Corebridge Direct Insurance Review (formerly AIG Direct)

Corebridge Direct, is a leading insurance agency.

Founded in 1995, Corebridge Direct has provided a wide range of reliable Life Insurance products for decades. If you’re looking for Life Insurance, there’s a good chance Corebridge Direct will be able to help.

To compare rates from Corebridge Direct click here.

Products Offered by Corebridge Direct

Corebridge Direct (formerly known as AIG Direct) offers a wide range of products and services to both the individual and business markets. For individuals, Corebridge Direct’s offerings include:

• Accident and Health Insurance – Accidental death and dismemberment insurance can help offset the financial burden that is faced when a loved one passes away suddenly and unexpectedly in a disaster. This type of coverage will typically pay out an additional sum of money if the insured’s death is due to an automobile incident as opposed to sickness or other natural causes.

• Term Life Insurance – Term policies will cover an individual for a set amount of time, such as 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, or even 30 years. In most cases, term life insurance is very affordable coverage – especially if the insured is young and in relatively good health when applying for coverage.

This is because term life provides only pure death benefit protection, without any type of cash value build-up. Term life insurance can be a great way to obtain a high amount of coverage for a low premium cost.

• Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance – Guaranteed Issue whole life is a form of permanent protection. This type of coverage provides a death benefit, along with a cash value component. As its name implies, whole policies are designed to cover an insured for the “whole” of his or her life. This means that, as long as the premium is paid, the coverage will remain in force.*

*Applicants must be between 50 – 80 years of age.  The total amount of all AGL Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance policies on any person cannot exceed $25,000 in the aggregate.

Important Information Regarding Graded Death Benefits: The AGL GIWL policy referenced offers a limited death benefit in the first two years of the policy. Should death occur in the first two years, a death benefit will be equal to 110% of the premiums paid. In the event of suicide, the death benefit is limited to a refund of premiums only.

The monetary value that is associated with a whole life policy is permitted to increase on a tax-deferred foundation – meaning that there is no tax due on the gain until the time of withdrawal. This can essentially allow the money to accumulate and compound at an increasing rate over the course of time.

The whole policyholder is authorized to withdraw or borrow cash from the money value component for anything that he or she sees as okay. It is important to note, though, that any unpaid balance at the insured’s death will go against the amount of the death benefit that is given to the beneficiary.

• Universal Life Insurance – Universal life insurance allows policyholders both death benefit and cash value – however, these policies are much more flexible than whole life in that policyholders can choose when to pay their premiums, as well as how much to pay. (This can, however, affect the amount of the death benefit and value within the policy).

Corebridge Direct Ratings

Corebridge Financial holds high ratings from the insurance company rating agencies.

These include the following:

Rating Agency	Rating	Description
Standard & Poor's	A+	Strong
Moody's Investor Services	A2	Stable
A.M. Best	A	Excellent
Fitch	A+	Stable

Ratings as of 5/4/18 Standard & Poor’s 21 ratings are a measure of claims-paying ability and range from AAA (Exceptionally Strong) to R (Regulatory Action).  A.M. Best’s 15 ratings are a measure of claims-paying ability and range from A++ (Superior) to F (in Liquidation).

Ratings can be objective indicators of a company’s financial strength and can provide a relative measure to help investors select the best insurer for their needs. Ratings are subject to change at any time and are not a guarantee of the future financial strength and/or claims-paying ability of the company.

Better Business Bureau

While the rating agencies, above, look at a company’s internal financial health, the Better Business Bureau and other similar sources can give you an idea about how a company works with its customers.

The BBB has rated Corebridge Direct A+, basing its rating on Corebridge Direct’s commitment to resolving customer disputes. The BBB states that its ratings do not reflect an analysis of a company’s product quality, just its interaction with its clients.

Considering Corebridge Direct

Corebridge Direct offers a nice array of insurance products, and works with carriers that have good ratings from the insurer ratings agencies. That means it should be a reliable partner for your long-term insurance needs.

But, as with any agency, it’s important to consider your specific insurance needs and to find out whether Corebridge Direct has a history of meeting the needs of clients whose applications may look similar to yours.

While all insurance companies’ underwriters seek to identify the risk an applicant poses, each company has a different approach, and, over time, these variances can turn into trends that we can monitor.

You may like Corebridge Direct’s product offerings more if…

• You have recently lost weight
• You have been diagnosed with diabetes
• You like applying for insurance online

You may not like Corebridge Direct’s product offerings as much if…

• Previous generations in your family died of heart disease or cancer
• You have high cholesterol
• Need a quick decision on your policy

For example, some companies look more favorably on people who are overweight or people who have type 2 diabetes.

Since the majority of Corebridge Direct products are medically underwritten, we have noticed applicants who have some adverse health conditions find it harder to get approval. So, if your health history includes struggles with high cholesterol, for example, it may be harder to qualify for preferred premiums.

The carriers offered through Corebridge Direct also tend to emphasize an applicant’s family health history more than some of the other industry leaders.

If previous generations of your family struggled with heart disease or diabetes, Corebridge Direct’s carriers may be more likely to place your application into a higher-risk category, which may mean higher premiums if you get approved for coverage.

Since it can take weeks to go through the underwriting process, this can be frustrating, especially if you’ve taken the time to get a medical exam. If Corebridge Direct tends to fall short in your specific area of need, you should keep looking.

On the flip side, Corebridge Direct is known to perform well in guiding and helping you find the product, carrier and rates to best meet your needs. 

Lastly, Corebridge Direct Insurance Services

To get the best coverage for your needs – regardless of your health condition – it is always best to make some comparisons.

Any time you are making a major purchase, you want to ensure that you’re getting the very best deal. You probably wouldn’t buy a car, or even an appliance, sight unseen.

Yet with life insurance, it’s harder to make comparisons because it’s a less tangible product. Once you’ve bought it, it’s easy to forget that your policy is in place.

But just like any other product, you’ll be depending on your purchase to do its job: to protect the people you love for decades, or perhaps for the rest of your life if you’re in the market for permanent life insurance coverage.

If Corebridge Direct isn’t right, then we can direct you to other companies.

It’s worth it to take your time and make sure you’re finding the right coverage, for the right amount of time, at the right price.

How We Review Insurance Companies: 

Good Financial Cents systematically reviews U.S. insurance companies, emphasizing policy offerings, customer experiences, and overall reliability. Our goal is to present a balanced and comprehensive perspective to potential policyholders. Editorial transparency remains a cornerstone of our approach.

We actively collect information from insurance companies and place significant weight on customer feedback. By integrating this feedback with our research, we can offer a well-rounded evaluation. Each company is then rated based on multiple criteria, resulting in a star rating from one to five.

For a deeper understanding of the criteria we use to rate insurance companies and our evaluation approach, please refer to our editorial guidelines and full disclaimer.