Security Mutual Life Insurance Review & Complaints: Life Insurance (2023)

Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York is a life insurance and financial services company based in Binghamton, NY. The company has more than 130 years in business under its belt with several pioneering products.

What is Security Mutual?

Security Mutual Life Association was founded in 1886 to provide an affordable option for individual life insurance to locals in the Binghamton area. Only three years after the company’s creation they became the first insurance company in the nation to offer disability benefits.

Shortly after the turn of the century, the company built its first headquarters building. In 1940, they expanded into health insurance and accident insurance, and, shortly thereafter, pioneering group coverage, establishing a contributory plan for employees. They continued to pioneer new products and services over the following decades.

In 1962, Security Mutual was one of eight companies to join together and create New York 65, a non-profit medical and hospital plan for seniors in the state. The company expanded further into retirement plan administration and financial services in the 1990s, opening their credit union in 1998.

Today, the company is a life insurance provider which offers a range of life insurance, annuity, and financial planning products that are sold through independent agents across the country. Their headquarters remain in the city where they were founded.

What insurance products are available?

Security Mutual has a selection of life insurance products and supplemental health, as well as retirement planning and other financial products to provide the insurance solution for your needs.

Life Insurance

Life insurance is offered as whole life insurance, term life insurance, and universal life insurance, with a survivorship option.

None of the products are described in any real detail, only a basic overview of the type of policy and how it works is provided.

Term life is available in a variety of term lengths and is both renewable and convertible to a permanent life plan.

Whole life offers permanent coverage with a cash accumulation account. The site does not list any information about issue age or death benefit amounts.

Universal Life is also available as a permanent life option with a cash account. Universal is a more flexible policy with options in terms of premium payments and benefits.

Survivorship life is a permanent life insurance policy that covers two people on one policy. The plan pays out a death benefit on the death of the second insured.

There are riders that can be added to this policy, including a chronic illness option.

Annuities

Security Mutual has three types of annuities available to provide retirement income. Only one of the options allows for more than one premium contribution, and there does not appear to be an option for ongoing premium contributions. The choices are:

• Single-Premium Deferred
• Single-Premium Immediate
• Flexible-Premium

Workplace Benefits

Security Mutual offers voluntary workplace benefits through Secure Benefit Solutions, a subsidiary of the company. There are a variety of options available that can be selected by the employer and that employees can choose to elect.

Security Mutual also offers group life, accidental death and dismemberment, and disability insurance that can be provided either as voluntary or employer paid.

Financial Planning

Security Mutual has a wide variety of financial products. These include retirement and social security planning, asset protection, business continuation, key person protection, and college savings.

Does the company offer competitive rates?

Security Mutual does not offer online quoting for any of their products, which is common to a company that is focused on sales through agents and financial planning representatives.

Without rates, we are unable to compare them to other companies, but as a general rule, we would expect them to be competitive with similar agent-driven companies rather than large, direct-buy insurance companies.

Can claims be filed online?

Claims forms are available for download on the website, and while there is no dedicated section for claims information, contact information is listed on the forms page.

There is a toll-free number that can be called for assistance with life insurance claims and a separate line for accident claims. A fax number, email address, and mailing address are also listed on the same page.

There is no further information on how claims are handled or what the beneficiary should expect, but this can be obtained by calling the company directly.

Can payments be made online?

Yes. You can also use Security Mutual Life self-service customer portals to access your policy details and your annual statements, make online payments, obtain customer service forms, and more.

Are the ratings and customer reviews positive?

Security Mutual Life has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and there are a total of six complaints on file in the past three years. There is only one negative review on the website, which is regarding a life insurance claim that was denied.

We did not find much else in terms of customer reviews of this company. We usually see a lack of reviews as a positive thing, since people are more likely to write a review when they are unhappy than when they are satisfied with the service. Overall, we see nothing of concern, and it seems to be a reputable life insurance company.

Financial Strength Ratings

Having earned an A.M. Best Financial Strength Rating of A EXCELLENT, Security Mutual Insurance has the financial strength to fulfill its financial obligation to the policyholder for a covered loss should the unexpected happen.

What’s the bottom line?

Security Mutual is likely to appeal to those that prefer to take an agent or financial representative’s advice when selecting life insurance and other financial products. They have a good reputation and a long history, which makes them a solid choice, but without much product or rate detail, it is difficult to provide a true recommendation.