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Shelter Insurance Companies Review

Researcher & Writer
July 12, 2018

When looking for the best life insurance in the marketplace, you often have to search far and wide because the top companies are not always the ones with the biggest marketing budgets. For example, you may not have heard of Shelter Insurance Companies unless you live near Columbia, Missouri or received marketing in one of the 15 states the company currently operates in. But this is a solid company and we would be remiss if we did not provide a Shelter Life Insurance Company review highlighting this company's history, ratings, products and services. Is Shelter Insurance Companies the right fit for you?

About Shelter Insurance Companies

After being founded in 1946, Shelter Insurance Companies has experienced healthy growth over the years and they now sit as a market leader within the insurance industry. With over 70 years of experience in the market, the company was actually a regional operation for a long time before finally making the jump to international products.

Since the beginning of operations, the company has had some key policies for all customers and their goal is to ‘emphasize integrity, excellence, and a commitment to improvement’. In the early years, the focus was very much on car insurance in Missouri but now they’re available in 15 states with a large array of fantastic insurance products.

In terms of finances, the company is only getting stronger with consolidated assets increasing from $3.6 million to $4.3 million in the period between 2010 and 2014 alone. As of 2014, Shelter Insurance Companies had a total of 3,900 agents who contributed to a total of $24 billion life insurance in-force. Once again, this is a number that has increased considerably in recent years after reaching the $20 billion point back in 2010.

Shelter Insurance Companies Ratings

A.M. Best - With this financial ratings agency, we have a service who assess the finances of insurance companies to then provide a grading depending on the company’s relative strength. Typically, we recommend choosing an insurer who has a rating of at least ‘A-’ and Shelter Insurance actually has a grade one higher than this, receiving an A, Excellent from A.M. Best.

‘Excellent’, is a fantastic financial rating and it means the company is in good financial standing. Not only are they comfortable now, they should also remain this way for a number of years.

Just recently, Shelter Insurance also had their long-term issuer credit rating improved to ‘a+’ which is positive for all those looking to the company for an insurance policy. Essentially, this means they should be able to pay all debts and liabilities sent their way in the coming years.

Better Business Bureau (BBB) - After A.M. Best, we have another agency known for their ratings but this time they assess customer relations, marketing history, and the frequency of complaints. With Shelter Insurance being accredited, the Better Business Bureau has provided a rating of ‘A+’ which is the best on offer and means they fall within the 97-100 points category. Therefore, they don’t have an extensive history of complaints, they aren't known for misleading customers, and they have a good history in the industry.

Products offered by Shelter Insurance Companies

So far, we’ve discovered that Shelter Insurance is a trustworthy insurance provider in terms of customer relations as well as finances. With this confidence, you can now assess the products knowing you have a solid backing!

Term Life Insurance

Shelter Insurance Companies has three different term life insurance options to choose from, which is ideal if you need coverage for a specific amount of time. Whether to replace income while your children grow up or protect a mortgage, these term life policies are a great choice.

EZ Term Life Insurance

If you’re young and have a modest budget, this first policy has been designed for people like you. In our late teens and early twenties, life can be expensive considering we have to fork out for student loans, credit card debts, equipment and books for college, and more. Therefore, the EZ Term Life Insurance policy covers all these things with up to $50,000 of coverage until the age of 40. If you realize a need to convert the policy to a more permanent option, you can do so before you turn 40 and you’ll be covered for life.

Level Term Life Insurance

Level term life insurance provides a guaranteed death benefit and premium. It is a great option for young families to cover credit card debt, taxes, mortgages, day-to-day expenses, and more. With face amounts of up to $100,000 available, the death benefit is guaranteed which means your beneficiary will get the death benefit if you were to die at any point during the term. Depending on your needs, you can choose between 10, 20, or 30 years and you have the option to convert to permanent insurance once again.

Shelter Express Term Life Insurance

As long as you’re between 18 and 60 years of age, Shelter Express is no exam life insurance available to those without a dangerous job, without any medical conditions, and without dangerous hobbies. With a simplified application process, you can choose a coverage of either $50,000, $75,000, or $100,000 and the death benefit is guaranteed up to the age of 100 years. In terms of premiums, these will actually stay the same until the age of 65 or for 30 years (whichever is sooner).

Permanent Life Insurance

If you need a longer insurance policy and one that lasts until death, Shelter Insurance Companies also provide other permanent life insurance policies.

As always, look out for the policy that adheres to your needs as opposed to choosing one that offers lots of benefits from which you won’t gain anything. That is why it is important to understand term vs whole life insurance differences, and why one might be the better choice for you, based on your unique needs and objectives.

Secure Whole Life Insurance

Although this option doesn’t provide dividends to the policyholder, it’s the most affordable option from Shelter Insurance and will offer cash value accumulation and fixed premiums. Lasting until death, this policy will remain in place (unless you miss premiums) and provides peace of mind.

Compare Term Life vs Whole Life Insurance Quotes

Whole Life Insurance

With participating whole life insurance you may earn dividends each and every year. In addition to this, the policy builds the most cash value. Once again, since it is whole life, the policy will remain in place for life and your death benefit will be paid to the beneficiary upon your death.

20-Pay Whole Life Insurance

As the name suggests, this is a limited pay life insurance policy that’s actually paid up in 20 years. As soon as you make the final premium payment, you don’t have to worry about paying another cent and the policy will remain until required. If you don’t want to be paying premiums into retirement, this is a fantastic policy to choose; you also earn dividends each year. You can use the dividends to cash out, pay premiums, earn interest with the carrier, or purchase paid up additions.

Universal Life Insurance

We have a permanent policy with more flexibility than your other options. With universal life insurance, if your circumstances change in life, you can increase/decrease your premiums with ease. In the meantime, you have options with your death benefit depending on whether you want it to remain level or increase along with your policy's cash value growth. As with all cash value policies, you can also take out life insurance loans, to use however you see fit.

Junior Special Life Insurance

Finally, it’s worth delving into Junior Special Life Insurance. This life insurance for children is great because this allows your child to benefit from small premiums. Over time, they also become guaranteed for coverage when they get older even if they happen to come down with health issues. With up to $20,000 of coverage, the policy can be set up as long as the child is under 17 years of age and it remains in place until the age of 26.

This being said, you can convert the policy to permanent coverage if you don’t want it to run out and see your premiums go to waste.

In addition, a guaranteed insurability rider will provide opportunity to add more coverage at predetermined ages or special occasions.

Finally, a Waiver of Premium rider can be added to the policy which waives premiums if the insured becomes totally disabled.

Conclusion

As you can see from our Shelter Insurance Companies review, the company has strong ratings and solid products. We really have no negatives to write about. Well, just one...

Shelter Life Insurance Company is but one of many different life insurance companies available.

If you are interested in seeing what other options are out there, give us a call. We will be happy to compare life insurance quotes and see if you are getting the best product that meets you specific needs and objectives.

So what are you waiting for? Give us a call today to see what we can do for you!

Written by
TermLife2Go
We are a team of life insurance experts with the simple mission of helping you find the best coverage for your unique situation. We research, review, and rank life insurance companies to make that process easier.