Brighthouse Life Insurance Review: Is It the Right Policy for You? (2024)

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Brighthouse Financial offers term and indexed universal life insurance, attracting more than 2 million customers.

Business Insider compared Brighthouse Financial to the best life insurance companies and found it to be a standout offering with affordable premiums and an expedited application process.

Brighthouse Life Insurance Review

Brighthouse Financial Life Insurance is a reputable provider of affordable life insurance plans. Premiums are relatively low compared to its competitors, and most applicants can receive coverage without undergoing a medical exam. Brighthouse Financial also gets an A- grade from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), so you can expect excellent customer service.

One drawback with Brighthouse Life Insurance is that there are relatively few plans to choose from. The company offers two permanent life insurance plans and two term life insurance plans.

Despite the lack of variety, Brighthouse Life Insurance stands out with a unique hybrid plan that contains both a death benefit and long-term care coverage. This combination, contained within the Brighthouse SmartCare plan, is perfect for anyone who wants to protect both themselves and loved ones in the event of a serious illness.

Brighthouse Life Insurance Pros and Cons

Brighthouse Life Insurance Pros

• Most applicants won't need to undergo a medical exam. That means you should be able to start coverage within a few days of applying.
• The premiums are lower than average. For example, a healthy 25-year-old woman can expect to pay just $10.68 a month for a 20-year, $250,000 term life insurance policy.
• One-year term life policies offer whole life conversion option. While Brighthouse Financial doesn't offer whole life insurance that you can directly purchase, you can convert the company's one-year term life insurance to a whole life policy.

Brighthouse Life Insurance Cons

• You can't apply for a plan online. For permanent plans, you have to go through a licensed professional. For term plans, you need to request a quote through Policygenius and then speak with a representative on the phone.
• The selection of plans is limited. Brighthouse Life Insurance offers just four plans in total, including two permanent life insurance plans and two term life insurance plans.
• There's no online quoting tool. To learn how much you'll have to pay, you need to contact a financial professional or create an account with Policygenius.

Brighthouse Life Insurance Plans Available

Brighthouse Life Insurance offers both permanent life insurance and term life insurance. Permanent life insurance plans are meant to last your entire life, and they often include a cash value that grows over time. Term life insurance lasts only for a predetermined amount of time (which is called the "term").

There are two permanent life insurance plans available from Brighthouse Life Insurance:

• Brighthouse SmartCare. This is a hybrid permanent life insurance merging an indexed universal life insurance policy with long-term care benefits provided through a collection of riders.
• Brighthouse SmartGuard Plus. Available to people 35-65 years old, this is an indexed universal life insurance product, which means your policy's cash value can earn interest at the rate of an associated stock market index.

Brighthouse also offers two term life insurance plans:

• Brighthouse SimplySelect. You can select a term of 10, 20, or 30 years with coverage amounts ranging from $100,000 to $3 million. You can only access these policies through Policygenius.
• Brighthouse One Year Term. This is just what it sounds like – a short-term plan for filling a coverage gap. You can then choose to convert your policy into a whole life insurance plan.

Additional Coverage Options offered by Brighthouse Life Insurance (Riders)

A standard life insurance plan (from Brighthouse Life Insurance or any other provider) doesn't necessarily provide all the coverage you need. That's why it's often best to fill any gaps with coverage add-ons, commonly called riders.

Brighthouse Life Insurance offers the following riders:

• Long-term Care (LTC) Acceleration of Death Benefit:This allows you to access some of your death benefit early to pay for long-term medical care.
• Extension of Benefits:This allows you to continue to access your benefits after the LTC benefits have been exhausted.
• Return of Premium (ROP) Surrender Benefit: This allows you to take back some of the money you've paid in premiums if you surrender your policy.
• Return of Premium (ROP) Death Benefit:This ensures that all the money you've paid in premiums goes on to become part of the death benefit (except for money included in policy loans or LTC benefits).
• Guaranteed Distribution: When you apply, you can decide whether you want to receive distributions from the policy's cash value during your whole life or only for a certain time (which could increase the distribution amounts).
• Acceleration of Death Benefit:This allows you to access some or all of your death benefit if you become terminally ill.
• Convertible and Renewable Options Rider:You can extend a one-year plan and make it a longer-term policy.

