Haven Life Review: Term Life Insurance Made Easy

If you’re looking for term life insurance, there are quite a few good life insurance companies that offer good term life coverage.  Today we'll be looking at one of them, Haven Life.

In this Haven Life review, we’ll take an in depth look at this company and help you discover if it could be the best choice for you. 

What Is Haven Life?

Haven Life is an online insurance agency offering term life insurance. The company allows you to apply for coverage completely online and you’ll receive a near immediate decision, provided you need less than $1 million coverage and you’re under the age of 45. 

Haven Term Life Insurance is available to applicants with common pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, and to those who are relatively young and healthy. 

This term life insurance is underwritten algorithmically. If the algorithm does not detect any concerns with your application, you can get approval in under one hour. Most applicants will not need a medical exam, but the algorithm will decline your application if you have certain higher risk conditions. 

If you are required to take a medical exam, Haven may still provide temporary coverage. While this option is not always available, if you do have temporary coverage, your premiums will be finalized after your exam, providing your application is subsequently approved. 

Since the policies are fully underwritten, the rates are typically far lower than you would find with conventional no exam life insurance cover. 

Haven Life Insurance Coverage Options

Haven offers term life insurance, so your premiums will be consistent for the entire coverage term. Since they are underwritten by them, MassMutual review all applications and you can renew your policy annually after the initial term until you reach the age of 65. However, if you choose to renew, you can expect an increase in your premiums. 

The initial term lengths available include:

• 10 year
• 15 year
• 20 year
• 25 year
• 30 years (if you’re under 50)

If you’re under 60, you can purchase a policy with a $3 million coverage maximum. Those over 60 are restricted to coverage of up to $1 million. 

Since Haven is an online company, you have the option to manage some of your policy details via the internet, without needing to call the support team. The Haven online portal allows you to update payment information, change your beneficiaries, switch the policy owner or if your financial obligations change, decrease the face value of your policy. 

There are some restrictions for Haven Life insurance. The policyholder must be a US citizen or a resident with a green card or visa. Additionally, you cannot be active in the military or have an intention to enlist.

Since Haven only offers term life coverage, there are no options to convert your policy into a permanent life policy. 

Insurance Riders

Haven Life has two add-ons or policy riders, which are considered fairly standard options with almost every life insurance company. 

• Accidental Death: If you receive a terminal illness diagnosis and you are expected to live 12 months or less, you can receive a portion of the policy death benefit while you are still alive. This can be a valuable benefit, as you may be incurring medical bills and care costs. This add on is free and allows you to receive 75% or $250,000 of your death benefit, whichever is less. Obviously, since you are receiving part of the death benefit early, the beneficiary payout will be correspondingly reduced. 
• Waiver of Premium: This rider helps you maintain coverage if you become disabled to the stage of being unable to work and struggling to afford your premiums. If you suffer a total disability before the age of 65, and the condition lasts six months or more, this add on will maintain your coverage without making premium payments. However, this rider is not available if you’re purchasing your policy after the age of 50. 

This is a limited choice of riders. So, if you are looking for particular optional benefits, you are not likely to find it with Haven Life. For example, some insurers offer a child add on, which pays out if one of your children passes away. 

Haven Simple - No Medical Exam Term Life

Haven Life also offers a completely digital purchase experience via Haven Simple. These policies do not require a medical exam and are issued by MassMutual subsidiary, C.M Life Insurance. 

This product is not available in all states and applicants must be under the age of 55. You can choose a coverage of up to $500,000 with a term of 5, 10, 15 or 20 years. 

The premiums will remain the same for the full duration of the term and this policy also includes accelerated death benefit. 

The Application Process

One of the attractive features of Haven Life is its simple, quick application process. There are two quotes on the website; an estimated rate and a real rate. 

On the homepage, you’ll see a prompt to “estimate your rate”, which will display an application with numerous fields. After you complete this form, you will see an estimated rate. 

To obtain a real rate, you need to create a Haven Life account. This process does take approximately 25 minutes. However, if you’re under 45 and healthy, InstantTerm is an option. This will let you bypass a medical exam for almost immediate coverage. 

By going through the application process, you do need to agree to Haven Life sourcing data from third parties. This allows for information compilation to produce a decision without human intervention. 

For other applicants, depending on the details you provide, you may need to have a medical exam. After your exam, Haven Life will issue a decision within 7 to 10 days. 

