Ladder life insurance review 2025

Ladder is a digital-first term life insurance company that lets you adjust your coverage as often as you want and at no extra charge. That can be a game-changer as you cross life milestones and your needs change.

We like that Ladder has affordable coverage for healthy younger adults and a streamlined online application that often lets you skip the medical exam.

Ladder only offers term life insurance, however, and its only available to applicants between 20 and 60 years old.

Ladder offers term life insurance in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. that is underwritten by Allianz, Amica, S.USA Life Insurance Company and Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company.

Term life insurance

Ladder offers term life policies to adults ages 20 to 60 with terms of 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years and a death benefit of between $100,000 to $8 million. There is no medical exam If you are buying less than $3 million in coverage.

There are term and age restrictions: The length of your term plus your current age cannot exceed 70 years.

Ladder's standout feature is the ability to increase or decrease your coverage as your needs change. You can adjust coverage as many times as you want for free, whether you're getting married, having a child or just paid off the mortgage.

Since Ladder only sells term life, you can't convert your plan into a permanent policy, a feature many other providers offer.

Ladder doesn't offer any life insurance riders, which limits your ability to customize your policy. Some insurance companies have a return of premium rider, for example, that allows you to recoup some or all of your premiums if the term ends before you die.

Ladder was founded in 2015, so it doesn't have decades of claims processing and customer service under its belt.

It wasn't ranked in J.D. Power's 2024 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study but it receives considerably fewer complaints than other life insurance providers, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and earned and A+ from the Better Business Bureau.

Ladder has an intuitive website and you can get rate quotes, apply and get approved for a term life policy completely online.

Customer service is only available by phone weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon PT, which can be frustrating if you need additional help. There's no online chat feature, either, although you can email customer support.

Unlike many providers, Ladder doesn't sell other types of insurance. While that means it's laser-focused on life insurance, it also means there's no bundling discount and you can't keep all your policies with one company.

Ladder vs Ethos

Ladder and Ethos are both affordable providers with quick online applications and no-medical-exam policies. But Ladder offers plans for up to $8 million, while Ethos caps out at $2 million.

Ladder also issues policies in all 50 states, while Ethos is not licensed in New York.

Neither company is a standout for endorsements but, while Ladder doesn't have any riders, Ethos does offer an accelerated death benefit.

While Ladder only issues term life, Ethos also offers guaranteed whole life policies for up to $30,000 that can pay for a funeral and other end-of-life expenses.

It's also more friendly to seniors, with age limits of 65 for term life and 85 for whole life.

Ladder vs. Nationwide

Nationwide is one of the largest life insurance providers in the U.S., with a variety of term, whole life and universal life policies. The Nationwide Life Essentials plan is the closest to Ladder's offerings, with low rates, online approval and no-medical-exam options.

Life Essentials caps out at $1.5 million and only has terms of 10 or 20 years, while Ladder has no-exam term policies for as much as $3 million available in terms of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years. And while Life Essentials is only available to applicants 55 and younger, Ladder has slightly more wiggle room with a age limit of 60.

In either case, though, you're sacrificing customization for simplicity and affordability: Neither Ladder nor Nationwide Life Essentials offer any riders.

Ladder markets itself as allowing policyholders to adjust coverage up or down as many times as they like with no fee or exam. Changing your coverage on a Nationwide Life Essentials policy may be more involved.

You can buy life insurance from Ladder online, getting rate quotes, filling out the application and receiving approval all through its easy-to-use digital platform. (Policies under $3 million don't require a medical exam).

You can work with a Ladder agent over the phone at 844-533-7206, but customer service is only available Mondays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT.

Ladder is a great option if you're looking for a term life policy but want the ability to adjust the death benefit to fit your needs.

It's also a winner for convenience, with a digital application and no medical exam for policies up to $3 million.

If you think you might want to convert to a permanent life insurance policy eventually, want options for customization or prefer to work with agents over the phone or in person, you might want to keep shopping for the right provider.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every insurance review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of insurance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

When reviewing life insurance companies, CNBC Select uses a variety of criteria, including the types of policies, availability, rates and terms, the number of riders, medical exam requirements, the availability of online quotes and overall customer satisfaction. 

In addition, we also considered J.D. Power's life insurance customer satisfaction ratings, financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, Better Business Bureau scores and scoring on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' complaint index.

Life insurance rates may come from various sources, including the provider and state insurance departments.

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