It is Ethos vs Haven vs Ladder vs Bestow vs Fabric when it comes to online life insurance. But the question is, among all these, which one is the best choice? How do they compare from one another?
Perhaps you’ve seen a couple of these companies’ ads online. Maybe just like us, you probably are also wondering where all these came from. Why suddenly, they’re all over the online world? How do they fare to the more popular life insurance providers?
These and a few other questions are exactly what we are going to tackle in this post. We’ll make a comparison – an in-depth review about which among these five is the best deal when it comes to online life insurance.
Let’s face it. We are not getting any younger.
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The older we become, the nearer we get to passing. But the question is, should it happen anytime, are we prepared?
In reality, we know a lot of us are not comfortable talking about life insurance. It’s not something that is fun to talk about, and yeah, it’s not a process that a lot of people enjoy.
But the thing is, we all need life insurance. It is an essential part of our lives, at the same time, a challenging element of financial planning.
Let’s face it, when we are young, we thought about living the best life and all that. That’s what in our minds, but as we grow older, we realize that life is life. Some things happen inevitably and are out of our control. When that happens are we and our families ready for it?
That is precisely the very reason why life insurance is important.
In data presented by Policygenius, it says that 57% of American adults have life insurance. Meanwhile, according to the 2019 LIMRA and Life Happens report about life insurance in the country, it says that the percent of American adults who own life insurance ranges between 63% and 57%.
In addition, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the number of life insurance policies purchased in the country in 2017 is around 28 million, which is just a bit higher compared to the year before that.
If you come to think about it, there are still a lot of work to be done. There are still a few more who needs to get themselves life insurance. No doubt why insurance companies continue to find ways to make insurance a pleasing topic to talk about.
It is probably the reason also why they need to conquer the online world. Thus these online insurance providers like Ethos, Haven, Ladder, Bestow, and Fabric.
Before we even make a comparison about these five insurance providers, we find it essential that you understand first the importance of life insurance – for you to be able to appreciate it and grasp the need to get one.
DEFINITION OF LIFE INSURANCE
First and foremost, before we even make an in-depth comparison — Ethos vs Haven vs Ladder vs Bestow vs Fabric – let’s define what life insurance is.
According to Investopedia, life insurance refers to “a contract between an insurer and a policyholder in which the insurer guarantees payment of a death benefit to named beneficiaries upon the death of the insured“. The insurance company makes itself responsible for providing a “death benefit in consideration of the payment of premium by the insured,” which is usually calculated using a free asset ratio. Its very purpose is to “provide financial protection to surviving dependents after the death of an insured”.
IMPORTANCE OF A LIFE INSURANCE
In an article published by Entrepreneur.com, it says that life insurance is “a step taken to protect, care and safeguard for the future”.
Meanwhile, according to iA Financial Group, life insurance is essential because “it protects your family and lets you leave them a non-taxable amount at the time of death”. Apart from that, it is also used to cover a mortgage, as well as personal loans.
Furthermore, individual life insurance “follows you when you retire and you are no longer insured by your employer”. It will also replace the income of your family when there are fewer resources, and help maintain the quality of life you have.
To put it simply, life insurance is not just for you, but most importantly, it is for your family. Life is unpredictable, and having life insurance helps you somehow be able to deal with all the unpredictability.
If you want to know more about the importance of life insurance, you may want to check below video by Tom Hegna wherein he shares about the top three reasons why you must have life insurance:
CHOOSING LIFE INSURANCE
There are a couple of life insurance choices, and it is important that you know your options before you even get one. To help you through the process of making a decision on what life insurance to choose, you got to ask yourself three major questions. These are as follows:
1. What is your family and work situation at the moment?
As we mentioned, life insurance is not just for you, but it’s more of for your family. That is why normally when people get life insurance, their decisions are influenced by the family’s situation, the person’s age, overall health and well-being, and your employment status (are you employed or self-employed).
Know that in the case of death, life insurance will help ensure that your family will not have a hard time dealing with financial problems regarding your funeral and any outstanding debt you have. Your debts will not be a burden for your family members. But apart from that, life insurance is also an effective tool for protecting your business, if you have one.
2. What are your goals in life?
Apart from your current life status, life goals are also important in determining the kind of life insurance you will get. One perfect example is, are you getting married and/or having kids soon? This helps evaluate how much life insurance you should take to be able to protect your loved ones in case the unlikely happens.
