Rob Pinner is the founder and CEO of Pinner Financial Services servicing all 50 states. Rob started his insurance career in 2002.
Last Updated: August 5th, 2023
I know it can be uncomfortable thinking about your death, but if you’re looking to the future, you should include life insurance in those plans.
Our finances are an important part of our lives, and a life insurance policy provides a safety net for your loved ones if a disaster occurs.
If you are considering a Voya life insurance policy, learn more about the company and its policy options in this complete Voya Financial review.
In this review:
Voya Financial
Voya Financial was previously known as ING. A lot of people are unaware that the company changed names, which can sometimes lead to confusion.
In April of 2014, ING Group officially rebranded itself to Voya Financial and remains one of the best life insurance companies in the U.S.
You can read out our previously published ING Life Insurance Review for more information about ING Realistar.
Voya Life Insurance Ratings
Sifting through the sea of life insurance companies can be like trying to pick a needle out of a haystack, in the dark.
How do you know which companies are trustworthy? Do they have reliable financial strength?
Everyone claims they are the best provider, but which ones actually are?
While they have only been branded as Voya for a few years, they have already made a splash in the insurance market.
Voya was awarded one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” by Ethisphere Institute.
Fitch rewarded them with an A- grade, and they have the same from Standard & Poors.
A.M. Best Rating has given them an A rating while Moody rated them as a stable company.
Voya has good grades from all of these rating companies, though they are not accredited with the Better Business Bureau.
Life Insurance Products
Now that you know their background, we can look at the types of life insurance coverage offered by Voya.
One thing you’ll notice if you head over to their website that Voya offers 2 main types of life insurance: Group Term and Whole Life Insurance.
Voya Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is the most popular form of coverage as it’s the cheapest and easiest to understand.
Voya does offer a term insurance plan, but it’s only for businesses looking to cover their employees.
If you want an individual term policy, you should compare term life insurance quotes from a few companies other than Voya.
Voya Whole Life Insurance
While they don’t sell term, they do sell several types of whole life insurance including:
- Universal Life
- Indexed Universal Life
- Variable Universal Life
- Survivorship Life
Universal Life
Voya sells two universal plans – Voya Universal Life CV and Voya Universal Life CY NY.
With universal life insurance, once you’ve been accepted, you have coverage until you hit the max-age.
That’s why it is also known as permanent life insurance; you maintain coverage even if you develop a critical illness in the future.
Like other permanent life insurance, universal policies build cash value, and the money grows taxed deferred.
With the flexibility of a universal plan, policyholders can determine how often they pay premiums and the amount of coverage.
The longer you have your policy, the more your needs are going to change. Your plan should be able to change with your life.
Indexed Universal Life
IUL gives you the same benefits as the universal plans we detailed above, except they have more potential for growth.
The cash value inside of the policy is tied to a market indexed. The better the index performs, the more growth inside of your policy.
For anyone who is looking to make some little extra investments, these IUL could be the go-to choice.
IUL plans have a minimum interest rate, which you’re guaranteed to get, but there is a chance it could go much higher.
If you want to buy an IUL plan through Voya, you have the following options:
- Global Choice
- Global Choice NY
- Protector
- Accumulator
Variable Universal Life
Variable universal life insurance plans give you the flexibility of being able to change your premiums and death benefit, and the ability to grow the cash value through investments.
Unlike indexed policies, the investments are restrictedly tied to indexed market performance.
You still get returns that grow tax-deferred, but you’ll have more options than you do with the indexed version.
Voya sells two variable universal plans: Voya Variable Universal Life – CV and Voya Variable Universal -Life DB.
Survivorship
Survivorship insurance is very different from a traditional plan because it actually covers TWO people, not one.
The plan doesn’t pay out until the second person named on the policy passes away, making this option popular with older married applicants who are estate planning.
They want to leave behind enough money for their loved ones to pay off taxes and fund a burial.
Because these policies technically cover two people, they are going to have more affordable premium payments.
If you want a survivorship policy, you can buy the Voya Strategic Accumulator Survivorship Universal Life –CV.
Other Products and Services from Voya Financial
Life insurance isn’t the only thing Voya offers. In fact, they have a lot of other insurance and financial products available.
Because we are focused on life insurance, we aren’t going to explore all of their other products, but you should at least be aware of them.
Having all of your insurance and financial tools in one place can be helpful in your personal finance portfolio.
In addition to life insurance, Voya also has a handful of IRA options.
They have IRAs for people who want to manage their own policies or for people who would rather an expert manage the finances.
Voya also has workplace various investment options like retirement plans, employee benefits, mutual funds, college savings plans, and a variety of financial tools and information.
Is Voya a Good Life Insurance Option for You?
Because every person and family has different insurance needs, it’s difficult to say if they are the best for you.
Still, here are some preferred applicants for Voya.
One niche they have carved out are individuals with a family history of cancer seeking life insurance. Voya doesn’t ask about any family history of cancer, which is extremely rare compared to the other companies out there.
Voya is also an excellent option for individuals struggling with high blood pressure. Even applicants who have higher blood pressure can still get their lowest premiums.
If you’re overweight, Voya can be a great choice. Their build chart is much more lenient than other carriers out there. They have a higher range of weight for each height range, meaning their weight chart could save you money every month.
Simply put, Voya is a good option for niche applicants with considerable health hurdles, but not for healthier applicants looking for the cheapest policy or term coverage.
Life insurance rates vary based on the underwriting criteria you meet or in some cases do not meet.
