Banner Life Insurance
Banner Life Insurance sells life insurance products through 12 marketing groups made up of independent brokers across the country. The company offers a variety of term and universal life insurance policies. Our Banner Life Insurance review finds that despite the company’s financial strength, its customer service experience is lacking. Scroll down for reader reviews and company overview.
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Written by
Jeffrey Johnson
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UPDATED: Dec 24, 2020
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$587 billion of life insurance in force$5.7 billion in assets
- William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York
Company Overview:
Company History: Banner Life was chartered in 1949 under the name Government Employees Life Insurance Co. (GELICO) as part of the Government Employees Group. GELICO was rated A+ (superior) for the first time in 1976 and was acquired as a subsidiary by Legal & General Group PLC in 1981. In 1983, the company changed its name to Banner Life. Then, in 1989, the company acquired William Penn Insurance of New York and in 2010 Banner Life ranked 12th among all US companies that issued new life coverage that year. Now Banner has an investment portfolio that is 94% investment grade assets; Mortgage Backed Securities holdings, of which 98% are rated A or better at 87% are rated AAA; Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities holdings of which 86% are rated A or above and 76% are rated AAA; and Asset Backed Securities holdings that are diversified and of which 86% are rated AAA.
Principle Sales Methods: Today Banner sells individual life insurance products through 12 marketing groups. These groups have 300 member agencies and 60 other general independent brokerage agencies. Banner employees around 70,000 brokers.
Life Annuity Business: Banner offers a variety of Term Life and Universal life policies.
They continually fail to credit premiums paid by military allotment to my policy.
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The underwriters are lazy liars
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We were quoted one price and after all of the medical tests were completed were sent a bill or invoice for several hunded dollars a year more than what was quoted. Banner Life Insurance Company is running quite a scam.
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They do not like to respond to customer concerns
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Like all insurance companies, perhaps more than some, they are much more interested in receiving premiums than in paying claims. Their customer service is in need of much improvement.
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Customer service is non-existant. Calls are not returned.
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Company does not provide enough customer service. If you have a policy, try calling customer service at the beginning of the business day on a day other than Monday. Don’t rely on e-mailed responses!
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Fortunatley, my spouse has had no reason to file a claim on my life insurance. So I connot comment on Banner’s service to this point. They send me a notice once a year and I send them the check.
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I have a Adjustable Life Policy with Banner. After 23 years of payments I was just informed that the policy cost exceeded its payments (upside down?) and will terminate.
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Customer service is among the worst I have experienced both in quality, promptness and attitude. This is not a customer centered company.
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Banner does not submit an annual report to its life insurance policyholders to account for dividends and additional insurance bought therefrom. Moreover, when reporting,, following a request to the company, the figures provided are sometimes dubious. For example, such reports have shown a decline in life insurance values, rather than an increase from one year to another, due to the reinvestment of dividends. Communicating these concerns to the firm resulted in no rpt no response.
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customer service is not what they do. What is wrong with this company? I will spend over 60,000 bucks by the end of my 20 year term, now on year 6, and they do not have anyone to describe the 2009 performance or answer questions…do they value anyone paying the premiums???
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Was on hold over 30 mins Friday and never got a body. Now on hold over 30 mins Tues and my phone just died.
Guess they only want to cash my check, not talk to me.
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Initially, the premiums ($102.00 quarterly) for this whole life policy were supposed to span twenty years. After that term, we were informed that the cash value of the policy was no longer sufficient to keep our policy in effect unless we paid the new premium amount. The new amount was $240.00, quarterly. We paid the new amount. Now, two years after the second increase, we were again informed that the policy would cease unless we send the new premium, $333.00 quarterly. Banner Life has no accountability. Do not purchase any life insurance policy from this company. We invested over ten thousand dollars in the black hole known as Banner Life. Learn from our mistake.
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after 25 years and paying $324.00 per year,
I just recieved a notifaction that my policy entered its grace period Feb.25 2010. After waiting a very long time I talked to two diferent reps. the first did not know anything and the other one said I would have to pay 73.89 per month to keep my policy. What a rip off. They have yet to send me my 2009 Statment.
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Is very satisfying to be able to have a affordable life insurance that is gonna be able to provide a good future to my family when am gone
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The most unfair insurance that I every had!!!!!!!!!!!!
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After 25 years of faithfully paying premiums on my universal life policy, I am informed that my policy will have insufficient value to continue after 12/28/10. I have done everything right for all this time, and they are just going to terminate me as I am now approaching retirement?
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Excellent customer service
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Poor Customer Service
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My husband had a Banner life policy…You can trust this company. Thank you Banner Life.
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Great Rates! Reputable company.
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I am a policyholder of Banner Life and I am also a Brokerage General Agency with them.I Administer their Products through hundreds of licenses agents!I have read these complaints on Banner and find them rediculous and these are the same compliants that come from Individuals who buy online to cutt out the agent and do not understand nor care to understand what they are buying.Then when they have a problem they want an agent to fix it!If people purchase their insurance from a professional qualified agent they will not experience the problems I see on this site.This is just another blog for angry people to complain , nothing more and has no merit!
