Haven Life Insurance Review

Best for Term Life Insurance

Shopping for life insurance can be overwhelming. There are many policy types to choose from, and some insurance salespeople can aggressively push certain options that may not be the best fit for you.

If you’re looking for a simple term life policy — the most affordable type of life insurance — Haven Life could be a helpful option to financially protect your loved ones in the event of your death. You can apply and purchase insurance online, without having to meet with an insurance agent. And, some Haven Life policies are simplified issues, so you don’t have to get a medical exam, making Haven Life our pick for best term life insurance.

• Haven Life Pros and Cons
• Haven Life Insurance Products
• Credentials
• Cost of Haven Life Insurance
• Accessibility
• Customer Satisfaction
• Haven Life Insurance FAQ
• How We Evaluated Haven Life Insurance
• Summary of Money’s Haven Life Insurance Review

Haven Life Insurance Pros and Cons

Pros explained

Some policies available without medical exams

In most cases, life insurance companies require applicants to get a medical exam and tests to qualify for a policy. If you don’t want to do that, Haven Life has a simplified-issue policy. You can get up to $500,000 in coverage with a no-exam life insurance policy.

Up to $3 million in coverage available

Companies that sell directly to consumers rather than selling through insurance agents usually have limited coverage options. Coverage amounts are usually limited to under $1 million. But with Haven Life, you can purchase up to $3 million in coverage.

Additional benefits included with Haven Life Plus

Included in Haven Term Policies is the Haven Life Plus Rider. It provides additional benefits beyond what life insurance policies typically offer, such as estate planning through Trust & Will and end-of-life planning via Lantern. The rider also includes subscriptions to Aaptiv, an audio-based fitness app, and a travel planning app called Timeshifter. Additionally, you'll have access to LifeSuite, an online vault for storing important information.

The Haven Life Plus Rider is not available in Florida, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota or Washington.

Cons explained

Sells only term life insurance

Where many insurers sell multiple types of life insurance, Haven Life only sells term life coverage. If you’re looking for whole or universal life policies, you’ll have to work with another insurance agency.

Simplified issue policies not available in all states

Haven’s simplified issue policies aren’t available in all states. Residents of California, Delaware, New York, North Dakota and South Dakota are ineligible for simplified issue policies, and can only apply for Haven’s fully underwritten plans. (Haven Simple was previously not available in Florida but agency representatives confirmed it is now available in that state.)

Only one payment option

While other insurance companies and agencies have multiple payment options, such as annual, semi-annual, quarterly or monthly payments, and they may offer discounts if you opt for annual or semi-annual payments. By contrast, Haven Life Insurance Agency only accepts monthly payments, so it’s a bill you have to remember to pay every month for the entirety of your policy's term length.

Haven Life Insurance Products

While other companies sell a range of life insurance products, Haven Life only offers term life insurance. Term life coverage is limited in length, covering you for only a specified period of time. If you pass away during the policy term, your beneficiary will receive the plan’s death benefit payout. But once the term ends, the policy is no longer in effect, and your beneficiary receives nothing if you die.

Why would someone opt for temporary coverage? Term life insurance is usually significantly cheaper than permanent options like universal or whole life insurance.

Available life insurance plans

Haven Life has two term life plans:

• Haven Term: Haven Terms is available nationwide to customers under the age of 64. You can choose a term of 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30-year term lengths, and you can purchase up to $3 million in coverage. Depending on your answers to the preliminary health questions and the amount of coverage you want, you may need to get a medical exam.
• Haven Simple: The Haven Simple plan is of the simplified issue variety, meaning you don’t have to get a medical exam. You can apply online in minutes and, if approved, get coverage the same day. Only individuals between the ages of 20 and 55 are eligible, and you can choose a term of five, 10, 15 or 20 years. Available coverage ranges from $25,000 to $500,000.

Insurance riders

Haven Life has the following riders:

• Accelerated Death Benefit: If the covered person is terminally ill with 12 to 24 months left to live, the accelerated death benefit rider allows the person to use a portion of their policy’s death benefit while they’re living. This rider is included in all policies.
• Waiver of Premium: If you become totally disabled due to illness or injury, you don’t have to pay your policy’s premiums for the length of the disability. This rider is optional and is available at an additional cost to individuals under the age of 59.

Limitations

Haven Life’s plans are either fully underwritten or of the simplified issue type; the company does not sell guaranteed issue policies. If you have existing health issues, Haven Life may deny your application for coverage.

Haven Life Credentials

Haven Life is a fairly new insurance agency. It was founded in 2014 by Yaron Ben-Zvi to make buying life insurance easier.

Like most insurers of its age, Haven Life is backed by an older partner. Its parent company is Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), which has been in operation since 1851. All Haven Life policies are issued by MassMutual or its subsidiary, C.M. Life.

Awards

Haven Life was recognized as the “Best InsurTech” during Benzinga’s Global Fintech Awards in 2020, reflecting its identity as a leader among those startup companies that are employing new technology and business models to sell insurance. It was also named one of the best small and medium workplaces by Great Places to Work and Fortune.

