Bestow life insurance review

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Best for: People looking for instant coverage

Our take: Bestow comes out on top for a quick and seamless application process. After answering just a few questions about your health and lifestyle choices, you can get a quote and purchase coverage.

Bestow is a relatively young insurer that offers term policies and provides insurance at a competitive rate. Bestow offers people an expedient life insurance application and quick turnaround time. Your coverage is active immediately after your application is approved. If you want coverage now, Bestow is the way to go.

Additionally, Bestow makes getting the right coverage for your unique needs a lot easier by connecting you with a live agent. The insurer provides a scheduling service so it is easy to book a call with an insurance agent and talk through your needs. 

What Bestow has to say: “Today’s customers expect a frictionless online buying experience for everything, including life insurance,” says Melbourne O’Banion, Bestow’s co-founder and chief executive officer.

Pros:

  • Delivers a quick and easy application process
  • Offers immediate coverage with no waiting period
  • Provides a live chat service
  • Uses online scheduling system to chat with a representative

Cons:

  • Doesn’t offer riders

Bestow’s third-party ratings

Trustworthiness
A+
Financial Strength
A+
Customer Experience
4.6

Trustworthiness: The Better Business Bureau evaluates businesses on their behavior, trustworthiness, and performance. A business with a high ranking from the BBB can be trusted to meet its commitments. The BBB gives Bestow an A+.

Financial strength: A.M. Best evaluates a company’s financial health and its ability to meet its financial obligations. A.M. Best gives Bestow an A+ — a superior rating.

Customer experience: Trustpilot is an online platform for individuals to provide reviews of companies and their customer experience. Trustpilot gives Bestow a rating of 4.6 out of a possible 5.

How Bestow stacks up against selected competitors

Third-party ratingsBestowHaven LifeLadderFabric
TrustworthinessA+A+NRA+
Financial StrengthA+NRAA+
Customer Experience4.64.54.84.7

More details about Bestow life insurance

Policies offered:

  • Life products offered: Term life.

Rates:

  • Start at $11 a month.

Insurance partners:

  • Bestow Life Insurance Co. is reinsured by financial institutions such as Munich Re and Hanover Insurance Group. Prior to 2023, most policies were issued by North American Company for Life and Health Insurance.

Other details:

  • Ages and coverage limits: Anyone 18 to 60 years old can apply for 10- to 30-year term policies offering up to $1.5 million in coverage. You must be a U.S. citizen or hold a green card to be eligible. New York residents are excluded.
  • Waiting period: Most applicants get a decision instantly. Coverage is in force as soon as the policy is approved and payment is made.
  • Medical requirements: The company offers life insurance without a medical exam, although the company requires people to provide their medical history when applying for a policy.
  • Application time: The company says it can provide customers with quotes in seconds and insurance in a day.

How much does Bestow life insurance cost?

Bestow’s life insurance premiums are generally higher than the industry average for men. For example, a 25-year-old male purchasing $1 million in life insurance coverage for a 20-year term is quoted $66 from Bestow, while the industry average for that demographic is $42. The price discrepancy for women is a lot lower. A 25-year-old female purchasing the same policy is quoted $29, while the industry average for that demographic is $28. 

How much Bestow costs for healthy nonsmokers

The following table shows Bestow monthly rates by age and gender for healthy non-smokers purchasing 20-year term policies. 

AgeGender $500,000 in coverage$1 million in coverage
25Female$18$29
25Male$37$66
35Female$26$47
35Male$36$66
45Female$60$115
45Male$88$169
55Female$176$338
55MaleN/AN/A

How much Bestow costs for smokers

The following table shows Bestow monthly rates by age and gender for smokers purchasing 20-year term policies. 

AgeGender $500,000 in coverage$1 million in coverage
25Female$50$94
25Male$95$183
35Female$85$163
35Male$153$299
45Female$202$302
45Male$328$648
55FemaleN/AN/A
55MaleN/AN/A

How Bestow’s premiums stack up against selected competitors

The following table shows how Bestow’s monthly rates for a healthy 35-year-old compare with selected competitors for $500,000 in coverage.

GenderBestowLadderWyshboxFabric
Female$26$19$21$21
Male$36$22$30$24

Company background: The company was founded by entrepreneurs Melbourne O’Banion and Jonathan Abelmann. O’Banion says that getting life insurance has traditionally been a four- to six-week process that involved medical exams and working with an agent. “We just thought that was crazy,” he says.

Bestow says it differs from other online life insurance companies in that it uses its own technology to underwrite the policies it offers — allowing it to accelerate the underwriting process.

Interesting tidbit: In July 2022, the insurer partnered with Empathy, a company that developed a bereavement-care platform. Bestow customers can access Empathy’s app, which helps simplify tasks — such as the end-of-life paperwork and estate administration — that arise when a loved one dies.

States where Bestow is available

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States where Bestow is available
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY
Available
Not available

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