Transamerica Company Review

Although people don’t like to think about it, planning for the cost of one’s funeral can be one of the best financial gifts you can give to your loved ones. That is because today, the average cost of a funeral – along with other final expenses – can be between $8,500 to $10,000.

For many families, this amount of money may not otherwise be easy to come up with – and because of that, people will often have to dig into their savings and sell precious assets to pay off these expenses.

There is, however, a way that you can help those you care about avoid going into debt due to final expenses. This is through the purchase of a burial insurance policy. This type of life insurance coverage, which is also often referred to as funeral insurance or final expense insurance, is designed to pay proceeds quickly upon the insured’s passing. That way, expenses such as a funeral service, flowers, and transportation can quickly be paid off. In some cases, there may also be enough money from the policy to pay end-of-life medical costs and hospice care.

When choosing the best burial insurance policy, several factors should first be considered. These include the type of insurance coverage needed (such as term versus permanent), as well as the amount of coverage that may be required. It is also important that you ensure that the insurance company you purchase this coverage through is secure financially, and it has a good reputation for paying out its policy holders’ claims. One company that meets these criteria is Transamerica.

The History of Transamerica

Transamerica has been in the business of providing insurance coverage for its customers for more than 110 years. Initially founded in 1904 by a young entrepreneur named Amadeo Giannini, the insurer quickly grew and expanded through sales of its products as well as through mergers and acquisitions.

The company is licensed in all of the U.S. states – including the District of Columbia – except for New York. The customers of Transamerica today have access to a wide range of products and services, including life insurance, health insurance, retirement annuities, mutual funds, and both individual and business retirement solutions.

The company is still headquartered in San Francisco, California, and is today a wholly owned subsidiary of the Aegon company – an insurer that has been in business since the 1800’s and offers its products and services in more than 20 different countries across the globe.

Over the years, Transamerica has become well known for its pyramid building and logos, which symbolize inclusiveness. It came with an idea from John Becket, the company’s president in the 1960s, and has since been one of the company’s primary identifiers of product authenticity.

Transamerica is also well regarded as being strong from a financial standpoint, due in large part to its strong balance sheet and ample liquidity. As of year end 2016, Transamerica Life Insurance Company – which operates out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa – had more than $131 billion in assets and more than $6 billion in total capital and surplus. There was also more than $1,055 billion of insurance in force.

Insurer Ratings and Better Business Bureau Grade

Due to its strong financial foundation, Transamerica Life Insurance Company has been given very high ratings from the insurer rating agencies. These include:

A+ from A.M. Best
A+ from Fitch Ratings
A1 from Moody’s
AA- from S&P Global

The other areas of Transamerica’s life insurance distribution also have received the same ratings from these agencies. These subsidiaries include Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company, Transamerica Premier Life Insurance Company, and Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company.

Even with its high financial ratings, Transamerica Life Insurance Company – while not an accredited member of the Business Bureau – has received a grade of C from the BBB (which is on an overall grade scale of A+ to F). The factors that affect the rating for Transamerica Life Insurance Company include several issues, including:

The failure to respond to four customer complaints that were filed against the company
Three complaints filed against the business that were not resolved

Over the past three years, Transamerica Life Insurance Company has received and fixed a total of 393 customer complaints – 16 of which occurred within the previous 12 months. Of these 393 complaints, 233 were regarding problems with the company’s product and service. Another 76 had to do with advertising and sales issues, 69 were regarding billing and collection issues, 13 were regarding delivery issues, and the remaining two had to do with guarantee/warranty issues.

Burial Insurance Plans Offered by Transamerica

Transamerica offers burial insurance plans that can help loved ones with taking on the cost of a funeral and other related expenses. There are several different final expense policy options to choose from, including:

Immediate Solution
10 Pay Solution
Easy Solution

The burial insurance options are all whole life insurance plans. This means that there is death benefit coverage, as well as a cash value component in the policy. The funds that are in the cash value are allowed to grow and compound on a tax deferred basis, meaning that there is no tax due on this growth unless or until the policy holder withdraws the money. The funds that are inside of a whole life insurance policy’s cash value can be either withdrawn or borrowed – and they can be taken for any reason.