3. What is the ideal coverage type for you?
Do you need short-term coverage or long-term? Would you rather choose coverage that generates liquidity? These and more.
To be able to know the right coverage type based on your goals and needs, it is best to talk to a financial security advisor.
To give you an idea, though, here are some examples of the different types of life insurance:
- Term
- Level Term
- Decreasing Term
- Whole
- Permanent
- Traditional Whole
- Universal
- Variable Universal
ETHOS VS HAVEN VS LADDER VS BESTOW VS FABRIC: OVERVIEW
So, now you already have known the basics yet the most important things when it comes to acquiring life insurance. It is time to compare Ethos vs Haven vs Ladder vs Bestow vs Fabric. How does each differ from one another? Ultimately, which is the best choice?
ETHOS
Ethos is a relatively new insurance company. It was founded in 2017 as a simple online platform wherein you can apply for life insurance, and could possibly give approval immediately.
Ethos policies are being issued by either Assurity Life Insurance Company or Banner Life Insurance Company (A Legal & General America Company).
According to customer reviews, the company offers term life insurance with prices that come lower than traditional insurance agencies.
HAVEN
Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC or simply called Haven is a life insurance start-up. It offers easy and affordable life insurance selections online as issued by MassMutual.
Haven is a fully owned insurance company by MassMutual, which is a trusted life insurance company that comes with more than 160 years of experience in the industry.
LADDER
Just like the rest of the other four life insurance companies, Ladder is also new. It is an insurance start-up that offers term life insurance, particularly to people aged 20 to 60 years old.
Ladder is known for letting their customers decrease their coverage amount depending on their needs. Ladder’s policies are issued by the Fidelity Security Life Insurance Co.
If you want to know more about Ladder, you may want to check below video wherein Ladder customers talk about their experience with the company:
BESTOW
Bestow is also a relatively new term life insurance company online. The company is focused on providing low-cost online term life insurance.
In fact, you could have a policy worth $1 million in just — 5 minutes! That easy.
FABRIC
Fabric is another start-up life insurance company. Apart from term life insurance, it also offers accidental death insurance.
It’s a one-stop-shop for families who aim to organize their finances. Fabric is backed by the insurance giant, Vantis Life Insurance Company.
ETHOS VS HAVEN VS LADDER VS BESTOW VS FABRIC: COMPARISON TABLE
Before we move on, here’s a comparison table for your reference. This may help you have an easier understanding as to what makes one different from the other.
| ITEMS FOR COMPARISON | ETHOS | HAVEN | LADDER | BESTOW | FABRIC |
| Term Life Insurance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes; Accidental Death Insurance |
| Coverage Options | Up to 30 Years | Up to 30 Years | Up to 30 Years | 2, 10 and 20 Years | 10, 15 or 20 Years |
| Ages Covered | 18 – 75 | 18 – 64 | 20 – 60 | 21 – 54 | 21 – 60 |
| Amount Covered Range | $25,000 to $10,000,000 | $25,000 to $3,000,000 | $100,000 to $8,000,000 | $50,000 to $1,000,000 | $100,000 to $5,000,000 |
| Issuer | Banner Life Insurance Company | MassMutual | Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company | North American Company for Life and Health Insurance | Vantis Life |
| Underwriter A.M. Best Financial Strength | A+ | A++ | A | A+ | A+ |
| Simple Term Insurance? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (except CA+NY, more below) |
| Typical Cost | Above Average | Above Average | Above Average | Most Competitive | Most Competitive |
| Health Check Up Required | Usually Not | Usually Not | Often No | Never | Usually No |
| Easy to Apply | Very Easy | Very Easy | Pretty Easy | Easiest | Easy |
| Have to Talk to a Sales Person | No | No | No | No | No |
| Display Price Online | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Policy Riders | Critical Illness, Child Term, Premium Waivers, Endowment Benefit Rider | Accidental Death Premium Waivers | None | None | None |
| Convert to Whole Life Option | Available | No | No | No | Yes |
ETHOS VS HAVEN VS LADDER VS BESTOW VS FABRIC: COVERAGE OPTIONS, AGE, AND AMOUNT COVERAGE
As you can see in the table, Ethos, Haven, and Ladder, are the same when it comes to coverage options. Meanwhile, Bestow has three options — that is either you go for 2, 10, or 20 years. As with Fabric, the options are 10, 15, or 20 years.
