Aflac is a relative newcomer in the life insurance market, having been founded in 1955. You might think of a duck that squawks “Aflac!” when you think of the company name. The American Pekin duck was incorporated into the advertising campaign on January 1, 2000, and has been a presence ever since, appearing in over 75 commercials.
Aflac is short for American Family Life Assurance Company. The founders of the company, John, Paul and Bill Amos realized people needed financial protection when medical emergencies arose. Today, Aflac is a Fortune 500 company and boasts over 50 million customers. They focus on providing supplemental insurance to fill in the gaps of your current insurance.
- Pros and Cons of Aflac Life Insurance
- Products Offered by Aflac Life Insurance: 60/100
- Financial Strength Rating of Aflac Life Insurance: 80/100
- Customer Satisfaction Rating of Aflac Life Insurance: 60/100
- Consumer Complaints Rating of Aflac Life Insurance: 50/100
- Digital Experience Rating of Aflac Life Insurance: 50/100
Pros and Cons of Aflac Life Insurance
| Pros | Cons |
| – Excellent for supplemental insurance – Portable group life insurance can be taken with you – Financially stable company – One-day pay promises quick payouts – You can pay through payroll deductions | – Death benefits only available up to $500,000 ($250,000 for individual life insurance) – No online quoting – Supplemental insurance only—it’s not meant to stand alone – Agents work on commission only, which could lead to high-pressure sales |
Products Offered by Aflac Life Insurance
Aflac offers term life insurance and whole life insurance for individuals, but the bulk of their life insurance policies are offered through employers. Every review of Aflac says they don’t offer individual life insurance policies, but we called customer service and confirmed that they do. They offer term and whole life policies with up to $250,000 in coverage. Term insurance is available in 10, 20 and 30-year terms.
There is not a lot of information about their life insurance policies on the website. You will probably have to call if you have questions.
Life insurance through employers or also called group life insurance is available up to $500,000.
Guaranteed issue is available for up to $50,000 and does not require a medical exam (although it’s not available in every state).
They also offer juvenile life insurance.
To get a quote from Aflac, you fill out a form and an agent will call you. There is an online life insurance estimator to determine how much life insurance you might need. They ask you:
- Individual income
- What age you would like to retire
- How much debt you have
- If you have dependents, how much they will need for college
- How much money you have invested
- How much you’ve saved for retirement
- How much life insurance you have now
- How much you expect to pay for your post-life expenses (burial, estate taxes, probate, etc.)
From there, you will get an estimate of how much life insurance you need.
In addition to individual and group life, Aflac also offers accident, cancer, critical illness, dental, hospital, short-term disability, and vision insurance.
These are the available riders:
- Guaranteed issue rider. Learn more about guaranteed issue life insurance
- Long-term care rider. Learn more about life insurance with long term care benefits
- Accidental death benefit rider. Learn more about accidental death life insurance
One Day Pay is Aflac’s way of processing your claim on the same day you submit it. You must file through SmartClaim® and upload all required documentation electronically—you can’t email or fax.
One nice thing about Aflac group life insurance is that it’s portable and will stay with you after you leave your job. Most of the time, group life insurance expires as soon as you quit.
Keep in mind that Aflac’s niche in the market is supplemental insurance. It’s not meant to cover every need, but rather to fill in the gaps on coverage you already have.
Financial Strength Rating of Aflac Life Insurance
A.M. Best gives Aflac an A- rating with a stable outlook. Aflac has a reputation for paying claims quickly, and it definitely has the financial strength it needs to do that.
Customer Satisfaction Rating of Aflac Life Insurance
Aflac does not rank on J.D. Power’s life insurance study.
Consumer Affairs has 1,328 reviews for Aflac, with an average score of 3.3 stars. Reading through some reviews, people either find them frustrating or praise quick payouts. Many reviews complain of the short-term disability insurance.
The BBB gives Aflac an A+ rating. Of note, there are 325 complaints and 106 mostly one-star reviews. It seems like a rather large number, although Aflac is a huge company. Of the 325 complaints, 281 were with a product or service, 30 were issues with billing, 11 were issues with advertising the last ones were issues with delivery and guarantee/warranty.
Consumer Complaints Rating of Aflac Life Insurance
The NAIC keeps track of complaints against insurance companies and calculates a ratio. The median complaint ratio index is 1.0, which means a company received as many complaints as you would expect for a company of their size. Aflac got a ratio of 1.05, which is very close to the median.
Digital Experience Rating of Aflac Life Insurance
Aflac does not offer online quoting. If you fill out the form, an agent will call you. There is an online insurance calculator, which may be helpful.
Through SmartClaim®, you can submit claims electronically and have them processed the same day. Direct Deposit allows the claim to be deposited directly into your account.
You can manage your policy online. You can change beneficiaries, remove someone from your policy, file a claim, order a policy ID card or sign up for direct deposit. There are even online tutorials to help you file a claim online.
There is a mobile app, through which you can do all things you can do online. You can do all things you can do online, including file a claim.
You can find Aflac on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.
Last Thoughts
Aflac has carved out a niche for themselves as a provider of supplemental insurance. This insurance doesn’t stand on its own but fills in the gaps of insurance you already have. This type of insurance can be very helpful in a medical emergency. As with all insurance, read the policy carefully and be sure you know what’s included.