There are numerous advantages to applying for a burial expense plan through Transamerica. For example, there is no waiting period for this coverage to begin. This is because in most cases, there is no medical exam required for qualification, and in turn, there is no need to wait for health information to be reviewed by underwriters. Therefore, many who apply for burial insurance through Transamerica will be approved and have coverage within just days (as versus weeks – or longer- when applying for a traditionally underwritten life insurance policy).

Also, once an individual is approved for coverage, the policy cannot be canceled due to age or health – provided that the premium is paid. Likewise, there is no increase in premium due to time. So, once an insured is locked into policy, it is easy to budget for this premium.

Other Products and Services Offered

In addition to burial insurance coverage, Transamerica offers an extensive list of other products and services to its customers. These include the following:

Long Term Care Insurance
Medicare Insurance
Dental Insurance
Mutual Funds
Retirement Annuities – including variable and fixed index annuity options
Retirement Solutions – including IRAs

Other types of life insurance offered via Transamerica include:

Term Life Coverage – With term life insurance coverage, there is pure death benefit protection, without any cash value or savings build up within the policy. As the name suggests, term life insurance is purchased for a certain amount of time – or term. These typically include ten years, 20 years, or 30 years. Often, the premium for term life insurance is quite affordable – especially if the insured is young and in good health when applying for the policy. In many cases, term life insurance can be converted over into a permanent form of life insurance coverage (and sometimes this can be done without having to provide evidence of insurability). Transamerica offers several term life insurance alternatives.
Whole Life Coverage – Whole life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance protection. With a whole life insurance policy, there is death benefit protection as well as a cash value component. Typically, once a policy holder is approved for whole life insurance, the amount of the premium cannot be increased over time – even as the insured’s age increases and whether the insured contracts an adverse health issue. The cash value in a whole life insurance policy will usually grow at a set rate that is dictated by the insurance company. These funds may be either borrowed or withdrawn by the policy holder for any need that he or she sees fit, such as paying off debt, supplementing retirement income, or even for taking a nice vacation. There are several whole life policies to choose from through Transamerica.
Universal Life Coverage – Another type of permanent life insurance coverage is universal life. A universal life policy will also have both death benefit and cash value components. However, these types of policies are considered to be more flexible than whole life. One of the key reasons for this is because universal life insurance policy holders may – within certain guidelines – determine how much of the premium will go towards the death benefit, and how much will go into the cash value portion of the policy. Also, the policy holder may also be able to change the premium due date, based on their unique needs.
Variable Universal Life Coverage – With variable universal life insurance – which is another type of permanent life insurance – the cash value of the policy can rise (and fall) based on the volatility of the stock market. This can allow the policy holder to obtain a greater amount of growth in the cash component as versus whole or regular universal life insurance. However, due to underlying market conditions, the cash value of variable universal life could also lose value. Therefore, before purchasing a variable universal life insurance policy, it is important to consider risk tolerance, financial goals, and other relevant criteria.

How to Get the Best Premium Rate on Burial Insurance from Transamerica

If you are looking for the best premium rate on burial insurance from Transamerica Life Insurance Company – or from any life insurance carrier – then it is important to work with an independent life insurance agency or broker. That way, you will be able to directly compare the policies and the premium quotes from multiple life insurance carriers – and from there, pick and choose the one that will fit you the best.

When you’re ready to get started, we can help. We are an independent life insurance brokerage, and we work with many of the top burial insurance carriers in the industry today. Because of that, we can provide you with unbiased information – including premium quotes. We can do so for you quickly, easily, and conveniently – all from your computer – and without the need to meet in person with a life insurance agent. If you’re ready to see the plans that you may qualify for, then just simply click and fill out our form.

Should you find that you still have any additional questions regarding burial life insurance – or even about life insurance in general – our experts are here and happy to assist you. We will answer any of the questions or concerns that you may have so that you can make a more well-informed purchasing decision. We can be reached via phone, toll-free, by dialing 888-389-8676.

We understand that the purchase of a burial insurance policy can be a bit overwhelming. There are many different factors to consider, and you want to be sure that you are going with the property type and amount of coverage from a good, quality life insurance company.

Having all of the information that you require, and knowing more about how burial insurance works is a good start – and it can keep you in the know throughout the burial insurance buying process. The good news is that you can be assured of this process going smoothly when you are working with an experienced ally on your side. So, contact us today – we’re here to help.