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American Family Review

Reviews 412
American Family
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American Family
Excellent
Reviews 412
Sarah Badani
May. 19, 2021
4 min read
Sarah Badani
American Family Summary
American Family is a well-known insurance provider with policies ranging from $50k to $150k and 10-, 15-, 20-, or 30-year terms. It offers tons of flexibility within these policies and explains everything well throughout the website. Aside from having numerous options to choose from, an easy-to-use website, and plans that come without any medical exam, American Family has the added benefit of offering auto, home, and business policies too.

Pros

  • Simplified plan requires no medical exam
  • Strong financial backing

Cons

  • Only available in 19 states
  • Low coverage maximum

American Family at a glance

8.8
Editorial score

Coverage type

Offers both term and whole life insurance with no medical exams required.
10.0

Customization of policies

Customizable rates and deductibles, some upgrades and downgrades available
8.0

Customer services and support

Multiple communication options, ability to speak to an agent
8.0

Online experience

Site is easy to use, but doesn't display all relevant information
8.0

Direct insurer?

Yes, direct insurer
10.0

Suitable For?

American Family offers a wide range of policy types as well as flexible terms, so there is really a plan to fit every need from singles and seniors to young families who want to make sure that all of their loved ones are provided for after they're gone.

Features

Aside from having a wide variety of policies to choose from, American Family also offers its customers some great features like a convenient mobile app that can be used to pay bills, speak to a representative, view policy documents, and submit claims. Additionally, American Family has a healthy financial spreadsheet. A strong financial backing ensures that American Family will always be able to pay out on the policies its customers take out.

American Family has been around for a long time, almost a century, and over that time, it’s built a rock-solid reputation complete with positive online reviews. American Family has received significantly less negative feedback than its competitors, and the overall opinion of the company is very positive. That’s a huge plus in this industry.

  • Mobile app

  • No medical exam

  • Several policies to choose from

  • Strong financial standing

Application Process

The American Family application form can be filled out online, but you’ll have to speak to a representative to complete the process. Fortunately, the phone conversation is quick and painless. Another great thing about American Family life insurance is that you can have a policy picked out and activated in just 2 weeks. Considering the fact that it takes some companies twice or 3 times that long to get the ball rolling, American Family earns big points for speed and efficiency.

Policy Types and Terms

American Family offers both temporary (term), and whole (permanent) life insurance policies. Both come with a few plans to choose from.

  • Temporary life insurance

American Family has 2 types of temporary life insurance policies. The first one is called DreamSecure Term Life Insurance. This is a basic term life insurance policy. You pay for the amount of time specified in the policy, and the policy expires at the end of the term. The death benefit is paid out if the policyholder dies during the term of the policy. You can get DreamSecure policies in 10-, 15-, 20-, or 30-year terms. Premiums and death benefits stay the same throughout the entire term of the policy.

The second term life insurance policy from American Family is called DreamSecure Simplified Term Insurance. The nice thing (and pretty much the only difference between this and the other type of term insurance) is that you don't have to take a medical exam to get this coverage. Anyone can apply for Simplified coverage after answering a few basic health questions online. Coverage is available for 10-, 15-, 20-, or 30-year terms and covers a $50,000 to $150,000 death benefit.

Both term life policies have the ability to convert to whole life insurance during a specified period of time.

  • Whole life insurance

The DreamSecure Whole Life Insurance policies come with several options. For example, American Family has a plan for children and one for seniors. Additionally, there’s a very convenient policy called Paid up for Life. The basic idea is that you can pay the whole thing off by 65 or 20 years (whichever comes first), and then you’re done. You have the permanent life insurance policy standing forever even though you don’t have to pay premiums anymore.

The whole life insurance policies have the added benefits of cash value accruing in the background, earning dividends, and the ability to draw money against the policy.

Finally, American Family lets you build your own plan with a MyLife Flexible Life Insurance policy. That will allow you to change your premiums and coverage amounts throughout the policy and during different stages of your life.

