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Ladder No Exam Life Insurance

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Ladder is a digital insurance platform based in California. The company offers fully underwritten term life policies that provide substantial coverage at very reasonable rates.

This Ladder Life review exhibits the company’s innovative approach to life insurance, its uniquely designed term life policy, and the pros and cons of choosing Ladder to help protect loved ones.

Our Take

Ladder is a very good choice for those who are young, healthy, and in need of a term life policy. Individuals in their 50s or 60s and with pre-existing conditions will likely get better coverage from another company. Other companies do not have entry barriers for these age groups and health categories, and they have more lenient underwriting guidelines as well. 

Get a quote from Ladder here.

About Ladder

Established in 2015, Ladder is one of the newest entrants to the US insurance market. The company’s tech-savvy approach makes it easy to buy life insurance coverage, as the whole process can be completed online.

Ladder’s instant approval process has made the company gain popularity rather quickly. In fact, within the first 100 days of its inception, the company managed to issue life insurance policies worth $100 million.

Data from LIMRA shows there is a $16 trillion gap between the amount of coverage needed for the US population and the existing amount of coverage purchased. Ladder’s founders want to bridge that gap, and in 2018 they partnered with SoFi to help bring life insurance to their members.

Ladder aims to do its part in closing the gap by offering competitive life insurance rates by age, making it easier to buy, and offering an easily customizable product. Ladder is backed by two major players in the insurance industry, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York, making the company a powerhouse in the competitive life insurance industry. Policies are also reinsured by multiple reinsurers.

Financial Strength

With Ladder’s policies underwritten and issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York, the financial security of these two companies becomes imperative in reviewing Ladder. Below are these companies’ ratings.

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America

Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York

These are excellent ratings, which indicate both insurers are financially stable and can meet their commitments to all their customers.

The next question brings into light the term policies offered by Ladder Life Insurance.

Get a quote from Ladder here.

Term Life Insurance by Ladder

Ladder offers a dynamic term life insurance policy which is different from most other term life policies on the market today.

The key features include:

The Application Process

First, applicants should decide how much life insurance they need. Ladder’s website has a calculator that allows applicants to determine the coverage amount they need accurately. Once the applicant decides on a number, he or she receives a life insurance quote, and the application process can begin.

The online form requires applicants to answer several questions relating to personal health conditions, occupation, and lifestyle. Based on the answers they provide, there are three possible outcomes. Below is a rundown of these three outcomes.

Applicant Is Approved

Applicants who are young and healthy are likely to get qualified instantly. There is no need for a medical exam or even a phone interview. In this scenario, applicants can get the coverage they need within minutes.

Applicant Must Undergo Additional Underwriting

Ladder guarantees no medical exams for coverage up to $3M. If you’re applying for more than $3M in coverage, a medical exam might be necessary.

Medical exams are administered at the applicant’s home or office, whichever is convenient. The company will send a technician to the location and time of the applicant’s choosing.

The technician will measure height, weight, pulse, and blood pressure, ask several questions about health conditions, and collect blood and urine samples. Once the company receives the test results, they later notify applicants of their approved or declined answer.

Applicant Is Declined

If the applicant has several pre-existing conditions, has a family history of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and/or other such major illnesses, and/or leads an unhealthy lifestyle, he or she is likely to get declined.

The Underwriting Process

Ladder uses intricately designed algorithms to underwrite life insurance policies in as little as 429 milliseconds. These algorithms can analyze large volumes of data in real-time and determine the insurability of individuals who apply for a policy.

As a result, applicants are aware of their status (approval, additional underwriting, or declined) in a matter of seconds after applying online.

This close-to-instant decision is an unprecedented development in the life insurance industry. The traditional application process involves talking to an agent, comparing different types of policies, filling out pages and pages of forms, going through a phone interview, and undergoing a medical exam.

After doing all these things, the applicant still must wait for weeks to hear from the insurance company.

With Ladder, on the other hand, the whole process can be finished within minutes. The application process itself takes only about five minutes.

Once the applicant answers all the questions, the algorithms analyze the personal and medical information in a lightning-fast manner and instantly notify the applicant of approval status. If approved and you accept your offer, the online system grants life insurance coverage instantly after payment.

Below are some pros and cons of choosing Ladder for life insurance.

Get a quote from Ladder here.

Pros

Online Application Process

Ladder's application process can be completed online, and approval is possible within minutes. Anyone who has ever applied for a policy with a traditional life insurance provider can attest to just how incredible this is. Instead of waiting for weeks, results are received in seconds.

No Upselling

Many insurance companies use commissioned agents to sell their policies.

Ladder, on the other hand, only employs non-commissioned licensed insurance professionals who are paid a salary. Therefore, life insurance applicants can be sure these representatives have their best interests at heart in making policy recommendations.

