Where you live doesn’t really matter when you get life insurance quotes. The best life insurance companies in Pennsylvania will depend on the amount and type of coverage you need, your age, health, habits, and other personal details.
Since life insurance rates don’t vary by state, our best life insurance companies in Pennsylvania are similar to our recommendations for the overall best companies for the same categories. But while the cost of life insurance doesn’t change because of your location, where you live can affect company availability and the laws and regulations for things like grace periods and contestability timing.
Policygenius rating | Best for … | AM Best score | Number of complaints | Cost | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.9/5 ★ | Overall, cheapest, term, smokers | A+ | Lower than average | $ | ||
5.0/5 ★ | No-medical-exam, young adults, | A | More than average | $ | ||
4.8/5 ★ | Pre-existing conditions, marijuana users | A | Lower than average | $ | ||
4.9/5 ★ | Whole | A++ | Much lower than average | $$$ |
Methodology
Why you can trust our picks
Our recommendations are based on internal and external expert analysis, as well as our Policygenius Life Insurance Price Index, which uses real-time data from leading life insurance companies to determine pricing trends. When reviewing a life insurance company, our editorial team uses a proprietary scoring rubric with five factors — price, policy details, financial strength, transparency, and customer experience — to assign an unbiased rating between one and five stars. These ratings are also taken into consideration as part of our company recommendations. We don’t get paid for our reviews.
Our reviews and recommendations can help you find a reliable insurer for your family’s financial protection, but the best life insurance company for you depends on multiple factors. A licensed agent at Policygenius can support you during the application process to ensure you get the right coverage for your circumstances at the most competitive price.
Best overall life insurance company in Pennsylvania: Legal & General
The best overall life insurance company in Pennsylvania is Legal & General America, which also does business as Banner Life and William Penn in other states. Legal & General America is a top choice thanks to its affordable rates, even for people with high blood pressure, diabetes, or who smoke.
We also like that Legal & General America receives a fewer-than-average number of complaints. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Legal & General receives about 65% fewer complaints than expected for the industry.
Cheapest life insurance company in Pennsylvania: Legal & General America
Legal & General America offers the cheapest life insurance rates in Pennsylvania across multiple categories, but remember that where you live doesn’t actually affect the cost of life insurance.
The best way to find affordable life insurance for your age, health profile, and the amount of coverage you need in Pennsylvania — and anywhere else — is by comparing quotes. You can also save money by getting life insurance while you’re relatively young since life insurance gets more expensive as you age.
Best term life insurance in Pennsylvania: Legal & General America
The best term life insurance company in Pennsylvania is also Legal & General America. Legal & General America is our top pick because it offers policies with term lengths up to 40 years — longer than other companies.
A term life insurance policy is the best choice for most people, and it’s one of the most straightforward types of life insurance. Here’s how it works: when you buy a policy, you choose your policy’s term length and the coverage amount. You make your regular payments to keep the policy active, and then if you die during this term, your family or loved ones will receive a payment.
Best no-medical-exam life insurance in Pennsylvania: Brighthouse Financial
The best company for no-medical-exam life insurance in Pennsylvania is Brighthouse Financial. We recommend Brighthouse Financial because of its affordable rates (even if you have high blood pressure or sleep apnea) and because qualified applicants can get a policy with up to $3 million in coverage without a medical exam.
Not everyone is eligible for no-medical-exam life insurance. You can only qualify for a policy if you're in good health — but if you do qualify you may be able to get a life insurance policy in about 24 hours.
Best whole life insurance in Pennsylvania: MassMutual
MassMutual has the best whole life insurance in Pennsylvania. MassMutual has high financial strength ratings, including an A++ rating from AM Best. Stability is important when it comes to whole life insurance because these policies are guaranteed to pay out when you die — you want your insurance company to be around for a long time.
A whole life insurance policy includes a cash savings component that gains interest over time, and you can use it while you’re living. Some life insurance companies (MassMutual included) also pay out dividends on your policy’s cash value component, which can be a big perk depending on the policy.
Best life insurance for seniors in Pennsylvania: Prudential
The best life insurance company for seniors in Pennsylvania is Prudential, which offers affordable coverage even if you’re 60 years or older. You may still be able to get cheap life insurance from Prudential if you have age-related health problems, like osteoporosis or arthritis.
Best life insurance for young adults in Pennsylvania: Brighthouse Financial
The best and cheapest life insurance for young adults in Pennsylvania comes from Brighthouse Financial. It’s not difficult to find affordable life insurance while you’re young, but rates are especially cheap with Brighthouse Financial — plus you may be able to qualify for life insurance without having to go through the medical exam process.
