American Income Life’s main office is in Waco, Texas. AIL operates in the U.S., Canada and New Zealand. According to legend, American Income Life was founded in Minneapolis in 1951 by Bernard Rapoport with $25,000 of borrowed money.

In a relatively short period of time, American Income Life generated $1 million in hospital insurance premiums and expanded operations across the U.S.

By 1961, AIL focused the core of its business on selling life insurance products to labor unions, credit unions and large-scale associations. This is where the focus of their business remains today.

American Income Life does a fantastic job connecting to these groups and has been doing so for decades.

Some of their strategies for building relationships include:

• Sponsoring union and association events like “family fun days”, etc. 
• Picket line visits and donations
• Waiving policy premiums during lawful strikes
• Scholarship programs for families of union members
• Offering groups, no-cost Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage
• Monetary contributions
• Gift of a free child safety kit

Due to the continued support of union and association members, AIL received an official ‘Union Label’ from the American Federation of Labor in 1973.

American Income Life Canada is owned by Touchmark Corporation. Touchmark is a publicly traded company which owns a number of small insurance companies that amalgamated over the years…but are still operate under their original names.

Some of these include Globe Life Insurance, Liberty National and National Income Life in New York. American Income Life operates regionally through agencies that rely heavily on recruiting people to sell their products.

American Income Life has total assets in excess of $5 Billion and has more than $73 billion of life insurance in force. As of December 2020 they highly-rated by three well known independent rating agencies:

• A.M. Best: A+ (Excellent) 
• Standard & Poor’s: AA- (Good)
• Fitch: A+ (Excellent)

Suffices to say, consumers should feel safe paying their premiums to AIL as they are financially secure and they will be around for decades to come.

American Income Life has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 1952. Based on 457 reviews, their average rating is 2.1 stars out of 5. 

The majority of negative reviews seem to come from consumers complaining agents are too aggressive…

…or from recruited AIL agents who feel like they are exploited.

On Yelp, American Income Life doesn’t’ fare much better. Out of 179 reviews and averages 1.5 stars out of 5.

It should be noted, American Income Life is far from being the only company with negative reviews with consumers complaining about pushy agents. There are criticisms across the board in the life insurance industry when it comes to this type of behavior. 

And frankly, any sales position requires a level of assertiveness that some consumers just don’t like at all.

American Income Life is 100% legitimate. AIL is a financially solid ‘A’ rated company that sells life insurance products.

Unfortunately, they do seem to leave many unhappy consumers and insurance agents in their wake. But that’s not unusual when it comes to life insurance companies in general.

Like insurance agents everywhere, AIL representatives rely 100% on commission. In fact, most American Income Life agents quit within six months and leave the business having spent more money on licensing and training than they have earned. This is pretty standard in the life insurance business so nothing to see here. 

Term insurance is the most popular type of life insurance and offers protection for a temporary period of time. The most common periods are term 10, term 20 and term 30. 

AIL’s term coverage has the following features:

• Guaranteed rates for the length of the term
• Renewable and convertible to permanent insurance within prescribed limits
• Terminal Illness Rider – if the doctor says you only have 12 months left to live, AIL pays out 50% of the death benefit

American Income’s term coverage also underpins their Family Protection insurance suite:

• Education Protection – term insurance to cover kids’ college bills if you die
• Head Start Program – life insurance for kids aged 0-17
• Mortgage Protection Insurance – term insurance to cover your mortgage
• Protect Your Children – Term or whole life for kids over the age of 17
• Monthly Income Protection – term insurance to replace your income

Whole life is a type of permanent life insurance which has a cash value component. That means the investment account inside your policy grows in value over time. 

Whole life by American Income Life is designed to provide coverage until the day you die. Most importantly, the monthly cost is guaranteed to never increase over the life of the policy and the coverage cannot be cancelled due to any change in your age or health.

Permanent life insurance products are more expensive because there is a guaranteed payout. 

AIL’s final expense coverage is a small whole life insurance policy designed to take care of funeral costs when you pass away. The death benefit is paid out directly to your family and they have the freedom to choose the funeral provider and the specific services they want.

American Income Life’s Freedom of Choice Certificate allows your beneficiary to have policy proceeds paid directly to the funeral home. This removes a substantial burden on your family, allowing them to grieve without the stress of making preparations.

AIL accidental death insurance pays out a benefit for accidental death and dismemberment. It also helps with the cost of hospital stays as a result of said accident.

Please note that the odds of you having an accidental death after the age of 30 are infinitesimally small. I would only recommend one of these plans to someone with a hazardous occupation.

Critical illness insurance (CI) is designed to pay a one-time, lump-sum benefit when you develop a serious condition as laid out in your policy. There are no restrictions on how you spend the money whether it be to cover lost income or supplement the healthcare you’re receiving. 

In reality, it may be difficult to qualify for this benefit based on the insurance companies’ narrow definitions of what constitutes a critical illness. 

AIL’s critical illness plan covers the following situations:

• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Kidney failure
• Major organ transplant of heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas, or bone marrow
• Total loss of eyesight and/or hearing

If you’re thinking about buying CI coverage, make sure you read my post here first.

American Income Life’s cancer insurance is a form of critical illness coverage which pays out a one-time, lump-sum benefit when the insured is diagnosed with life-threatening cancer. 

50% of North Americans develop some form of cancer in their lifetime. The majority of them survive but will their bank account? AIL’s cancer insurance benefit allows you to focus on getting better rather than on financial stress.

Endorsed by the International Union of Police Associations, American Income’s No-Cost Child Safe Kit is a tool designed with your child’s safety in mind. It helps document your child’s fingerprints, a recent photo, and a simple description to aid authorities.

The best part? American Income Life Insurance provides these kits for free!

It should be noted that these free child safety kits are key to AIL’s marketing strategy. If you’re in a union or association that has any affiliation with American Income Life, you may receive a letter saying that you can sign up for AIL’s no-cost accidental death coverage and child safety kits. 

REQUEST YOUR NO-COST CHILD SAFE KIT TODAY!

This is a tactic that American Income Life uses to sell life insurance products. 

“They offered a free child safety kit. I gave them our address. Instead of mailing it, they send a rep out to do a sales pitch for life insurance” Yelp Reviewer

All life insurance companies are not created equal. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses including AIL.

That’s why these reviews are always a mixed bag. In my humble opinion, there is no such thing as a BAD review unless you are dealing with a fly by night company, and I am not going to even waste my time with those. 

So, while American Income Life may be a company to consider, make sure you do your due diligence and get quotes from other carriers to compare.