Term life insurance

Term life insurance stays in place for a set period before coverage expires. Mutual of Omaha offers a Term Life Answers policy to adults ages 18 to 80 with terms of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. The death benefit starts at $100,000, although the upper limit isn’t disclosed.

If you’re 75 or younger, you can get a Term Life Express policy without an exam for up to $300,000, which is significantly lower than what’s offered by other brands.

Term Life Express policy has a simplified underwriting process but it does come with age and coverage limits:

• Age 18 to 50: $25,000 to $300,000
• Age 51 to 60: $25,000 to $250,000
• Ages 61 to 75: $25,000 to $150,000

Whole life insurance

Whole life is a type of permanent life insurance that remains in place for your entire life.

Mutual of Omaha doesn’t issue standard whole life insurance or joint life insurance for couples. Its whole-life offerings are limited to final expense or burial policies, meant to cover funeral costs, medical bills and other debts you might leave behind.

These burial policies come with coverage limits between $2,000 and $25,000 and are available to applicants between 45 and 85. The application doesn’t require an exam or health questions and your premiums won’t increase over time.

Children’s whole life insurance

Mutual of Omaha is one of a few insurers that offer children’s whole life insurance. These policies are available for children from as young as 14 days up to as old as 17 years, and have benefit amounts that range from $5,000 to $50,000.

There’s no medical exam with the application and only three health questions. The policies can accumulate cash value and, so long as the premiums are paid, coverage will follow your child their entire life.

Universal life insurance

Like whole life, universal life insurance can build cash value and stays in force as long as you make payments

Premiums and payouts are flexible, however, and the growth of the cash value component is tied to interest rates and the market. You’ll need to closely monitor your plan to make sure it’s not underfunded, which could lead to it being cancelled.

Mutual of Omaha has several products in its universal life insurance lineup:

• Life Protection Advantage: An indexed universal life insurance policy with a death benefit guaranteed until age 90. The cash value component is tied to a stock market index, like the S&P 500.
• Income Advantage: This plan’s cash value is pegged to the stock market’s overall performance, so the money is not invested in individual stocks or tied to an index.
• AccumUL Answers: This universal life policy requires a medical exam and accumulates cash value with an interest rate of at least 2%.

Term life insurance riders

• Terminal illness rider: Also called an accelerated death benefit rider, this add-on allows you to use a portion of your death benefits to pay for care if you’ve been diagnosed with a terminal condition.
• Critical illness rider: Similar to a terminal illness rider, this endorsement allows you to access benefits early if you have certain conditions, like a heart attack or major organ failure.
• Chronic illness rider: Access part of your benefits if you’re diagnosed with a condition that keeps you from being able to perform at least two of the six activities of daily living, moving, dressing, eating, bathing or going to the bathroom
• Waiver of premium for unemployment rider: If you lose your job, your premiums can be waived for up to six months.
• Residential damage waiver of premium rider: You can have premiums waived for up to six months if your home requires more than $25,000 worth of repairs.
• Common carrier death benefit provision: This rider provides an additional 100% of your death benefit (or $250,000, whichever is greater) If you die as a result of being aboard an airplane, train or bus.
• Waiver of premium rider: Your premiums are waived if you become disabled while the policy is in force.
• Accidental death benefit: Can bolster your death benefit if you die from an accident.
• Dependent children’s coverage: Can cover a child or children instead of getting separate policies.

The brand earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, the highest grade possible, and receives a very small share of complaints about life insurance compared to its competitors, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Rate quotes for term policies are not available on the Mutual of Omaha website or app and there is no online chat feature.

Customer service representatives are only available by phone on weekdays, although you can request a call from an agent through the website instead of waiting on hold.

The company also has physical branches in 27 states for in-person attention.

• Disability insurance: Provides income if you’re unable to work due to injury or illness. Mutual of Omaha has earned a top spot in our roundup of the best disability insurance companies.
• Long-term care insurance: Can pay for care if you’re not able to complete daily tasks of living, like eating or bathing. Mutual of Omaha is also one of CNBC Select’s top picks for long-term care insurance.
• Critical illness insurance: A cash benefit that covers expenses associated with a serious medical condition, like a stroke or cancer.

Mutual of Omaha vs. Guardian

Guardian could be a better fit if you’re looking for term life insurance: It offers online quotes and has policies that pay up to $5 million, including no-exam plans worth up to $3 million. Mutual of Omaha’s Term Life Express caps at $300,000 and its Term Life Answers policy requires a medical exam as well as special approval for death benefits above $500,000.

It’s worth noting that Guardian limits term-life policies to age 75, while Mutual of Omaha accepts applicants up to age 80.

To purchase a life insurance policy, you can call Mutual of Omaha’s sales department at 866-248-2851, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.

To work with an agent in person, there are physical branches in 27 states and Puerto Rico.

Rate quotes aren’t available on the Mutual of Omaha website, however, and you can’t buy a policy online — even for term life insurance.

It might not be a good fit if you want to buy a term life policy online, however, or if you are looking for robust whole life insurance options.

In addition, we also considered J.D. Power’s life insurance survey, financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, Better Business Bureau grades and scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint index.

Life insurance rates may come from various sources, including the provider and state insurance departments.