Continental Life Insurance Company of Brentwood, Tennessee, an Aetna company
Protection Series Final Expense Individual Whole LifeEvery benefit below is transcribed from the Continental Life Protection Series Final Expense individual whole life brochure CLIFE07523, and from the Aetna Senior Supplemental Insurance company profile CGFMP08395, which states the A.M. Best rating and its date. Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.
Only a level plan is offered, and it pays in full from day one Included
The full face value is payable from the policy issue date whether death is due to an accident or to natural causes. In every policy year, a non-accidental death pays the full benefit.
This company offers no modified or graded version of this policy at all, which is the plainest answer to the question our footer tells you to ask. Compare it against the modified plan published on our burial insurance comparison page, where the first two years pay back premium instead.
How much cover, and the ceiling falls with age Included
The minimum death benefit is $2,000 at every issue age. The maximum is $50,000 from age 45 to 55, $40,000 from 56 to 65, $30,000 from 66 to 75 and $25,000 from 76 to 89.
Age is taken as of the last birthday, so the band you fall into on the day the policy is issued is the band that sets your ceiling.
An annual policy fee Included
The brochure states an annual policy fee of $40 on the level plan.
It is charged on top of the premium. Worth knowing when you compare a monthly figure against another company’s.
Accidental death benefits rider Optional rider
Pays 100% of the base policy’s face amount for accidental death, for issue ages 45 through 70.
Children's term insurance rider Optional rider
Covers a child, stepchild, legally adopted child, grandchild, legally adopted grandchild or great grandchild, from $2,500 up to $10,000 per child in $2,500 increments. The amount is the same for every covered child and may not exceed the face amount of the base policy. Issue ages run from older than 30 days to less than 18 years, and the policy becomes convertible to a whole life policy between the ages of 22 and 25 after two years in force.
Cash value, and what borrowing against it costs Included
The policy builds cash value over time, and you can borrow against it with policy loans exceeding $1,000 for any reason. An annual interest rate and fees apply, and the brochure states that benefits may be reduced by any loan balance on the policy at the time of death.
That last sentence is the one to read twice. Money borrowed and not repaid comes out of what your beneficiary receives.
If you stop paying: the non-forfeiture options Included
Reduced paid-up insurance gives your beneficiary a death benefit reduced to the amount of life insurance the accrued cash value will buy. Extended term insurance gives level term cover for the full death benefit but for a shorter period. An automatic premium loan takes the accrued cash value and applies it toward the premium. You may elect the option at application and change it in writing at any time during your lifetime.
The brochure is explicit that in the early years there may be insufficient cash value for any of the three, and that the option is triggered only when a premium remains unpaid at the end of the grace period and there is enough cash value.
A 30 day free look Included
The brochure states a 30 day free look period with a right to cancel and a 100% refund.
Premiums timed to the Social Security deposit schedule Included
If you are on Social Security, the carrier sets up automatic payments to line up with the Social Security benefit deposit schedule.
What this kind of care costs
None of the figures below is a policy benefit and none of them is ours. They are third-party research quoted in the company's brochure, and each one is shown with who produced it and when, because a statistic is only true of the year it was measured in. They are here because the policy above cannot be judged without them.
| What | Cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average cost of a funeral not including the cemetery plot, tombstone and other related fees | $7,640 or more | National Funeral Directors Association, undated in the carrier's 2022 brochure |
| How much less a cremation costs than a traditional funeral the other final expense brochure on our burial insurance comparison page cites the same body for a different answer — read both | about 30% less | National Funeral Directors Association, undated in the carrier's 2022 brochure; its chart compares 2014 with 2019 |
| Social Security lump sum death payment to qualified dependents | $255 | Social Security Administration, undated in the carrier's 2022 brochure |
| Veterans Administration burial benefit | $300 | Social Security Administration publication cited by the carrier, undated in the carrier's 2022 brochure |
Confirm this one before you sign
This does not appear in the sales brochure, and it changes what the policy is worth to you. Ask for it in writing, in the policy and the outline of coverage for your state, and do not take our word or anyone else's for it.
- The super preferred rate, and what actually qualifies you for it The brochure says you may qualify for a super preferred rate on this policy if you currently hold an Aetna affiliated Medicare Supplement policy. It does not say how much lower that rate is, or what counts as currently holding one. The other Aetna-family policy published on our burial insurance comparison page states its own version as a percentage with a time limit attached, and the two are not the same offer. Get yours confirmed in writing before you let it decide which policy you buy.
- Issue ages
- 45 to 89, age as of last birthday. The minimum death benefit is $2,000 at every age and the maximum falls as the age rises.
- Underwriting
- No medical exam. Issue of the policy and the plan type depend on the answers to the health questions in the application, and the brochure says you can find out the same day whether you are pre-approved.
- Renewability
- Renewable for life regardless of changes in health, guaranteed non-cancelable as long as the premiums are paid on time, with premium rates that never increase and coverage and benefits that never decrease.
- Financial strength
- Rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best as of 13 March 2024 — the third highest of sixteen ratings, which is the part the letter on its own does not tell you. It is a view of the insurer’s ability to pay claims, not a comment on this policy, and it can be changed at any time.
Required disclosures from Continental Life Insurance Company of Brentwood, Tennessee, an Aetna company
Not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or the Federal Medicare Program.
For complete details of all provisions or benefits, please read your policy carefully.