No Exam Policy

Ladder allows qualified individuals to buy life insurance coverage without undergoing medical exams. There are no medical exams, just a few health questions as part of the application, for individuals seeking up to $3 million in coverage and many applicants are likely to get approved instantly.

The best part is Ladder offers as much as $8 million in coverage for qualified individuals. Applicants seeking more than $3 million in coverage may have to complete additional underwriting steps in order to receive a decision. While there are insurance companies which allow applicants to buy life insurance coverage without going through any exams, the coverage amount is usually capped at $1 million.

With Ladder, approved users can buy an $3 million term life policy without a phone interview, in-person interview, or medical exam, which is unprecedented in the industry.

Simple and Uncomplicated Product

One of the many advantages of a pure term life policy, like the one offered by Ladder, is that it allows the insured to safeguard financial interests when they need it the most.

Individuals in their 30s who do not have any health problems can get a substantial amount of coverage at very competitive rates. A 30-year, $1-million-term life policy is likely to cost around $60 a month.

These insurance rates average three to 10 times cheaper than that of a whole life policy. What is even better is the premium does not increase for any reason.

Dynamic Term Life Policy

This is one of the biggest advantages of buying a policy from Ladder. Unlike most other insurance companies, Ladder does not offer a level death benefit policy. Instead, it offers a dynamic term life policy, which allows the insured to ladder up (apply to increase the death benefit) or ladder down (decrease the death benefit) any time. Thus, this is a policy that can adjust depending on the insured’s life insurance needs.

This policy would work well for a recently married 30-year-old man who lives in a one-bedroom apartment with his wife. Instead of buying a 30-year, $1 million policy that covers all the current and future financial obligations, he can buy a 30-year, $250,000 policy which is enough to replace his income for a particular time in the event of his death.

After the birth of his first child, he can add $200,000 to the coverage for 20 years. After moving into a larger home, he can add another $500,000 to his coverage for 20 years, which should be sufficient life insurance to pay off his mortgage.

Similarly, as his financial obligations reduce over time, he can ladder down his coverage. When he pays off his mortgage, when his children go off to college, or when he moves into a smaller home, he can reduce his coverage amount accordingly.

This is an excellent strategy which can save him thousands of dollars over time.

Free Look Period

Ladder has a 30-day free look period during which the policy holder can cancel the policy for any reason and get his or her money back.

Cons

Strict Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must be between the ages of 20 and 60 to apply for a policy with Ladder. This is quite a narrow range, especially when considering there are companies that offer term life policies for people aged 75 and older.

Moreover, Ladder also has a rule that the insured’s current age and the policy’s term length, when added together, should not exceed 70 years. For instance, if an individual is 50, he cannot apply for a 30-year policy, as the total (50+30 = 80) exceeds 70.

In the table given below are the term lengths available based on the eligibility of age.

AgeMaximum Term Length
6010 Year
5515 Year
5020 Year
4525 Year
4030 Year

This rule further restricts an already narrow range of age. Thus, Ladder Life Insurance is not the right choice for everyone.

No Riders

Ladder does not offer any policy riders with its term life policy, which is a big downside. Competitors such as Haven Life and Ethos both offer policy riders.

No Permanent Life Policies

Ladder, as mentioned above, only offers term life policies. It is not the right choice for those who need a whole life or universal life policy. Those needing lifelong coverage should consult NoExam.com’s list of the best whole life insurance companies.

About NoExam.com

NoExam.com has a team of experts who can answer all your questions on life insurance and help you find a life insurance policy that is best suited for your income level and financial needs.

If you have any questions regarding Ladder, you can visit their site to learn more and get started or reach out to their licensed customer experience team. If you have questions regarding any other insurance company, get in touch with us today. We know this arena, and we have a long line of satisfied customers. We know this arena, and we have a long line of satisfied customers.

Ladder Insurance Services, LLC (CA license # 0K22568; AR license # 3000140372) offers term life insurance policies: (i) in New York, on behalf of Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York, New York, NY (policy form # MN-26); and (ii) in all other states and the District of Columbia on behalf of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, Minneapolis, MN (policy form # ICC20P-AZ100 and # P-AZ100). Only Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York is authorized to issue life insurance in the state of New York. Insurance policy prices, coverages, features, terms, benefits, exclusions, limitations and available discounts vary between these insurers and are subject to qualifications. Each insurer is solely responsible for any claims and has financial responsibility for its own products.

Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York and Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America have been rated A+ (Superior) based on an analysis of financial position and operating performance - affirmed October 2021, by A.M. Best Company, an independent analyst of the insurance industry. For the latest rating, access www.ambest.com.