MassMutual Life Insurance Review

MassMutual life insurance products

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, better known as MassMutual, is a mutual insurance company that offers life insurance as well as other investment products such as 401(k)s and annuities.

Policy offerings include term, whole and universal life insurance. All life insurance products through MassMutual have standard rider add-ons, such as waivers for premium and accelerated death benefits, at no additional cost — similar to other major insurers. Policyholders can also change their beneficiaries at any time by filling out a form and showing insurable interest.

Term life insurance

Term life insurance is available through MassMutual's Vantage Term policies, which provide affordable life insurance coverage for a set period of time. Term policies through MassMutual are guaranteed level, meaning premiums will not increase during the term period.

You can purchase Vantage Term plans with a death benefit from $100,000 to over $10 million. Coverage lengths for this policy include:

Once the initial term period ends, you may renew the policy annually but will likely pay a larger premium. Alternatively, all Vantage Term plans can be converted to permanent life insurance such as MassMutual's Whole Life Legacy products.

MassMutual offers competitive rates for its term life insurance products when compared to other top insurers. The graph below shows quotes for MassMutual's Vantage Term 20 product against other 20-year term policies.

As you can see, MassMutual offers better-than-average rates for a standard applicant when compared to some of the top rated insurers like New York Life. However, it is not the cheapest option available. Protective Life Insurance offers the same product for $3 less per month.

In the graph below, we compare MassMutual quotes with Northwestern Mutual's Level Term insurance.

MassMutual Direct Term

MassMutual's Direct Term life insurance option allows you to buy life insurance quickly through a simple online application process.

This policy has coverage lengths of 10, 20 or 30 years but smaller possible face values of $100,000 to $2 million. Once you complete your application, and if you are approved, your life insurance coverage would start immediately. However, if MassMutual also requires you to complete a medical exam based on your responses, you would need to complete this step within 90 days of application approval for coverage to remain in effect.

MassMutual also sells term life insurance online through its subsidiary Haven Life. This online provider uses your medical history to set rates. Healthy, younger individuals typically don't need to take a medical exam or drug test. All policies sold through Haven Life are underwritten by MassMutual, but they do have some differentiating factors to consider. For example, Haven's InstantTerm product only offers up to $1 million in coverage immediately with no medical exam required.

Whole life insurance

Whole life insurance provides lifelong coverage by allowing you to pay premiums for a set period of time. Legacy products include:

The marketing names indicate how long you'll pay premiums.

The most unique Legacy product is the Legacy High Early Cash Value whole life policy. This insurance is similar to single premium life insurance in that a large portion or all of the premiums will be paid within the first year. This means the policy would be fully funded and have the greatest cash value accumulation.

All Legacy whole life insurance plans are "participating," meaning the policy is eligible for dividends.

MassMutual has consistently paid dividends, which customers can use to increase the death benefit or cash value in a policy or subsidize monthly premium payments.

Long-term care (LTC) Access rider

The LTC Access rider is similar to an accelerated death benefit rider offered by most life insurance companies. This policy add-on allows you to use a portion of your death benefit to pay for long-term care.

All Legacy whole life insurance products allow policyholders to add this rider for an additional cost. Any benefit you use for long-term care will reduce the death benefit left in your legacy whole life policy. However, the money you receive is not taxable as income, and thus you would receive the full amount.

Simplified Issue Whole Life Insurance

The Simplified Issue Whole Life product is similar to MassMutual's Direct Term policy, as you can apply for it completely online. This policy is available for people between the ages of 40 and 80 years old and is designed to cover end-of-life expenses like funeral costs or debts. Coverage amounts range from $2,000 to $25,000.

Simplified Issue is unique because applicants won't have to take a medical exam to receive coverage. Instead, you would answer a few health and lifestyle questions. If you still do not qualify for the Simplified Issue policy after the questionnaire, MassMutual also offers Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance for people between 50 and 75 years old. When applying for MassMutual's Guaranteed Acceptance plan, you cannot be denied coverage for any health reasons, but the quote you receive for coverage will be higher.

Universal life insurance

MassMutual has a universal life insurance product that's similar to other companies' policies. These policies have a death benefit that is guaranteed throughout your life if premiums are paid into the plan. Furthermore, universal life allows you to increase or decrease the premium that you pay each month to accommodate your financial situation.

Universal life insurance also has a cash value component that builds over time. As you pay premiums for your policy, a portion of the money will go toward fees while a separate portion will be deposited into the cash value account. This account will grow at a minimum guaranteed interest rate throughout the life of the plan but can perform better depending on the insurer's market performance. The cash value can be used as:

Variable universal life insurance

Variable universal life (VUL) insurance differs from a standard universal policy in that the interest rate for the cash value has more potential growth — but also downside risk if the market performs poorly.

When you first receive your VUL policy, you will have several options for investing your cash value. These options are similar to mutual funds in that they are a group of securities such as:

Other than the interest rate for the cash value, variable universal life insurance operates the same as universal life in that the death benefit is guaranteed and there are a variety of options for how you can use your cash value account.

Group life insurance

If you own a business and want to provide life insurance as a benefit for your employees, then you could offer coverage through MassMutual's group life insurance policies. Group plans are available as term, whole or universal life insurance. You can also choose to include group policy add-ons, such as critical illness and accident coverage riders.

MassMutual's LifeBridge Program

The LifeBridge plan is one of MassMutual's free life insurance programs. Designed for lower-income parents, LifeBridge provides a free $50,000 policy that can go toward your child's education if you die within a certain term. Eligibility is restricted to individuals who are:

Under the LifeBridge program, MassMutual would issue a $50,000 policy to a trust for a 10-year period with no cost to you. If you die during that period, payments for education expenses would begin immediately. This money could be used to pay for tuition, books, and campus room and board.

MassMutual customer reviews and complaints

MassMutual is a great choice for life insurance if you are looking for a financially stable provider. Financial strength ratings for MassMutual are overall good with an A.M. Best rating of A++ (Superior) and Standard & Poor's AA+ (Very Strong). These ratings indicate that MassMutual is positioned well to pay claims and is financially healthy.

MassMutual has received average grades and reviews from some of the largest rating companies. This includes the Better Business Bureau, which has not given MassMutual accreditation status and instead a rating of B. This is due to some negative customer reviews for its policy service and claims department. Additionally, MassMutual has an NAIC Complaint Ratio of 0.06. The median complaint is a 1.00, so the low ratio implies MassMutual is conscious about responding to customer issues.

MassMutual's CEO is Roger Crandall, and the company is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Frequently asked questions