Mass Mutual Life Insurance Review

MassMutual Ratings at a Glance

Term Life Insurance

Term life policies have guaranteed level premiums, and the companu offers an annual renewable term option. These policies are generally best for final expense life insurance coverage. It is possible to convert term policies to whole life with no fees or medical exams. Beneficiaries receive a lump sum payment at the time of death. 

Insureds have the option of adding an accelerated death benefit, rider or waiver of premium rider. 

Whole Life Insurance

Mass Mutual offers ten different options for whole life insurance policies. All policies offer coverage and level premiums for a lifetime. With few exceptions, whole life insurance plans accumulate cash value. 

With the exception of the CareChoice One Hybrid Life and CareChoice Select Hybrid Life plans, insureds have can add the following riders:

• Waiver of premium
• Additional life insurance
• Estate protection
• Life insurance supplement
• Long-term care access
• Renewable term
• Guaranteed insurability
• Transfer of insured
• Accelerated death benefit
• Yearly term purchase
• Accelerated death benefit for terminal illness of surviving insured
• Survivorship additional life insurance
• Survivorship life insurance supplement
• Waiver of premium on death of specified insured
• Policy split option

Universal Life Insurance

Mass Mutual offers three universal life insurance policies, including UL Guard, SUL Guard, and VUL III. 

The premiums and lifetime coverage periods are flexible enough to accommodate changing life circumstances. Policies accumulate cash value, and policyholders may borrow against the benefit. You can plan better for your financial future and there is a death benefit that will be paid to your spouse, dependent children or other beneficiaries.

Insureds may have the option to add the following riders onto index universal life insurance policies:

• Accelerated benefit
• Policy split option
• Substitute insured
• Disability benefit
• Accelerated benefit
• Guaranteed insurability
• Estate protection
• Other insured
• Waiver of monthly charges
• Waiver of specific premium

Note that long-term care insurance, which may be part of a whole life insurance policy, differs from health insurance because it provides funds to care for people while they are living. Premiums for long-term care insurance will be much lower when insureds buy it when they are young. 

Policyholders have a variety of options for contacting customer service representatives. The best way is by setting up an online account. Customers can use the online platform to manage their beneficiaries and pay their bills. You can speak to a financial professional about your level of financial protection, life insurance benefits or even change your life insurance beneficiary. You may also inquire about product availability in another life insurance program that appeals to your financial situation.

Mass Mutual’s website is informative and easy to navigate. Its contact page breaks down products including life insurance by category, making it easy to get information quickly. 

The website has a chat function, but the responses are automated and only mildly helpful. It lists no customer service phone numbers on the website pages, making it frustrating for customers who prefer to speak with a representative. 

It is easy to file a claim online using a fill-in-the-blank form. Mass Mutual sends out claim packets within three business days. Once customers have met all the claim requirements, the company sends out payment within seven calendar days. 

Customers will also find apps on the Apple Store and Google Play so they can easily manage their accounts using a mobile phone. 

Most of the Better Business Bureau reviews relate more to financial products than life insurance, which likely contributes to the slightly lower rating. On a positive note, NAIC complaints are down from 25 in 2020, 28 in 2019, and 31 in 2018, which demonstrates a downward trend. 

The online quoting process is easy, and you can get results in under a minute. For example, a 40-year-old male who lives in Michigan and is a non-smoker with average health can receive a $100,000 term life insurance policy for $22.45 per month, which is $258 per year. 

Mass Mutual offers the options of paying annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly. Monthly payers can make payments online or set up recurring payment withdrawals. Customers can use the mobile app to make payments; however, it does not accept credit card payments. Customers can change their payment options at any time.

Term life insurance policy premiums increase significantly for people over the age of 65, and the company requires a medical exam. 

The application process varies based on the individual’s circumstances and the type of policy they are applying for. Applicants can start filling out the application online. Depending on the answers to the questions, the applicant may need to finish up the application by speaking with an insurance agent. The application process is fairly straightforward and is similar to other competitors’ life insurance applications. 

While the mobile app allows insureds to manage their accounts and billing, it is not set up to apply for insurance using the mobile app. 

In most cases, applicants will have to agree to take a medical exam before the policy gets issued. For insureds who wish to forgo the medical exam, Mass Mutual does have an insurance product that does not require a physical examination. 

Mass Mutual vs. Competitors

New York Life, also a mutual life insurance company, may be Mass Mutual’s closest competitor. Both companies were founded in the 1800s. However, what sets Mass Mutual apart is that its premiums are slightly better in most cases. 

If the Net Promoter Score (NPS) is any indication, customers prefer Mass Mutual over Prudential. The NPS is a metric that measures the customer’s experience. Mass Mutual gets an NPS of 37, while Prudential’s NPS is -10. 

While Mass Mutual has highly competitive rates overall, premiums with Northwestern Mutual Insurance are only slightly better for smokers and people over the age of 65. 

A facet of Mass Mutual that makes it something of a unicorn is its LifeBridge Program. This program issues $50,000 of life insurance to a trust for child education for a period of 10 years. If a parent dies during the term, the child could access the benefit for education purposes. Payments begin immediately after the parents’ death, and it is completely free for parents with low income.  

Benzinga gives Mass Mutual an overall rating of 4.0. It receives points for having a wide variety of options for term, whole life and universal life products, as well as for having a strong offering of financial products and services. 

Mass Mutual also scores high in the area of competitive pricing, as plans are affordable for younger and middle-aged individuals. 

Adding to its credit, Mass Mutual is one of the oldest and largest life insurance companies in the country. Trustpilot gives Mass Mutual a score of 3.2, which could be a bit higher with some improvements in its customer service area. 

Mass Mutual: Additional Options

Mass Mutual also offers group life insurance plans for employers to offer their employees as a benefit. 

As it pertains to retirement planning, Mass Mutual offers a range of fixed and variable annuities, IRAs, mutual funds, 529 plans, exchange-traded funds and unit investment trusts. 

The representatives at Mass Mutual also educate and assist customers with certain issues such as budgeting, saving for college, estate planning, retirement planning and financial recovery. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources
NAIC. Long-Term Care Insurance. Accessed January 19, 2022.