Best life insurance for people with pre-existing conditions in Pennsylvania: Lincoln Financial
The best life insurance company in Pennsylvania if you have a pre-existing condition is Lincoln Financial. Lincoln Financial’s rates remain affordable for lots of different pre-existing conditions, including high blood pressure, arthritis, and a history of cancer, stroke, and diabetes.
Best life insurance for marijuana users in Pennsylvania: Lincoln Financial
The best life insurance company for marijuana users in Pennsylvania is Lincoln Financial. Some companies lump marijuana users in with tobacco smokers, which means higher rates, but Lincoln Financial offers marijuana users non-smoker rates.
Recreational marijuana use isn’t legal in Pennsylvania, but it’s still important to be honest with your life insurance company about your habits. If your insurance company finds out that you lied when you applied for coverage, it can put any future claims at risk.
Best life insurance for smokers in Pennsylvania: Legal & General America
Life insurance is much more expensive for smokers than for non-smokers, but some companies offer more favorable rates than others.
Legal & General America has the best rates for smokers in Pennsylvania, and you can apply for lower rates after one year of being smoke-free — other companies require you wait at least two years to re-apply.
How is life insurance different in Pennsylvania?
It’s important to know about the life insurance laws and regulations in Pennsylvania, since those can vary from state to state. [1]
Contestable period: The contestable period in Pennsylvania is two years after you get a policy. That’s the amount of time your life insurance company has to cancel your policy or deny a claim if it finds out you misrepresented yourself when you applied for coverage.
Free look period: The free look period in Pennsylvania is 10 days after you get life insurance. This is the time during which you can cancel the policy and still get a full refund.
Grace periods for missed payments: You have 31 days after missing a payment to pay your premium before your life insurance company can cancel your policy.
Guaranty Fund: If your life insurance company goes out of business, Pennsylvania’s Guaranty Fund will cover up to $300,000 of your life insurance benefits and up to $100,000 of your policy’s cash surrender value.
Time to settle a claim: Your life insurance company has 30 days after receiving proof of death to settle a claim.
Largest life insurance companies in Pennsylvania
Many of the country’s largest life insurance companies offer policies in Pennsylvania. Here are the 10 largest life insurance companies in Pennsylvania by market share. [2]
Company | Market share in Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
Prudential | 6.61% |
Northwestern Mutual | 6.08% |
MassMutual | 6.03% |
New York Life | 5.76% |
MetLife | 5.18% |
Lincoln Financial | 5.09% |
Nationwide | 4.24% |
State Farm | 3.09% |
Guardian Life | 2.83% |
Penn Mutual | 2.68% |
What happens if a life insurance company goes bankrupt in Pennsylvania?
Your life insurance company probably won’t go out of business, but if it does, the Pennsylvania Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association will step in to cover part of your policy as long as you keep paying your premiums.
If your life insurance company becomes bankrupt, the Pennsylvania Guaranty Association will cover up to $300,000 in your life insurance benefits and up to $100,000 of your policy’s cash surrender value.
How to find a lost life insurance policy in Pennsylvania
You can find a lost life insurance policy in Pennsylvania by searching the Life Insurance Policy Locator Service from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. You can only search for a missing policy if you have a connection to the deceased person.
Average life insurance rates in Pennsylvania
The average cost of life insurance for a healthy 35-year old in Pennsylvania who’s buying a $500,000, 20-year term policy is $27 per month ($307 per year) for women and $32 per month ($373 per year) for men.
Remember: where you live doesn’t affect the cost of life insurance. Your rates depend on other factors, like your age, health, and lifestyle, plus your policy’s term length and coverage amount.
According to Policygenius data from 2023, here’s what people pay for life insurance, on average, based on age, gender, and coverage type and amount:
Age | Gender | $250,000 coverage amount | $500,000 coverage amount | $1 million coverage amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
20 | Female | $15 | $23 | $34 |
Male | $19 | $29 | $48 | |
30 | Female | $15 | $23 | $37 |
Male | $18 | $29 | $49 | |
40 | Female | $22 | $35 | $61 |
Male | $25 | $43 | $75 | |
50 | Female | $44 | $78 | $139 |
Male | $57 | $102 | $188 | |
60 | Female | $108 | $194 | $355 |
Male | $149 | $268 | $500 |
Methodology: Average monthly rates are calculated for male and female non-smokers in a Preferred health classification obtaining a 20-year $250,000, $500,000, or $1,000,000 term life insurance policy. Life insurance averages are based on a composite of policies offered by Policygenius from Brighthouse Financial, Corebridge Financial, Foresters Financial, Legal & General America, Lincoln Financial, Mutual of Omaha, Pacific Life, Protective, Prudential, Symetra, and Transamerica, and the Policygenius Life Insurance Price Index, which uses real-time data from leading life insurance companies to determine pricing trends. Rates may vary by insurer, term, coverage amount, health class, and state. Not all policies are available in all states. Rate illustration valid as of 09/01/2024.
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