Royal Neighbors Final Expense Life Insurance Review (2023)

Royal Neighbors of America is not your standard, stodgy life insurance company.  Unlike most companies in the life insurance industry, Royal Neighors is a not-for-profit company (officially a “fraternal benefit society”).  In addition to sellling life insurance coverage, it provides its members with various social services.

The Company’s mission is to protect women financially and to help them improve their lives, families, and communities through education and service.  Founded in 1895, Royal Neighbors serves over 220,000 members across the U.S.

Royal Neighbors currently has more than $1.1 billion in assets under management and an A.M. Best financial strength rating of A (Excellent).

An underrated feature of buying life insurance policies from Royal Neighbors is access to its member benefits and discounts.  For example, in terms of your health, RNA offers prescription drug benefits and exceptional discounts on diagnostic services (e.g., PET scans, MRI scans, etc.).  For more details on Royal Neighbors member benefits, be sure to check out their website (linked below).

Royal Neighbors serves customers between 50 and 80 years old.  They have two final expense insurance products:

• Simplified Issue Whole Life (SIWL) pays out when you die and has no waiting period; coverage ranges from $5,000 to $25,000
• Graded Death Benefit (GDB) is also whole life insurance.  If you die of natural causes during the first two years, your payout will be a certain percent of the face amount; coverage ranges from $5,000 to $10,000

Royal Neighbors Final Expense: 3 Things To Know

There are three things to know about all RNA final expense policies:

• Premiums never increase:  RNA’s final expense policy premiums never increase.  This is great for seniors on a fixed income
• Death benefits never decrease:  No matter what
• Cash Value:  A portion of your premium payments will go towards building cash value, and you can borrow from these funds if needed

In general, burial insurance will be a good fit for you if you:

• Are ages 60–80 and looking for insurance coverage to help loved ones pay for funeral and burial costs as well as outstanding debt after you pass
• Want $7,000 to $30,000 in coverage
• You would like to avoid having a medical exam
• You value having an accelerated living benefit rider

Royal Neighbors offers two final expense life insurance plans: (1) Simplified Issue Whole Life and (2) Graded Death Benefit Life Insurance.

Simplified Issue Whole Life Insurance (SIWL)

So what is simplified issue whole life insurance? Let’s break it down into two parts.

At its most basic level, this policy is a whole life insurance policy.  The “whole life” in that term means exactly what it sounds like: the policy covers you for your whole life, not just a period of your life (as term life insurance would).

Now for the first two words: simplified issue.  What does this mean?  It means that the insurer does less underwriting.  They do not look at as many risk factors as they would for a fully underwritten life insurance policy.

Simplified issue policies do not require a medical exam and have limited health questions.  See below a summary of Royal Neighbors’ SIWL features:

Independent life insurance ratings provide unbiased opinions on Royal Neighbor’s financial strength, claims-paying ability, and customer service.

NAIC Complaint Index

Insurance commissioners represent the entire nation on regulatory issues affecting the insurance industry. The company maintains an annual complaint index and education resources. The rating represents an average national average. Royal Neighbors Index ratings are higher in 2018, though it was a notable improvement over 2.98 in 2017. The index fluctuates each year, and more information regarding complaint types may be found on the NAIC website. NAIC ID Royal Neighbours 57057.

Better Business Bureau (BBB)

It is regarded as a critical consumer watchdog organization. It is evaluated for customer complaints as well as business responses. BBB began its existence in 1913 as a charitable corporation. Tell me about the Royal Neighbours of America complaint. The British Business Review, Royal Neighbors A+ rating, shows that they appropriately handle consumer complaints. However, some reviews posted on the BBB website are worrying somehow.

A.M. Best

A.M. Best is a ratings agency focused exclusively on the insurance industry.   This well-regarded company rates insurers’ claims-paying ability by analyzing and stress-testing their financial strength.

Royal Neighbors holds an A (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best, suggesting its strong reliability to pay claims.