the quality of its products.
Cost of AIG Life Insurance
There are a few factors that determine the cost of your life insurance plan, including your age, gender identity, health condition and location. To get a quote from AIG, you’ll have to talk to an insurance agent.
That said, most AIG Direct life insurance reviews report that AIG’s costs are standard for the services provided. Its most budget-friendly plans are available through Corebridge Financial.
According to AIG term life insurance reviews, the company offers competitive prices for its term life insurance policies.
Accessibility
There’s more to the value of an insurance plan than just the financial cost — you should also consider the time and energy it takes to access information about your policy and how fast coverage starts.
Contact information
Contacting AIG for a quote is fairly easy. Just fill out an online form and wait for an insurance agent to contact you. The only downside to this system is that it takes longer than an automated online quote would.
User experience
AIG’s user experience is reliable but slow. Most customers report that their family’s policies are clear and pay out as expected. However, receiving a quote and waiting for the underwriting process is a little slower with AIG than it is with other companies.
AIG Customer Satisfaction
AIG isn’t at the top of our life insurance reviews for its customer satisfaction. Here are a couple of factors to consider:
Customer satisfaction ratings
AIG’s rating with JD Power is 729, below average for a life insurance company.
Customer complaints
According to the NAIC, AIG’s life insurance company receives nearly three times the average amount of customer complaints. Most of those complaints are related to slow customer service and response times.
AIG Life Insurance FAQ
How much does AIG cost?
Who owns AIG?
Does AIG offer extra coverage?
How we evaluated AIG
We evaluated AIG by comparing it to other life insurance companies in a similar price range, based on a few crucial features including:
- Policy options
- Accessibility
- Customer satisfaction
- Credentials
- Value
Summary of Money's AIG Life Insurance Review
All things considered, is AIG a good life insurance policy? That depends on what you’re looking for.
AIG is great for term life insurance policies. As far as insurance without a medical exam, it offers quick no-exam policies with same day answers and coverage up to $2 million, which is also excellent.
However, AIG’s whole life insurance policies are not as. If you’re shopping for the best whole life insurance, or curious about universal life insurance, check out our other life insurance reviews to check which options might be better for you.
If you think AIG is right for you, you can apply online to get in touch with an insurance agent right away.