Liberty Bankers Life Review

About Liberty Bankers Life

Liberty Bankers Life Insurance Company is part of the Texas-based Liberty Bankers Insurance Group, which also consists of American Benefit Life Insurance Company and The Capitol Life Insurance Company.

The company now known as Liberty Bankers Life was originally formed in 1958 as Royal Oak Life Insurance Company and, though headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is chartered in Oklahoma.

Liberty Bankers Life issues life insurance policies in 47 states through a network of over 6,000 independent agents.

In its marketing, the company emphasizes its personal approach to customer service, including an option of paying final expense insurance premiums to a company representative in-person at the policyholder’s home.

The application process is mostly automated, which generally speeds up the underwriting process and allows most new policies to be issued within a couple days.

Liberty Bankers Life Financial Ratings

A.M. Best: B++
Fitch: NR
Moody’s: NR
S&P Global: NR
Comdex Ranking: NR

Liberty Bankers Life enjoys a B++, “good,” rating from A.M. Best but is not currently scored by the other major rating services.  The B++ score is solid—and there’s little risk that the company will be unable to meet its policy obligations—but there are other insurers with higher ratings.

As of 2018, Liberty Bankers Life had nearly $2 billion in total assets, with an annual net income of over $10 million.

The company is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and does not currently have a BBB score.  However, Liberty Bankers previously had an A+ rating.  And BBB has only received six complaints regarding Liberty Bankers Life over the past two years, suggesting that customer service is not a cause for concern.

Products Offered by Liberty Bankers Life:

• Whole Life Insurance
• Final Expense Insurance
• Pre-Need Insurance (Final expense coverage coupled with a pre-paid funeral/burial plan)
• Term Life Insurance
• Annuities
• Medicare Supplement Insurance
• Critical Illness and Accident Insurance

Life Insurance Policies Offered by Liberty Bankers Life

SIMPL Final Expense Plan:

Liberty Bankers’ SIMPL policy is simplified-issue final expense whole life insurance tailored specifically to final expense coverage.

Benefit amounts, premiums, and cash-value accrual are all fixed, which allows for planning and budgeting predictability.

These burial insurance policies are also guaranteed to remain effective for life, as long as the policyholder pays all required premiums.

New applicants age 65 or below can obtain up to $25,000 in coverage, and applicants age 66-80 are eligible for coverage up to $15,000.

Modified Whole Life:

The Modified Whole Life policy is similar to SIMPL and is also geared toward final expense coverage.

The big difference between the two is that Modified Whole Life is designed for insureds who are unable to pass SIMPL’s medical screening requirements, and therefore policies include a three-year waiting period.

For the first three years after issuance, the death benefit is measured as a return of all premiums paid to date, plus 10%.

Full death-benefit coverage amounts kick in starting in year four and are increased by five percent at the conclusion of each of the next two years.  If death results from a qualifying “accident,” full policy proceeds are paid regardless of the waiting period.

Modified Whole Life is available for new applicants age 40 to 80 and is not eligible for some riders available with SIMPL.

Flex4Life:

Intended for customers in the market for a more traditional whole life policy, Flex4Life offers whole life coverage with higher death benefit amounts than Liberty Bankers’ final-expense products.

New applicants can be as young as 16 and as old as 80 and obtain coverage from as low as $10,000 to as high as $4 million—though a medical exam is required for coverage over $250,000.

The “flex” part comes from the variety of limited pay life insurance premium payment options available.  Premiums can be set so that a policy is fully paid-up by age 100, age 70, within 20 years (20-pay), or within 10 years (10-pay).  Liberty Bankers offers a 20% discount on first-year premiums (except for 10-pay policies) if a policyholder opts to pay on an annual basis

Liberty Legacy Single Premium Whole Life:

As the name suggests, Liberty Legacy is single premium whole life insurance.

The policy is intended as an estate-planning tool for maximizing the inheritance a policyholder is able to pass on to heirs.

Liberty Legacy is open to new applicants between age 50 and 80, with a required minimum premium payment of at least $20,000.

The lump-sum premium can be paid using an existing tax-deferred asset such as an annuity or retirement account, which can sometimes reduce tax liability for growth.

Single-premium whole life policies can also be useful in reducing estate tax liability, as policy proceeds are received by beneficiaries tax-free outside of probate.

An accelerated living benefit rider providing lifetime benefits for terminal or chronic conditions is included standard.

Available Life Insurance Riders

Children’s Benefit Rider:  This rider provides term insurance for a policyholder’s children or grandchildren for an increased premium.  Term coverage is available in increments of $5,000 (or $7,500 for grandchildren) and lasts until the covered child reaches age 25.

At that point, term coverage can be converted to a whole life policy with a face value equal to or up to five time higher than the term coverage provided by the rider.  No additional underwriting is required if the conversion is exercised.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D): Policy proceeds are increased if an insured’s death results from a qualifying accident.

Or, if an accident result in the insured’s loss of use of arms, legs, or eyes, an early policy benefit is paid out during life.

Waiver of Premium:  In the event an insured under age 60 becomes totally disabled for a period of at least six consecutive months, premium obligations are waived during the period of the disability.

The waiver of premium rider is not available for final-expense policies.

Accelerated Living Benefit:  If an insured is certified by a medical professional to have a life expectancy under 12 months (“terminal illness”) or to be unable to perform at least two activities of daily living (“chronic illness”), a portion of the policy’s death benefit will be paid out early.

A policy’s death benefit is reduced for any amounts paid out early under the rider.

Liberty Bankers also offers a similar critical illness rider that pays out 25% of policy benefits if the insured is diagnosed with a qualifying critical condition, such as heart attack, stroke, or life-threatening cancer.