When it comes to age coverage, the five insurance companies are a little different from one another. Ethos coves 18 to 75 years old, Haven is for 18 to 64 years old, while Ladder covers individuals aged 20 to 60 years old. Meanwhile, Bestow covers 21 to 54 years old, and Fabric covers those from aged 21 to 60.
Based on the age coverage, it is very clear that Ethos has the most number of age covered as compared to the other four.
Now, when it comes to the amount covered, all five are completely different as well.
Ethos covers between $25,000 and $10,000,000, while Haven is from $25,000 to $3,000,000. With Ladder, there amount covered ranges from $100,000 to $8,000,000, Bestow is from $50,000 to $1,000,000, and Fabric amount covered is from $100,000 to $5,000,000.
In terms of amount coverage, it also shows that Ethos is the best option as it covers way bigger as compared to the other four online life insurance providers.
ETHOS VS HAVEN VS LADDER VS BESTOW VS FABRIC: TERM LIFE INSURANCE
Ethos, Haven, Ladder, Bestow, and Fabric offer term life insurance. Probably because of the many benefits of getting a term life insurance, which includes:
– Lesser Cost — Whole life is more costly. In fact, some sites or insurance providers offer a whole life quote that is 6 to 10 times more expensive on a monthly basis.
– Easier to understand — Term life insurance is simple — all you need is choose what you want and how long you want it. After that, the cost is presented, and no other “surprise” costing will show up.
Just so you know, term life is ideal for married people or those with children who they want to protect in case they pass.
It is also ideal for those who have someone that needs to be tan care of in case you die or those whose parents co-signed your debts or loans.
Term life insurance is very common especially because it is easy to understand, and it covers the basic needs of people.
ETHOS VS HAVEN VS LADDER VS BESTOW VS FABRIC: COSTING
Insurance cost differs from one person to another. Also, it varies because of several factors like age, gender, health, location, and of course, the needs. There are actually a lot more — but these are some of the major factors that need to be taken into consideration.
Having said that, it’s really hard to generalize which insurance provider is the lowest — cost-wise.
But so you get to have an idea, a reference, we instead rank them as follows:
Best Pricing — For this category, we give it to Bestow, Ladder, and Fabric
Second Best Pricing — This we give to Haven.
Third Best Pricing — This goes to Ladder.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the highest pricing, Ethos is on top of our list. But of course, ultimately, traditional insurance companies are different more costly than these online insurance companies.
ETHOS VS HAVEN VS LADDER VS BESTOW VS FABRIC: BEST ONLINE EXPERIENCE
Each company has their own rules and ways when it comes to processing applications for life insurance. Although compared to traditional insurance companies, what these online insurance companies offer are really more convenient, needless to say, the process is made easier and fast.
These new life insurance agencies try to make getting a quote and give pricing in a super-fast way possible without having to talk to or deal with any salesperson.
It’s basically just like online shopping.
Now, in this category though, we have to say that Bestow offers the best online experience. All you have to do is answer a single form wherein they will ask you basic information like your birthdate, gender, weight, height, and location. They will also ask if you smoke or not. And then, that’s it! You’ll get to see a price quote.
ETHOS VS HAVEN VS LADDER VS BESTOW VS FABRIC: THE VERDICT
To be honest, it’s hard to pick one, because just like any other online or traditional life insurance company, each of them has its own ups and downs. Price-wise, all the companies are very competitive.
But of course, it’s always just about the price. When it comes to choosing life insurance, you also have to look into the coverage and all that.
By the way, it is important that you understand that none of these companies actually issue a policy. Thus, it’s like forming a relationship with the underwriter you have chosen to deal with. When choosing an underwriter though, you have to ensure it is stable and should have a very good reputation.
Having said that, we have to give it to not just one, but three companies — Bestow, Haven, and Fabric. Needless to say, these three companies are fast and unproblematic to deal with.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON ETHOS VS HAVEN VS LADDER VS BESTOW VS FABRIC
It’s nice knowing that insurance companies have also taken advantage of technology and the internet, making it more accessible to people. More so, it made purchasing insurance easier and faster.
Have you tried any of these insurance companies yet? If not yet, here’s what we have to say.
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