Haven Life Insurance Review

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Haven Life is ceasing operations and will no longer accept new life insurance applications. Existing policyholders need not worry, however. Haven Life's parent company, MassMutual, and its subsidiary, C.M. Life, will continue to administer and service existing policies.

Haven Life was among our top picks for the best life insurance companies in the market. Customers could apply for and purchase coverage online without having to meet with an insurance agent. The company offered up to $3 million in term life coverage as well as simplified issue policies, which don't require a medical exam.

While these products will no longer be sold through Haven Life, consumers can still purchase coverage through MassMutual.

• Haven Life Pros and Cons
• Haven Life Insurance Products
• Credentials
• Cost of Haven Life Insurance
• Accessibility
• Customer Satisfaction
• Haven Life Insurance FAQ
• How We Evaluated Haven Life Insurance
• Summary of Money’s Haven Life Insurance Review

Haven Life Insurance Pros and Cons

Pros explained

Some policies were available without medical exams

In most cases, life insurance companies require applicants to get a medical exam and tests to qualify for a policy. Haven Life, on the other hand, offered a simplified-issue policy. You could get up to $500,000 in coverage with a no-exam life insurance policy.

Sold high coverage amounts (up to $3 million)

Companies that sell directly to consumers rather than selling through insurance agents usually have limited coverage options. Coverage amounts are usually limited to under $1 million. But Haven Life allowed policyholders to get up to $3 million in coverage.

Haven Life Plus provided additional benefits

Haven Term Policies included a Haven Life Plus Rider, which provided additional benefits beyond what life insurance policies typically offer, such as estate planning through Trust & Will and end-of-life planning via Lantern. The rider also included subscriptions to Aaptiv, an audio-based fitness app, a travel planning app called Timeshifter and an online vault for storing important information, LifeSuite.

The Haven Life Plus Rider was not available in Florida, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota or Washington.

Cons explained

No longer accepting life insurance applications

MassMutual, Haven Life's parent company, made the decision to wind down operations on Haven Life by the end of 2023. That means Haven Life will no longer accept new life insurance applications. Nevertheless, MassMutual and its subsidiary, C.M. Life, will continue to manage and service existing policies.

Sold only term life insurance

Where many insurers sell multiple types of life insurance, Haven Life only sold term life coverage.

Simplified issue policies were not available in all states

Haven’s simplified issue policies weren’t available in all states. Residents of California, Delaware, New York, North Dakota and South Dakota were ineligible for simplified issue policies and could only apply for Haven’s fully underwritten plans.

Offered only one payment option

Other insurance companies and agencies have multiple payment options, such as annual, semi-annual, quarterly or monthly payments, and they may offer discounts if you opt for annual or semi-annual payments. By contrast, Haven Life Insurance Agency only accepted monthly payments.

Haven Life Insurance Products

While other companies sell a range of life insurance products, Haven Life only offered term life insurance. Term life coverage is limited in length, covering you for only a specified period of time. If you pass away during the policy term, your beneficiary will receive the plan’s death benefit payout. But once the term ends, the policy is no longer in effect, and your beneficiary receives nothing if you die.

Why would someone opt for temporary coverage? Term life insurance is usually significantly cheaper than permanent options like universal or whole life insurance.

Available life insurance plans

Haven Life offered two term life plans:

• Haven Term: Haven Terms was available nationwide to customers under the age of 64. You could choose a term of 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years and purchase up to $3 million in coverage.
• Haven Simple: As a simplified issue policy, Haven Simple did not require a medical exam. You could apply online in minutes and, if approved, get coverage the same day. Only individuals between the ages of 20 and 55 were eligible, and you could choose a term of five, 10, 15 or 20 years. Available coverage ranged from $25,000 to $500,000.

Insurance riders

Haven Life had the following riders:

• Accelerated Death Benefit: If the covered person is terminally ill with 12 to 24 months left to live, the accelerated death benefit rider allows the person to use a portion of their policy’s death benefit while they’re living. This rider is included in all policies.
• Waiver of Premium: If you become totally disabled due to illness or injury, you don’t have to pay your policy’s premiums for the length of the disability. This rider is optional and is available at an additional cost to individuals under the age of 59.

Haven Life Credentials

Haven Life was a fairly new insurance agency. It was founded in 2014 by Yaron Ben-Zvi to make buying life insurance easier.

Like most insurers of its age, Haven Life was backed by an older partner. Its parent company Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), has been in operation since 1851. All Haven Life policies were issued by MassMutual or its subsidiary, C.M. Life.

