Principal Insurance Company

[tvchild]

I was wondering today if anyone had thoughts on Principal and the fact that they are so much cheaper that everyother major DI carrier? Do you think this will lead to trouble come claim time much like the problems with UNUM?

 

[Larry Tew]

IF they are cheaper than another carrier, it is most likely due to the contract language - not because they're giving the stuff away. I'm not aware of any claim issues with them.

 

[arnguy]

As far as I know, they are a solid company. YMMV

 

[LGilmore]

"IF they are cheaper than another carrier, it is most likely due to the contract language "

Exactly. Just compared them with guardian for my kids DI policy. Guardian was more expensive by about 15-20% but is a much stronger contract due to the very short and few sentences in the Guardian policy. With princpal, to get the same features and contract language, you added riders, which pushed the cost up to Guardians level.

What you have to learn with DI, the more words, the worse the policy for the consumer. A simple straight forward single sentence definition for each feature is the sign of a good policy. Everything after that first sentence takes away obligation of the insurer.

 

[BNTRS]

They are ok.

Lgilmore is correct, the more words, the less sweet the deal. But, not everyone needs pure own occ coverage with all the Berkshire bells and whistles.

Who else have you looked at?

 

[Briefcaseboy]

I sold Med Supps for Principal about ten years ago. Their med supp Plan F was 67.00 a month, and the rate had not gone up in about 14 years. I was selling the crap out of them, but all of a sudden they got out of the buisness. I guess someone checked the books and found out they were losing money on them. Yes, Principal is a very, very good company to sell for !!

 

[dgoldenz]

Just compared Guardian and Principal on a quote yesterday and the Guardian contract language was much better. By the time they added the riders to the Principal policy, it was $1500/year more than Guardian for a potentially $500k lower benefit. That may have been due to the occupation class being better w/ Guardian, but still...

 

[Briefcaseboy]

If I understand what is going on over at the Disibility Forums, seems like Guardian is better for physicians, dentists etc. What do ya'll think ? Now don't get me wrong Principle is very popular with them too, and I know for a fact that they are a good company. Actually, this is my take on Principle, their insurance business is just one segment of the Principle Financial Group, they may be like a Timex....take a lickin and keep on tickin.

 

[arnguy]

Briefcaseboy, the company is Principal not principle! guardian is considered by many Disability agents to be the one of the best, if not the best, for white collar individuals. However, Mass Mutual offer some strong products as well as Principal.

 

[Beleriand]

From my personal experiences, they´re only good references.