Financial stability

While financial strength is important to consider when buying any type of insurance, it’s especially valuable when buying life insurance. Term life policies can have terms as long as 30 years, so you want to have the security and peace of mind that the insurer you choose will be around for the long haul.

To help you with your research, industry credit rating agencies like Moody’s, AM Best and S&P Global issue credit ratings based on their evaluation of insurance companies’ financials.

MassMutual, the company behind Haven Life, has a strong reputation and has received high ratings from credit agencies. It has an A++ rating from S&P Global and also received high marks from two of the most respected rating agencies for insurance companies: Moody’s and AM Best.

Third-party ratings

MassMutual was ranked ninth out of 23 life insurance companies in the 2022 J.D. Power U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. MassMutual’s rating was 780, which is higher than the industry average of 740.

The study evaluated and rated companies to measure customer satisfaction based on five factors:

• Communication
• Interaction
• Price
• Product offerings
• Statements

Regulatory actions

Haven Life has not been the target of any regulatory actions.

Cost of Haven Life Insurance

Term life insurance coverage is usually cheaper than permanent life insurance, and it’s generally much cheaper if you buy it while you’re young. You can get life insurance in your 20s or 30s much cheaper than if you start shopping in your 40s since you’re likely in better health with fewer medical conditions.

When thinking about how much insurance costs, consider the industry average. LIMRA, a non-profit trade association, reported that the average cost of a $250,000, 20-year term life policy for a 30-year-old individual in excellent health was $165 per year or $13.75 per month.

We requested quotes from Haven Life to get an idea of its life insurance rates. You can get detailed quotes for simplified issue policies by answering a few questions, but quotes for Haven Term policies — which are fully underwritten — require you to complete a full application. For this review, we requested quotes solely for its simplified issue policies.

In general, simplified issue policies cost more than fully underwritten policies. That’s true for Haven Life; its Haven Simple plans were more expensive than the industry average for term policies with traditional underwriting. However, Haven Simple plans do not require a medical exam, and for this specific type of life insurance policy, the agency does have competitive rates. Additionally, the entire life insurance application can be completed in under 20 minutes.

The life insurance quotes in the above table are sample rates that represent the average monthly cost for a 35-year-old person who does not use tobacco, e-cigarettes, or other nicotine-containing products and is in excellent health.

Your rates may vary from the sample rates we received because premiums are based on multiple factors including your age, gender, health history and location.

Haven Life Accessibility

Haven Life sells insurance directly to consumers through its website. It doesn’t have insurance agents or financial professionals to advise you, but it does allow customers to contact its support team in multiple ways.

Contact information

Haven Life’s customer support team can be reached via live chat or phone:
Phone: 855-744-2836
Chat: Live Chat

Customer service is available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. EST.

User experience

Haven Life has an online portal customers can use to pay their premiums, change their beneficiaries or view their policy details. However, Haven Life doesn’t have a mobile app for policyholders.

Haven Life Customer Satisfaction

In addition to scoring a little above average in the 2022 J.D. Power U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, which included customer service, Haven Life tends to fare well elsewhere in terms of meeting its customer's life insurance needs.

Customer reviews

Haven Life has a 4.8 TrustScore out of 5 based on over 1,000 reviews, giving it an “excellent” rating on TrustPilot. Haven Life reviews highlight the agency's hassle-free online application process and responsive communication.

Complaint index

Researching the number of complaints that customers submit about insurance companies can give you an idea of what level of customer service to expect. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) collects consumer complaints and uses that data to issue annual complaint ratios to reflect how companies measure up to their competition.

The industry standard complaint index is 1.0. Ratios below that number indicate a company received fewer complaints than is typical for a company of its size, while companies with ratios over 1.0 received more complaints than expected.

As of December 2022, MassMutual’s complaint index for individual life insurance was 0.03, which is significantly lower than the industry standard.

How We Evaluated Haven Life Insurance

In our evaluation of Haven Life and other life insurance agencies, we looked at the following factors:

• Available plans and terms
• Insurance riders
• Policy exclusions
• Underwriting process
• Cost
• Financial stability
• Customer service
• Customer reviews
• Third-party ratings

We also interviewed representatives from companies as part of our research process. Still, though, we always try to include accurate and up-to-date information on regulatory and legal actions, we don't claim this information is complete or fully up to date. As always, we recommend you do your own research as well.

Summary of Money’s Haven Life Insurance Review

For individuals looking for a term life insurance policy with a quick online application, Haven Life could be a useful solution. You can get either fully underwritten or simplified issue policies — the latter does not require a medical exam — and all plans include an accelerated death benefit rider.

However, Haven Life’s life insurance policies may be slightly more expensive than you could find elsewhere, and you can be denied coverage based on your medical history. If you want permanent life insurance, guaranteed issue policies or additional riders, you’ll be better off working with another agency (check our list of the best life insurance companies to start).