Baltimore Life Insurance Review (2023)
- Updated: January 6, 2023
- Rikin Shah | Licensed Life & Health Insurance Agent
- Fact-Checked (see our Editorial Guidelines)
- Offers a cash draft benefit rider
- Relatively relaxed underwriting criteria
- Baltimore Life Silver Guard I offers additional Riders providing more protection from unexpected expenses, even when living.
- Some of the benefits riders are not available in all states
- According to the Better Business bureau website, there are several complaints about the company
- With graded benefits, most health issues will only qualify for the graded plan
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Who is Baltimore Life?
The Baltimore Mutual Aid Society was established in 1882. The company’s name was later changed to “The Baltimore Life Insurance Company of Baltimore City” in 1900.
Since its founding, the organization, the company has survived the country’s Great Depression, multiple recessions, and two wars. Despite enduring the impact of these incidents, the company has managed to grow stronger, develop, and succeed.
Today, the organization insures over 300,000 people, families, and companies. The company’s Silver Guard Series is a portfolio of whole life insurance plans designed to cover final expenses. They are non-participating (in other words, they do not pay dividends) plans that offer guaranteed premiums and death benefits.
| Company 101 | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1882 |
| Address | 10075 Red Run Boulevard Owings Mills, MD 21117-4871 |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone | 866.211.0811 |
| Website | https://www.baltlife.com/contact-us |
| BBB Rating | A+ |
| A.M. Best Rating | B++ (Excellent) |
Baltimore Life’s product portfolio offers a variety of insurance solutions to meet your family’s needs.
Silver Guard is a whole-life insurance policy made to provide you and your loved ones guaranteed level premiums, non-cancelable coverage, and cash value accumulation. Silver Guard has two different plans, which we’ll cover in the following sections:
Baltimore Life Standard Brochure
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Baltimore Life Silver Guard Standard Overview
Silver Guard Standard is Baltimore Life’s “level benefit” offering. This means that the death benefit stays flat (level) for the life of the policy, and neither increases nor decreases over time.
As an applicant, you must meet the height/weight limits for Silver Guard I and be able to respond “no” to every question in Parts A and B of the insurance application.
State Eligibility
Baltimore Life’s Silver Guard Standard final expense insurance plan is available in all states except New York.
Age Eligibility
To be eligible for this plan, you must be between the ages of 50 and 80. Your age is one of the primary factors that determine the rate you are charged. The basis for your premium will also depend on your age.
For those who are looking to get coverage and have a birthday coming up, note that your age is determined based on the effective date of the policy. The date of the policy’s underwriting approval is the date the policy goes into effect, unless otherwise requested.
What happens if you are cutting it close to your birthday? Thankfully, Baltimore Life allows you to “save age,” and be priced at your current age vs. the age your are about to turn.
If you would like to “save age”, you can request an effective date up to 30 days before the date of application. Those close to their 81st birthday can “save age” to become eligible for the policy, but only via a paper application.
To request a date up to 30 days in the future, simply write your request in the comments portion of the application form.
Coverage Amounts
Baltimore Life’s Silver Guard Standard plan is whole life insurance; therefore, there is no “term length”. Your coverage is “permanent” and never expires, as long as you continue to pay your monthly premiums.
Baltimore Life has a narrower coverage range than most final expense insurers. Its Standard plan offers coverage between $2,500 and $25,000.
This $25,000 coverage maximum is lower than 14 of GetSure’s 15 burial insurance partners, especially companies like Aetna and Transamerica, which offer up to $50,000 of coverage.
| Age | Coverage Amount |
|---|---|
| 50-80 | $2,500 - $25,000 |
Death Benefit Terms
The death benefit for this plan is straightforward. Your policy will pay out your full death benefit, starting day 1, no matter what your cause of death.
This death benefit stays flat for the life of your policy, regardless of your age or changes in your health.
Cash Value
As with all whole life insurance policies, Baltimore Life’s Silver Guard Standard whole life insurnace plan builds cash value over time.
In other words, Baltimore Life allocates a portion of each of your premium payments to your “cash value account,” which is essentially a savings account that is built into your policy.
This money in this account is referred to as your policy’s “cash value”. You can take out a loan against your policy’s cash value at any time, for any purpose. If you have not paid it back at the time of your death, the oustanding amount will simply be deducted from the death benefit paid out to your beneficiary.
Available Riders
Additional benefits that come with this plan include:
| Rider | Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal Illness Accelerated Death Benefit Rider | Yes | If you are told you have a terminal disease, this benefit enables you to obtain a part of your death benefit while you are living. Standard policies include this rider at no additional expense to you. |
| Cash Draft Benefit | Yes | Immediately upon the insured's death (while the claim is being processed), Baltimore Life lets you access up to $1,000 of your policy's death benefit through its “cash draft benefit.” Its goal is to give your beneficiary money so they can pay bills till the claim is resolved. To use this benefit, simply take the cash draft form to a nearby bank after it has been certified by an attending physician. If you do so, your final claim check will be reduced by the $1,000 draft. The cash draft application form is issued automatically with the policy. To use this rider feature, the policy must have been in effect for at least two years. |
| Accidental Death Benefit Rider | No - Additional Cost | If you are between the ages of 50 and 65 when you purchase a Silver Guard Standard plan, you will have the option to add an accidental death benefit rider to your policy for a small additional prmeium. This rider doubles your policy’s death benefit if you die in an accident before the age of 70. |
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* Based on website quote requests, through 2/28/23.
(Check your rate to see their rates vs. ours)
Baltimore Life Silver Guard Special Overview
Baltimore Life’s second final expense insurance plan, named Silver Guard Special, is designed for individuals who have pre-existing conditions and therefore pose a greater risk to the insurance company.