Awards

Haven Life was recognized as the “Best InsurTech” during Benzinga’s Global Fintech Awards in 2020, reflecting its identity as a leader among those startup companies that are employing new technology and business models to sell insurance. It was also named one of the best small and medium workplaces by Great Places to Work and Fortune.

Financial stability

While financial strength is important to consider when buying any type of insurance, it’s especially valuable when buying life insurance. Term life policies can have terms as long as 30 years, so you want to have the security and peace of mind that the insurer you choose will be around for the long haul.

To help you with your research, industry credit rating agencies like Moody’s, AM Best and S&P Global issue credit ratings based on their evaluation of insurance companies’ financials.

MassMutual, the company behind Haven Life, has a strong reputation and has received high ratings from credit agencies. It has an A++ rating from S&P Global and also received high marks from two of the most respected rating agencies for insurance companies: Moody’s and AM Best.

Third-party ratings

MassMutual was ranked third out of 22 life insurance companies in the 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. MassMutual’s rating was 809, which is higher than the industry average of 790.

The study evaluated and rated companies to measure customer satisfaction based on five factors:

• Communication
• Interaction
• Price
• Product offerings
• Statements

Regulatory actions

Haven Life has not been the target of any regulatory actions.

Cost of Haven Life Insurance

We requested quotes from Haven Life to get an idea of its life insurance rates. You could get detailed quotes for simplified issue policies by answering a few questions, but quotes for Haven Term policies — which were fully underwritten — required you to complete a full application. For this review, we requested quotes solely for its simplified issue policies.

In general, simplified issue policies cost more than fully underwritten policies. That was also true for Haven Life; its Haven Simple plans were more expensive than the industry average for term policies with traditional underwriting. However, Haven Simple plans didn't require a medical exam, and for this specific type of life insurance policy, the agency offered competitive rates. Additionally, the entire life insurance application could be completed in under 20 minutes.

The life insurance quotes in the above table are sample rates that represent the average monthly cost for a 35-year-old person who does not use tobacco, e-cigarettes, or other nicotine-containing products and is in excellent health.

Haven Life Accessibility

Haven Life sold insurance directly to consumers through its website. It didn't have insurance agents or financial professionals to advise you, but it did allow customers to contact its support team in multiple ways.

Contact information

Haven Life’s customer support team could be reached via live chat or phone:
Phone: 855-744-2836
Chat: Live Chat

Customer service was available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. EST.

User experience

Haven Life has an online portal customers can use to pay their premiums, change their beneficiaries or view their policy details. However, Haven Life didn't have a mobile app for policyholders.

Haven Life Customer Satisfaction

In addition to scoring a little above average in the 2022 J.D. Power U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, which included customer service, Haven Life tended to fare well elsewhere in terms of meeting its customer's life insurance needs.

Customer reviews

Haven Life had a 4.8 TrustScore out of 5 based on over 1,000 reviews, giving it an “excellent” rating on TrustPilot. Reviews focused on the agency's hassle-free online application process and responsive communication.

Complaint index

Researching the number of complaints that customers submit about insurance companies can give you an idea of what level of customer service to expect. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) collects consumer complaints and uses that data to issue annual complaint ratios to reflect how companies measure up to their competition.

The industry standard complaint index is 1.0. Ratios below that number indicate a company received fewer complaints than is typical for a company of its size, while companies with ratios over 1.0 received more complaints than expected.

As of December 2022, MassMutual’s complaint index for individual life insurance was 0.03, significantly lower than the industry standard.

How We Evaluated Haven Life Insurance

In our evaluation of Haven Life and other life insurance agencies, we looked at the following factors:

• Available plans and terms
• Insurance riders
• Policy exclusions
• Underwriting process
• Cost
• Financial stability
• Customer service
• Customer reviews
• Third-party ratings

We also interviewed representatives from companies as part of our research process. Still, though, we always try to include accurate and up-to-date information on regulatory and legal actions, we don't claim this information is complete or fully up to date. As always, we recommend you do your own research as well.

Summary of Money’s Haven Life Insurance Review

Haven Life has ceased operations and is currently not accepting new applications. However, existing policyholders can rest assured that there will be no changes to their current policies. These policies were issued by either MassMutual or its subsidiary, C.M. Life, which will continue to administer and service policies.

For more life insurance options, check out our top picks for the best life insurance companies. You can also read our article on MassMutual life insurance for more information.