There are many reasons people buy life insurance. New parents want to provide a financial safety net for their family. A small business owner wants to ensure their company has funds to reorganize and continue operating in their absence. And a senior might want a policy to provide funds for a funeral and other end-of-life expenses.
Whatever your reason for buying life insurance, you should always shop around and make yourself aware of your options.
To help you in your search, we’re taking a closer look at one of the many companies selling life insurance: Corebridge Financial.
AIG Life Insurance
Policy types
Term life, whole life, universal life, guaranteed issue whole life
TIME’s Take
A spin-off business from insurance giant AIG, Corebridge Financial appears to be a company and brand in transition. The online customer experience is a bit clunky and confusing, issues that one hopes will be resolved as time goes on. Beyond that, Corebridge Financial offers a range of life insurance options, including both term and permanent life policies.
Who is Corebridge Financial for?
Given its wide selection of policy types, Corebridge Financial caters to a wide range of life insurance shoppers, from young parents welcoming their first child to seniors who want coverage for end-of-life expenses. Corebridge Financial offers term life, whole life, universal life, and guaranteed issue whole life insurance policies. It also offers various riders that allow policyholders to customize their policy.
Corebridge Financial overview
Corebridge Financial, formerly known as AIG Life and Retirement, sells various financial services products to individuals and companies. On the personal side, these include annuities, and term, whole, and universal life insurance.
For most policies, you can obtain a quote online, but the final purchase must be completed through an agent. Corebridge Financial also offers a “quote hotline” at 1-800-294-4544.
Corebridge Financial history
At first glance, Corebridge Financial may seem unfamiliar. However, the company is the result of a 2022 spin-off and IPO by one of the world’s largest insurers, AIG. In an effort to narrow its business focus, AIG divested itself of its life insurance and retirement business, creating Corebridge Financial as an independent company.
Today, Corebridge Financial services approximately 4.3 million life insurance policies in the U.S. The company has an A rating from AM Best, an indicator of its financial strength and ability to pay its customers’ claims. It’s based in Houston, Texas.
As a result of the spin-off, the company’s brand and web presence appear to be still settling in. This could be confusing to some potential customers. For example, for detailed policy information or an online quote, the Corebridge Financial website redirects to the AIG Direct website. What’s more, the current layout of the website makes finding information about policy options difficult.
The AIG Direct website is the source of much of the following information, but for clarity, we’ll continue to refer to the company as Corebridge Financial.
Corebridge Financial policy details
Corebridge Financial offers multiple types of life insurance policies. Note that all of these require a medical exam except guaranteed issue whole life.
Term life
Corebridge Financial term life policies are available in terms of 10, 15, or 20 years. While its website mentions that up to $10 million of coverage is available, Corebridge’s [online quote system (https://www.aigdirect.com/term-life-insurance) indicates coverage amounts of up to $2 million. Also, Corebridge Financial would not confirm the $10 million maximum when we called the company to ask about it. Rates are level, meaning they won’t change throughout the term. Corebridge Financial notes that its policies may be renewable (coverage can be extended after the term ends) or convertible to a permanent life insurance policy without a medical exam.
Whole life
Corebridge Financial whole life policies are available with coverage amounts ranging from $100,000 to $2 million. As a form of permanent life insurance, a whole life policy remains in effect until the policyholder dies, provided they maintain their premium payments over the years. Premiums remain level through the life of the policy.
Corebridge Financial whole life also includes cash value. Whole life cash value typically grows at a guaranteed, though modest, rate. This makes whole life a potential investment tool and tax shelter.
Universal life
Corebridge Financial universal life policies are offered between $100,000 to $2 million, according to the company’s quoting platform Like whole life, universal life stays in effect until the policyholder’s death and includes a cash-value feature. This cash value is tied to the growth of the stock market, meaning universal life policies tend to provide a bit more risk and potential reward than a whole life policy.
The company notes that, depending on the policy, the policyholder may be able to adjust the premiums and the death benefit as their needs change.
Guaranteed issue whole life
Corebridge Financial guaranteed issue whole life policies are for those aged 50 to 80, with available coverage ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. Premiums are level, so they don’t change throughout the life of the policy. Unlike other Corebridge Financial life insurance policies, guaranteed issue is available without a medical exam.
The intent of this type of coverage is to help seniors ensure there will be enough money around to pay for end-of-life expenses such as medical bills, credit cards, and funeral expenses.
