Ethos Life Insurance Review

In this article, we’re going to review Ethos Life Insurance. They’re what’s called an insurtech (not to be confused with fintechs). This means Ethos makes heavy use of technology to process life insurance applications and keep costs down. Their close competitor, Haven Life, also plays in this space.

Determining Your Insurance Need

Ethos can be found at getethos.com. The first thing you’ll see on their homepage is a section to get a quick quote. Ethos has made the process of receiving a quote extremely simple with only four fields (as of this writing).

Their quote will give you a fairly accurate number of how much insurance will cost you. But the question remains: How much insurance should you get?

In general, you want 10X your income. If you are making $50,000/yr, you’ll want $500,000. This provides for an additional ten years of income for your family. It also assumes you are the bread winner and have children.

For most applicants, they’ll likely find the monthly cost to be well below $100. The more life insurance you need and the older you are, the more costly it will be.​

Only Term Life Insurance

Ethos offers only one type of insurance - term life insurance. This means fixed monthly rates for the term of the insurance.

Because they are focused on one type of insurance, it also means no upsells to other insurance products. If you’ve ever gone through a traditional insurance company, you know what we mean here.

One of their favorite upsells is whole life insurance, which is a completely different product.

This leads to the question: Why no other products? Ethos has such a streamlined process because it focuses on a single, simple product. If it tried to sell whole life, which is a very complex, commission driven product, Ethos wouldn’t be able to provide the same level of service and pricing.

The Application Process

Etho’s outlines their application process like this:

Ethos’ application process is entirely online, unlike Haven Life who also offers an 800 number, chat, and even a clearly displayed email address to send inquiries to.

After getting your quote, you’ll start moving through the application process. There is an outline on the left side of the application page showing the section of the application you are in and how much has been completed. The application sections include:

1. Basic info
2. Your lifestyle
3. Your health
4. Payment info
5. Confirmation

Is Ethos Reliable?

Like Haven Life, Ethos has high-quality backing by some of the largest insurance companies, including Munich Reinsurance America, Aon, Assurity, and RGA. 

Policies are issued and guaranteed by Assurity, which is rated A (excellent) by A.M. Best.

In the event you need to file a claim, you can send an email to concierge@getethos.com. Once again, this is unlike Haven Life’s contact options. You’ll need to be comfortable with the lack of opportunities to speak with any one on the phone.

Additional Questions

Q.) Will I be approved? 

While the Ethos application process is simple and fast, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be approved. In some instances, a medical exam may be required. Even if you have health issues, Ethos encourages everyone to apply.

This is the starting point for your application regardless.

Q.) When are payments due?

Ethos will let you know when payment is due each month. There is a 30 day grace period. But you don’t want to go past the 30th day because it will result in your policy being canceled.

You can also cancel your policy anytime, but you’ll need to email concierge@getethos.com to do so.

Q.) Is Ethos available in my state?

Ethos is available in all states except: 

However, from talking to their team, it sounds like Ethos should be available everywhere very soon!

Conclusion

Ethos isn’t a traditional insurance agency, and it shows. By focusing on a single, simple product, they’ve been able to cut cost and offer extremely competitive pricing to customers.

While there isn’t a front facing phone number or chat, you can contact them through email. You’ll just need to be comfortable with the lack of contact options. This doesn’t mean you should avoid Ethos because you think they are a fly-by-night company. That isn’t the case at all.

But if phone and chat are contact options you need, you might want to try havenlife.com. 

Do you have term life insurance yet or could your current policy be better?