Haven Life Insurance Pricing

The actual cost of Haven Life insurance will depend on your specific circumstances. There are a number of factors including:

• Gender
• Age
• Height
• Weight
• Lifestyle factors, such as whether you smoke

There are also variables, such as the amount of coverage and length of policy that can impact the cost of your policy. 

However, Haven Life does provide several examples of monthly premiums for different scenarios. These can provide insight into understanding the varying costs.

• Male, 23 years old in excellent health and a non smoker. 15 year term with $250,000 coverage: $10.38 per month
• Female, 24 years old, average health, non smoker. 20 year term with $750,000 coverage: $42.74 per month
• Male, 25 years old, smoker in good health. 20 year term with $300,000 coverage: $48.65 per month. 

Haven Life Customer Support

Unlike many insurers, Haven Life has prioritized making it easy for customers to access support. You can speak to a member of the support team via an 800 number, email or chat feature. 

Additionally, there is a help section on the website that allows you to find answers to common questions and queries. 

Once you have purchased a policy, if you need to update your information or initiate a claim, you can log into your account on the website. The online portal allows you to view your policy details, make changes or even cancel your policy. 

You can also file a claim by calling the 800 number. A representative will be assigned to the case and your beneficiary will be sent paperwork to complete the claims process. 

Haven Life Plus

Haven Life does offer some additional services via Haven Life Plus. This is a free feature that you can add to your policy. It includes access to:

• Trust & Will digital services to create an online will
• One Year subscription to the audio based fitness app, Aaptiv
• The online safe deposit box, LifeSite for both you and up to five family members
• Timeshifter, a program to help you create custom plans and avoid suffering jet lag.
• 15% discount on a single CVS MinuteClinic service. 

Unfortunately, Haven Life Plus is not available in all states. It is not available in Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota, New York and Florida. Additionally, only certain features are available in California. 

Cancellation

Like most insurance companies, Haven Life offers a 10 day free look period. At this time, you can review your documents and decide if you would like to cancel. If you do decide to cancel within the 10 day period, you can get a full refund for all the premiums you’ve paid. 

After this period expires, you can cancel without penalties, but you won’t receive a premium refund. 

Pros And Cons Of Haven Life

As with any financial product, there are both potential positives and negatives associated with Haven Life insurance. It is important to be aware of the arguments for and against, so you can make an informed purchase decision.

The Pros

• Cost Effective: Life insurance reviews suggest that Haven Life offers competitive rates that are typically lower than the average no medical coverage. Obviously, your specific rate will depend on your circumstances. 
• Apply Online: You don’t need to waste time waiting on a busy call center line, as you can apply for coverage online and in many cases, you’ll get an almost immediate decision online. 
• No Salesperson Commission: Many people find the process of getting insurance a little daunting, as many companies employ salespeople on commission. This can lead to a high pressure environment where you can feel coerced to sign up as quickly as possible. However, Haven Life does not use salespeople on commission. So, you can obtain unbiased advice that is not based on how much commission the person you’re speaking to will earn. 

The Cons

• Single Quote: While you can obtain an online quote, you will need to fill out more applications on other sites to be able to compare whether Haven Life is the best deal for you. 
• Limited Insurance Options: Haven Life only offers term life insurance, with few optional extras. So, if you are looking for greater flexibility for your circumstances, this may not be the company for you.
• You May Need a Medical Exam: Many policy inquiries will trigger a medical exam request. Unfortunately, this will slow down the entire process. You will not only need to wait up to ten days after completing the exam, but your rates are subject to change. In a worst case scenario, your policy may be declined. 

Conclusion

One of the most frustrating things about obtaining life insurance is the time it takes to gather your information, take a medical exam and then wait for a final price before your coverage can begin. However, Haven Life appreciates this frustration and aims to make the entire process easier. 

Haven Life allows you to obtain a quote, quickly and easily online. You may even qualify for instant coverage. However, even if you need to have a medical exam, you’ll only need to wait up to ten days after you complete your exam to get your final price, and coverage decision. 

If you’re in need of easy online life insurance coverage and are in good health, Haven could provide a great option. While there is a $3 million coverage cap, the company makes it easy to obtain coverage and in some cases, you’ll have a final price and decision within one hour. 

Haven is not the right choice, however, if you are looking for universal or whole life insurance, a lot of add-ons or riders for a completely customizable policy or a bundled solution for all of your insurance needs. Additionally, if you may need to convert your term policy to a permanent policy, you will need to look for another provider. 

Additionally, you will likely need to obtain a quote from Haven and then apply for other quotes from other companies (see below) to ensure that Haven offers you the best possible deal.