Not every plan includes all of these riders. Read the plan details carefully to see which specific riders are included.

How Much Does Brighthouse Life Insurance Cost?

Brighthouse Life Insurance offers fantastic value. It gives you comprehensive coverage, and it's generally cheaper than an average life insurance plan.

Here are some quotes we gathered for a 20-year, $250,000 term life insurance policy for healthy non-smokers living in New York:

How to Purchase and Manage a Brighthouse Life Insurance Policy

Purchasing a Brighthouse life insurance policy is simple — and in most cases, you won't even need to take a medical exam.

The process for getting a policy differs slightly depending on the plan you choose.

For the universal life insurance plans, you'll have to go through a licensed financial professional. That means your first step is to talk to an insurance salesperson in your area who offers Brighthouse Life Insurance.

For term life insurance plans, you can go through the online portal Policygenius. Here's how it works:

1. Go to policygenius.com.
2. Select "Life" from the product menu.
3. Answer several questions about your health and lifestyle.
4. Review quotes from a variety of life insurance companies, including Brighthouse Life Insurance.

Someone from Policygenius should reach out over the phone. You can verify your information with them, and your coverage should begin that same day.

How to file a claim with Brighthouse Life Insurance

You can start the claims process by contacting Brighthouse Life Insurance over the phone.

Here are the phone numbers to call:

• If your policy ends with BI, BLT, BLW, USU, USV, or UT – call (800) 882-1292
• If your policy ends with US or FM – call (833) 208-3017
• If you have a former New England Financial policy – call (800) 388-4000

Brighthouse Life Insurance is available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. ET.

Before calling, make sure you know the product type and policy number. The Brighthouse Life Insurance representative on the phone will use the number to find your policy, and then they'll walk you through the process of filing a claim.

Brighthouse Life Insurance Customer Reviews and Ratings

Brighthouse Life Insurance's customer support gets mixed reviews online. Brighthouse Financial, the company behind Brighthouse Life Insurance, earns an A- grade from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). However, the company only averages 2.4 stars on the review site Trustpilot. Additionally, Brighthouse Financial ranked last out of 22 insurance companies in a 2023 J.D. Power survey for customer satisfaction.

Some reviews describe frustrating customer service experiences, including one case of being on hold for over three hours. Others praise the customer service representatives as being patient, congenial, and honest.

Brighthouse Life Insurance has an A (Excellent) rating in Financial Stability from AM Best.

Brighthouse Life Insurance vs. Other Providers

With low premiums, excellent online ratings, and a convenient application process, Brighthouse Life Insurance outshines many of its competitors.

Brighthouse Life Insurance vs. Pacific Life Insurance

Like Brighthouse Life Insurance, Pacific Life offers a wide selection of life insurance plans, including term life insurance and universal life insurance. Unfortunately, Pacific Life Insurance has a questionable reputation, receiving a C- grade from the BBB. That's why Brighthouse Life Insurance is a better option for most consumers.

Read our Pacific life insurance review.

Brighthouse Life Insurance vs. State Farm Life Insurance

State Farm Life Insurance offers a variety of plans, including term life insurance and permanent life insurance, but many applicants will have to take a medical exam. That makes Brighthouse Life Insurance a better option for anyone who wants a quick and easy application process.

Read our State Farm life insurance review.

Brighthouse Life Insurance FAQ

Why You Should Trust Us: What Went into Our Brighthouse Life Insurance Review

All companies are rated based on our expert's insurance rating methodology to ensure objectivity and equal opportunity for insurers. The factors we considered when rating our best life insurance products include the following:

• Customer satisfaction
• Financial stability
• State coverage
• Ethics
• Policy types
• Average premiums
• Waiting periods
• Standard exclusions
• Agent training

Read more on Business Insider'slife insurance rating methodology.