  • Riders

American Family also has additional riders you can supplement your policy with along with other types of options. Some of the most common riders American Family provides are:

  • Children Insurance Rider lets you add an additional $15,000 per child for a set fee (price doesn’t change over time).

  • The Waiver of Premium Rider covers you in the event that you suffer a disability that stops you from working (hence not being able to pay the premium). If this happens, you still have full coverage of the life insurance policy even though you're not paying your premiums anymore.

  • Accidental Death Benefit Rider gives beneficiaries an additional up to $100k if the policyholder passes away from accidental causes.

  • Accelerated Death Benefit can be added to any plan. This entitles you to part of the death benefit before the policyholder passes away in certain cases of terminal illness diagnosis. This is to help pay for expensive medical treatments that arise from terminal illnesses before they turn into debt.

American Family doesn’t specify the requirements for application. However, there are several factors that contribute to your final life insurance premiums and costs, including:

  • Age

  • Health

  • Gender

  • Coverage amount

  • Policy type

  • Type of employment

How Safe Is It?

American Family uses Norton Secured Verisign to secure its entire website. Additionally, American Family has strong safeguards in place, both physical and electronic, to protect all of your information. Some of these include SSL protocol and 128-bit encryption, so all of your information is stored and transferred safely. American Family goes the extra mile in terms of security by disallowing any transactions to be completed on a browser that is not compatible with its security software (that way it ensures that all transactions are secure no matter what).

Help & Support

American Family has one of the most extensive support teams in the industry. While some competitors only offer a single method of contact, American Family provides its clients with 4 different options for communicating with an agent. You can call the toll-free number to speak to a representative directly. Alternatively, you can send an email or connect to the live chat service. This is a rare benefit that most life insurance providers don’t have. Live chat is available Monday through Friday from 8am to 8pm CT. Phone and email support are always available. You can locate an agent in your area if you prefer a face-to-face meeting instead. American Family has a convenient search tool to help you find the agent nearest to you. That's top-quality customer service right there.

American Family at a Glance

American Family is a veteran in the life insurance industry with tons of experience providing great insurance coverage to its clients for decades. The company boasts an impressive online reputation and offers one of the largest selections of plans out there. Add to that the convenient online tools like life insurance calculator, and an in-depth guide explaining everything you'll need to know about life insurance, and American Family is really the one-stop shop for all your life insurance needs.

Physical Address

6000 American Parkway

Madison, WI 53783

Sarah Badani
Written by
Sarah Badani
Sarah Badani has extensive research and review experience in the finance industry. With a degree in psychology and education, she brings a level of depth and understanding to her writing along with her own flavor to spice up each topic in a unique and inviting way. She writes for BestMoney and enjoys helping readers make sense of the options on the market.‎
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Trustpilot reviews
See what some customers are saying about American Family
Excellent • Reviews 412
on
Excellent
87%
Great
4%
Average
1%
Poor
1%
Bad
7%
We upload 100 to 400 Trustpilot reviews to our website daily, displaying them by default from "best" to "worst". You have the option to adjust the sorting criteria. If you wish to see all reviews, you can visit Trustpilot's website here.
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Eddie Roberts
2 days ago
The communication y'all give and the…
The communication y'all give and the great rates of course
JC
Jim Canelake
2 days ago
Fantastic agent...knowledgeable
Fantastic agent...knowledgeable, friendly, compared my old with prospective policy. Walked me through the new policy. Great overall experience.
SK
Sheleine Kepner
3 days ago
The friendly staff and thorough…
The friendly staff and thorough explanations.
cu
customer
3 days ago
The agent John was very helpful and…
The agent John was very helpful and answered all my questions
Ja
James
3 days ago
Agency was friendly
Agency was friendly , knowledgeable and overall the experience was easy ,quick and I left feeling good
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