Choosing life insurance that matches your budget and needs isn’t always a simple decision. If you’ve been shopping around for life insurance, there’s a good chance you’ve come across the no medical exam life insurance plans offered by Sproutt.
Sproutt life insurance offers a one-stop shop to get life insurance without taking a medical exam. But no medical exam policies can be more expensive than ones that require it. Cost and personalized coverage are important factors because there is no one-size-fits-all policy that works for everyone.
Can Sproutt offer life insurance that is tailored specifically to your needs and budget? That’s what we set out to learn and the results may surprise you. Read on to see what happened when we tried Sproutt for ourselves.
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What is Sproutt Life Insurance?
Sprout life insurance is an insurance broker licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The platform launched in 2018 as a marketplace with access to several insurance providers. It’s like Booking.com, but for life insurance.
Because it isn’t tied to any one company, Sproutt claims it can offer an unbiased recommendation that matches you with the right policy.
How Does Sproutt Work?
Sproutt claims to provide a new perspective on life insurance. In addition to the typical data companies use to quote life insurance, Sproutt focuses on a person’s positive lifestyle choices. To create a personalized insurance product, their Quality of Life Index (QLI) assesses behaviors across five areas — movement, sleep, emotional health, nutrition and overall lifestyle balance.
You’ll click on the “Get Started” button on their main page to begin your quote. You’ll answer a series of quick questions about demographics, income and health. When I went through the process, I noticed their interface was clean, streamlined and straightforward.
It asks early on the type of policy you prefer: instant approval with no exam or lower cost with a potential exam. Even though I selected a policy that might require a health exam, my first recommendations were for no-exam plans. I had to click on a link to “see additional options that might require a medical exam” — it was in smaller print near the bottom of the page.
If I hadn’t scrolled down, I may not have seen it and could have ended up paying more than I needed for a no-exam policy.
I spent less than two minutes answering basic questions and got a recommendation on term length, coverage amount and how much the policy might cost. You also have the option to answer additional QLI questions to personalize your quote, and that can take an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
But it may not be necessary — the life insurance quote for no exam coverage was exactly the same whether or not I answered the QLI questions. However, it wouldn’t give me quotes for a policy that might require a medical exam. Instead, I was prompted to make an appointment to talk with one of Sproutt’s life insurance advisors.
What Policies Does Sproutt Offer?
Sproutt is an independent insurance broker that sells products on behalf of multiple life insurance companies. It uses your demographic, health and lifestyle data to connect you with a policy that meets your needs through one of the providers they work with.
Sproutt primarily offers life insurance products, including:
- No-exam life insurance
- Term life insurance
- Guaranteed issue life insurance
- Whole life insurance
- Universal life insurance
You can also purchase critical illness insurance from Sproutt. If you’re diagnosed with cancer, heart attack, stroke or another chronic or critical illness, you can get a lump sum of cash to help ease the financial burden.
A Note About No Medical Exam Life Insurance by Sproutt
My quote from Sproutt matched me with a selection of no-exam life insurance policies, despite saying I preferred policies that might require an exam. Based on my experience, it seems Sproutt is more likely to offer a potentially higher-cost no-exam product, even if that may not be the best fit for the applicant.
The platform didn’t give me a reason why it recommended a no-medical policy over an underwritten one. When I looked for the information, I couldn’t find any mention of what qualifies you for a no-medical policy on Sproutt’s site.
Additionally, my quote from Sproutt didn’t change after taking the extra time to answer their QLI questions. To test the platform, I changed my QLI answers from being in “average” health to indicate I was in poor health and didn’t make the best choices regarding food, exercise, and sleep. But my quote didn’t change.
Based on my experience, Sproutt doesn’t seem to consider the QLI factors as part of their quote process for life insurance and continues to favor the no-medical exam policy — which brings up an important consideration: In many cases, no exam policies are more expensive than ones that may require it.
How Much Does a Life Insurance Policy with Sproutt Cost?
The cost of life insurance isn’t easy to pin down. The premiums can vary widely depending on age, health, lifestyle, term and coverage amount. If you’re a chain-smoker with a heart condition, you’re higher-risk and will probably pay more than someone who’s never used nicotine and has a clean bill of health.
It’s important to note that Sproutt doesn’t set its prices. The insurance company determines the rate, and your premiums will be the same no matter what broker you use to buy your coverage.
What makes one company better than another isn’t the pricing — it’s the ability to match you with a product you’ll get approved for and that meets your protection needs for the lowest cost possible.
*Monthly premiums are based on a person of average health who doesn’t use nicotine. Quotes were obtained on 7/18/22 using Sproutt’s online quote tool.
Sproutt Life Insurance Reviews: What Customers Are Saying
The reviews suggest customers are generally happy with Sproutt. The insurer has 4.8 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot with 425 reviews. On Consumer Affairs, it has a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars with 73 reviews.
Many reviewers praise the platform for excellent communication, ease of use and fast application process.
However, customers seem to struggle to access their policy information.
Sprout Pros and Cons
Sproutt’s most unique feature is its QLI tool. It’s separate from the quote process and takes about 10 minutes to answer questions about your sleep habits, veggie consumption, relationships, positive outlook and how long you think you’ll live.
You can access it without getting a life insurance quote, and your results include advice to help you improve your overall quality of life, which Sproutt claims can potentially lower your life insurance premiums. However, we think they just mean that the healthier your lifestyle, the more likely a life insurance underwriter will offer you their best pricing.
Sproutt vs. Everyday Life Insurance
Like Sproutt, Everyday Life is an online broker that partners with multiple insurers to match you with the best policy. However, Everyday Life’s priority is to make it possible for everyone to find an affordable policy.
The two insurance brokers have a few other differences, too.
- Online application. The same person put through Everyday Life’s quote tool was provided with an affordable online policy, while the quote from Sproutt directed them to contact an agent by phone to get a product quote.
- Transparency. Sproutt doesn’t explain what qualifies you for a no-medical exam policy or why they recommend a specific product for applicants. Everyday Life offers a no-nonsense explanation of whether a medical exam may be involved and provides multiple recommendations from various carriers to give users more insight into their options to make confident, informed decisions.
- Credit score. Sproutt requires that you provide your credit score to receive a quote. Everyday Life never uses credit scores in producing our recommendations — we believe that it’s inappropriate to use credit scores in life insurance because it has the effect of unfairly putting many consumers at a disadvantage.
Is Sproutt Right for You?
Sproutt aims to get you a life insurance policy by using positive lifestyle choices to help match you with the best policy for your situation. Is it right for you? That depends. If you make positive lifestyle choices and are confident in your health status, Sproutt may be a good fit for you.
However, we recommend shopping around before applying through Sproutt. The platform doesn’t explain why they recommend what they do and makes it difficult to explore more options. As a result, when we were using their tools, we weren’t confident their recommendations were truly based on what was best for us, as opposed to what was best for them.
If you’re unsure if you’ll measure up to their QLI standard, you should consider Everyday Life for coverage. We’ll match you with the right policy, regardless of your health history or previous application status.
If you’re looking for life insurance, shop with confidence by getting a quote from The Ultimate Life Insurance Calculator. You’ll get the most coverage for your budget and everything you need to make an informed decision to protect your family.