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impossuble to get in touch with them
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They mislead and do not disclose all information and then send a letter that states "your life insurance policy expires in a month" this was after a converstion 3 months prior with a representative who stated tht I could cash in the policy for 76 or keep the 2000 policy. I told the representative that seemed to make more sense to leave it to my kids and he agreed. Now they say the policy is worth nothing. They are liars who have stolen from many servicemen such as my father.
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They supposedly mailed the policy a month ago after 2 months of getting info wrong not reading what was written and repeatedly not sending necessary documents but saying they had. Now they want to do the paperwork all over again. This company appears to be INCOMPETENT. Do not go here.
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Extremely poor customer service. After a move I did not receive a bill but did receive a termination notice. Even though I contacted them within 10 days of the notice I could not get the policy reinstated without an unreasonable fee which they were unwilling to waive.
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After 3 – 4 years of loyal payments after a move I did not receive a bill but did receive a termination notice weeks after it was forwarded to my new address. They never told my agent. Even though I contacted them within 10 days of the notice I could not get the policy reinstated without an unreasonable fee a renewal application and then they claimed I was no longer an acceptable risk. Horrible. Never do business with these guys go to the Knights of Columbus or someone respectable.
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Banner changed their name to Legal and General. The billings came in envelops marked Legal and General without any reference to Banner Life. Since I did not recognize it I considered it junk mail. As a result I did not get my bills and my termination notices. My coverage was terminated for non-payment. I considered this a deceptive practice.
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They fabricate excuses just look to raise premiums
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Made ONE late payment by mistake and they cancelled me after being a good customer for several years. It was my fault the payment was late but was just an oversight on my part. My payment to them and their cancellation crossed in the mail but they cancelled me anyway. Underwriting department wanted me to jump through hoops to reapply then wanted me to pay them to get 5 years of medical records from my doctor. Since then I’ve realized there a other insurance companies worthy of my business…done with Banner.
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As a CFP I frequently recommend term life insurance to my customers. I have been recommending Banner Life to my customers for over a decade and think my customers have had only one administrative problem that I was able to correct for them without too much effort. I recommend Banner Life because of their financial ratings and their premiums for healthly non-smokers are some of the lowest in the insurance industry.
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Like many other individuals I feel this company may be playing a game to reduce their pay offs on legitimate claims. NOTE – I went through an agent – so they are just as untrustworthy. I received a renewal notice marked Legal General and almost threw it away as junk mail. No one from the company alerted me to their "name change". Of course the letter was received with less than 30 days to pay the premium – smart how they time it just right so you may not hit the payment deadline. No e-mails or electronic option either. Hmmm… I wrote a check and mailed it off thinking I was done for the year. I never received a received a notice telling me a payment was not received. But of course this week 2 months later I receive a cancellation notice with a heavy fine to re-instate. The funny thing is – they CASHED my check Now I have to jump through hoops to get my account reinstated – God forbid something happens to me in the interim. Be careful if you choose this company. Something just isn’t on the up and up. But maybe this is insurance people in general – so many people have bogus claims – then people who are honest can get screwed.
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Do not buy from them. They are not a good company. Their Customer Service Department is a joke. They are not there to help you at all. They just want the premiums but do not want to help with any claims or problems.
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Don’t buy from this company. Very poor customer service. They seem to be having financial problems and trying to save on personnel training. Customer service employees are rude and not helpful.
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Very good company all these issues on this site are due to people messing up their own billing. All insurance companies will make you pay a lot of money if you don’t pay your premiums when they are due Best price and a good company
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Does anyone know how to get this situation handled in a timely fashion. My parents got a policy in my name when I was a baby. 54 yrs later that policy if cashed out is around 7 grand. But in those 54 yrs Ive been married three times. Since i don’t have the policy in my hands I have to prove it’s my policy. Any suggestions on how to get this? I can’t find my birth cert and my other marriage licenses. HELP
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I have been working with an agent for over 3 months trying to get a policy with Banner – they have had my bloodwork for over 7 weeks. No response to my agent. My husband’s policy was written weeks ago, but they can’t even bother to be professionals and answer my AGENT about my policy.
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After paying quarterly for 5 years, I did not receive an invoice and I did not receive a past due notice but I did receive a policy termination notice. Very poor customer service. Someone could pick up a phone or send an email or a text but did not. Its a lot cheaper to retain a customer than to have to go find a new customer. Not to mention all the lost business due to bad reviews.
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I put in an application with the company. After sticking me with needles and all the other invasive tests, they said they didn’t like my second beneficiary and would only write it if she was removed. They had all that information the first day. So now after having all kinds of tests and additional questions, they approved everything but want to change my application. So It looks like I have to start over with a different company. Banner sucks.
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My scenario is much like many of the other responsers. I moved and sent the change of address to my agent.Banner Life said they sent the bill to the old address and without contacting me or my agent canceled the policy. This was after paying premiums for over 13 years. This appears to be their modus operandi. Once they start assume more risk, they look for a reason to cancel your policy. I would not recommend this company anyone
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Banner Life, or now, Legal General has a very poor customer service, first long delays before the answer a call, second they are not trained to provide proper instructions for making policy changes, third their forms and instruction are not clear, fourth customer service agents are not good at listening and helping with proper instructions and follow ups when their company has created complex situations. They should get conduct a survey of their customers experience for their interactions with customers.
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