This plan differs in two keys ways from the Standard plan: it has higher rates and a “graded” death benefit.
State Eligibility
Baltimore Life’s Silver Guard Standard final expense insurance plan is available in all states except New York.
Age Eligibility
To be eligible for the Silver Guard Special final expense life insurance plan by Baltimore Life, you must be 50-80 years old.
Coverage Amounts
It is a whole-life policy with set premiums, a set death benefit, and a guaranteed cash-value accumulation rate.
Like its level benefit “cousin,” Silver Guard Special is permanent life insurance (life insurance that lasts for your “whole life”). It therefore does not have a “term length” and does not expire.
How much coverage can you buy with this plan? Unfortunately, your options are even more limited than with the Standard plan. Coverage starts at $2,500 and maxes out at $15,000.
Life insurance companies often offer lower coverage amounts to riskier buyers, in order to reduce their exposure to potential losses.
| Age | Coverage Amount |
|---|---|
| 50-80 | $2,500 - $15,000 |
Death Benefit Terms
With a 2-year waiting time and less stringent underwriting, Silver Guard II offers a graded benefit. It pays out 30% of face value in Year 1 and 70% in year 2. In other words, he Benefit schedule is as follows:
+ Year 1: 30% of the face amount
+ Year 2: 70% of the face amount
+ Year 3: 100% of the face amount
Note, however, that this schedule applies only to deaths from natural causes. The Silver Guard Special plan always pays in full if the cause of death is accidental.
Cash Value
Just like the Standard plan, Baltimore Life’s graded death benefit policies accumulate cash value over time. This cash value can be especially helpful in terms of financial emergency.
Available Riders
The Special plan does not include any options for additional coverage (i.e., riders). It does, however, include the $1,000 cash draft benefit described above, which allows the beneficiary access to $1,000 of the policy’s death benefit immediately upon the insured’s death (before their claim with Baltimore Life has been resolved).
Baltimore Life Silver Guard Overview
State Eligibility
Age Eligibility
Coverage Amounts
Death Benefit Terms
Cash Value
Available Riders
Baltimore Insurance Application Process
Baltimore Life uses simplified underwriting for its Silver Guard life insurance plans.
This means that it does not use paramedical examinations, blood samples, attending physician statements (APS), or urine samples to decide on approval.
Instead, the application screening process uses the applicant’s build, health question answers, prescription drug history, as well as their report from the Medical Information Bureau (MIB).
In some cases, this information may not be enough, in which case Baltimore Life will require a tele-underwriting interview with the insured before they can make a decision.
Baltimore Life Silver Guard Application
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How Baltimore Life Will Decide On Your Approval
All of Baltimore Life’s Silver Guard plans are simple-issue whole life insurance policies, so there are no medical requirements or records to complete to be eligible for coverage. They use five techniques to confirm your health:
- Your response to the application’s health questions
- Your prescription history
- Your file at the Medical Information Bureau
- A height and weight chart
- A telephone interview
Your responses to the health-related questions have the greatest bearing on the kind of burial insurance you are eligible for.
Paying Your Premiums
After you complete the application, you will be given an instant decision. If you are approved, you will be asked to schedule your first premium payment. You can have it drawn immediately (in which case your coverage will start immediately) or you can choose a day within the following month (between 1 and 28) when your first payment will be made.
You can pay your initial premium by bank draft, personal check, or credit / debit card. Baltimore Life accepts Visa, MasterCard, and Discover.
However, recurring payments must be made via bank draft (EFT). Credit or debit cards cannot be used to make recurring monthly payments.
Baltimore Life Ratings & Customer Reviews
What Does The BBB Say About Baltimore Life?
Though not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Baltimore Life holds an A+ rating from the BBB, but only a 3/5 stars rating from customers. The company has attracted both positive and negative reviews from customers.
Baltimore Life A.M. Best Ratings
A.M. Best last opined on Baltimore Life in 2003 when they downgraded the company’s financial strength rating from B++ (very strong) to B+ (very strong).
This rating action reflected a decline in the company’s capitalization on both a risk-adjusted and absolute basis, combines with weak operating performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Is Baltimore Life insurance legit?
Yes. Baltimore life is a well-established insurance company with over a century of industry experience. The company is rated A+ by the BBB and holds a B+ financial strength rating from A.M. Best.
-
Is final expense life insurance worth it?
Yes. Especially given how convenient it is to purchase it (it does not require a medical exam and gives you a decision instnatly), burial expense life insurance is worth it. With its affordable premiums, you can rest assured that your loved ones will not have to worry about your burial expenses.
-
Can I use my life insurance to pay for my funeral?
Yes. Baltimore Life’s Silver Guard is primarily geared towards helping the applicant’s beneficiaries pay for funeral expenses in the event of death.
-
How long does it take life insurance to pay for funeral?
Once a claim has been made and you have all the necessary data, your claim will typically be approved within 10 business days. Your claim amount check will be sent to the appropriate local agency or mailed directly to you.
-
Do you pay taxes on life insurance?
Unless the policy was an annuity product, taxes are typically only due on interest received with the benefit money. For further information, speak with your tax advisor.
- Better Business Bureau. (n.d.). Business Profile The Baltimore Life Insurance Company
- Guide to Best's Financial Strength Ratings. (n.d.). AM Best
- The Baltimore Life Companies. (n.d.). Life Insurance Products
- The Baltimore Life Companies. (n.d.). Our History & Values
Rikin Shah
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Burial Insurance
15 companies competing for your business
97% of the time we beat Colonial Penn
30 days to get your money back, no questions asked
* Based on website quote requests, through 2/28/23.
(Check your rate to see their rates vs. ours)