Policy riders
Corebridge Financial offers multiple riders for select policies, allowing policyholders to customize their coverage. Available riders include:
- An accidental death benefit rider pays an additional death benefit to the policy’s beneficiaries in the event of an accidental death of the policyholder.
- A child rider allows children as young as 15 days to be added to a policy.
- A chronic illness benefit rider returns the policy premiums if the policyholder can no longer independently perform common “daily living” tasks, such as eating, bathing, dressing, or using the bathroom.
- A terminal illness benefit allows the policyholder to access up to 50% of the death benefit if they’ve been diagnosed with a condition and given less than 24 months to live. (This is commonly referred to as an accelerated death benefit.)
- A waiver of premium rider eliminates the premium payment while keeping coverage in force if the policyholder becomes disabled.
Pros:
- Multiple types of life insurance available, including term and permanent
- Multiple riders available
- Backed by the brand and financial stability of AIG
Cons:
- Web interface, including rebranding, may be confusing
- Medical exam required for most policies
- $2 million max coverage amount may be too low for some
Corebridge Financial cost
Corebridge Financial publishes the following example of monthly rates for a $250,000 policy and a 20-year term.
The cost of life insurance can vary based on multiple factors, including age, health, and presence of pre-existing medical conditions, tobacco use, and occupation. Note also that permanent life insurance typically costs several times more than term life.
We share these rates solely as an example. To verify your cost of coverage, contact an agent or insurer for a policy quote.
How does Corebridge Financial compare to other brands?
Here’s how Corebridge Financial compares to one competing insurer, Fabric by Gerber Life.
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Term life, whole life, universal life, guaranteed issue whole life |
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Multiple options, including accidental death, terminal illness, waiver of premium |
Accelerated death benefit included with every policy |
(1) Rating for underwriting company, Western and Southern Life
Policy types
Corebridge Financial offers multiple policy types, including term life, whole life, universal life, and guaranteed issue whole life. Its competitors in this review offer only term life.
Coverage levels
Corebridge Financial offers coverage as low as $5,000 for its guaranteed issue whole life policies. Amounts ranging from $100,000 to $2 million are available for its term, whole, and universal life policies.
Financial strength
Corebridge Financial has an AM Best A rating. Its competitors, Fabric and Haven, have A+ and A++ ratings, respectively. These are all high ratings, however, indicative of these companies’ financial strength and ability to pay claims.
Customer satisfaction
Corebridge Financial has 2.9 stars on Trustpilot’s 5.0-point scale. While this is considered an “average” rating on the site, it’s based on just three reviews. Fabric and Haven have much higher star ratings, both based on more than 1,000 reviews.
Riders
Corebridge Financial offers a range of riders, including accidental death, terminal illness (accelerated death benefit), waiver of premium, and more. These give the policyholder an opportunity to customize their coverage. Fabric and Haven Life only offer an accelerated death benefit rider.
Methodology
We evaluate life insurance providers based on types of coverage and available coverage amounts, how to buy, financial strength, and customer satisfaction. We aim to provide a high-level overview of Corebridge Financial to help readers make a more informed insurance buying decision.
Bottom line
What sets Corebridge Financial apart is its variety of coverage options, including term, whole, universal, and guaranteed issue whole life. The company also offers multiple riders, allowing policyholders to customize their coverage.
Corebridge Financial’s rebranding—the company was only recently spun off of insurance giant AIG—may be confusing. Our hope is that the company will streamline its branding and online experience in the near future to better highlight its many life insurance choices.
AIG Life Insurance
Policy types
Term life, whole life, universal life, guaranteed issue whole life
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is AIG Life insurance a good insurer?
AIG recently spun off its life insurance business, known as AIG Life and Retirement. The new company is called Corebridge Financial. That company has an AM Best A rating; insures more than 4 million people; and offers term life, whole life, universal life, and guaranteed issue whole life. While you owe it to yourself to get quotes from multiple companies when shopping for insurance, Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Life and Retirement) is worth checking out.
What is AIG Life insurance called now?
AIG life insurance is now called Corebridge Financial.
Who took over AIG Life Insurance?
Starting in 2022, AIG spun off its life insurance business. Previously known as AIG Life and Retirement, the company is now called Corebridge Financial. While AIG continues to have a financial stake in the new company, Corebridge Financial is an independent entity.
How quickly does AIG pay out life insurance?
According to the AIG Direct website (AIG Direct is now part of Corebridge Financial), life insurance claims pay out in seven to 10 business days, on average.
