Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company Review & Complaints: Life & Health Insurance

Founded in Oklahoma, Standard Life and Accident writes both individual and group policies to provide supplemental health insurance, accident, and life coverage. They have 85 years of history in the state and have expanded across much of the country as well.

About Standard Life and Accident

The Hospital Service Company was founded in Oklahoma City in 1933, providing basic group hospitalization protection through a select group of hospitals. They quickly expanded to cover other services, including surgical, accident insurance, and even a health insurance policy.

In 1940, after several name changes, the company became Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company. They began expansion, first into the Midwest, and then across a larger geographical area, while also acquiring several subsidiaries. By 1968 they were operating in 32 states and had reached $1 billion of life insurance in force.

In 1976 Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company was acquired by American National Insurance Company, and operates independently as a subsidiary of that company to this day. In 1998, the company relocated its headquarters to Galveston, Texas, where the parent company is located.

Today they write both individual and group health products including short-term health, accident, critical illness, life, Medicare Supplement, and hospital indemnity.

Standard Life and Accident Products

Standard Life and Accident has a good range of supplemental insurance policies as well as a few life insurance options. We have reviewed their Medicare coverage options separately, so this review will focus on their other products.

Life Insurance

There are two types of life insurance available, final expense whole life insurance and term life insurance.

The AdvantageGuard Whole Life for Final Expense is a permanent life insurance policy with coverage amounts ranging from $2,000 to $75,000. Issue age is from 18-85, and the plan generally doesn’t require any health questions.

Term Life is offered with several term options: Annual Renewable, 10, 15, 20, and 30-years. With a term life policy, coverage amounts start at $50,000, with issue age between 18 and 70, and several underwriting classes. Term policies include living benefits for critical illness, and a children’s rider is available.

Health Insurance

Standard Life and Accident does not write major medical insurance but does offer a list of short-term and supplemental policies to cover out of pocket medical costs and other needs.

Accident Insurance pays benefits in the event of an accident to cover both medical costs such as deductibles and coinsurance and household costs that result from the accident. This can include additional childcare or household help during recovery.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment policies provide a lump sum death benefit that can be used for any expenses after a fatal or serious accident resulting in loss of limb or eyesight.

Standard’s cancer insurance is designed to act as a supplemental policy that pays expenses not covered by major medical. This can include deductibles and copays, and additionally, it can be used to help with household expenses.

Critical Illness policies from Standard pay a lump sum benefit upon diagnosis of several different serious illnesses. Like other supplemental policies, it can be used for both medical expenses and household expenses.

Standard’s Hospital Indemnity policy provides benefits for hospital confinement, intensive care services, hospital admission, and ambulance services.

Standard has two types of Limited Medical Insurance. The first is an add-on supplemental policy that helps to pay the out of pocket costs of regular medical care that aren’t paid by major medical. It can be used to cover the deductible, copay, and coinsurance amounts as well as other costs. The Short-Term Limited Medical is a standalone policy meant to provide some insurance during a gap in major medical coverage. Coverage is available for up to 12-month periods.

Recovery Care insurance is the final individual plan offered by Standard. This product is designed to help cover the costs of short-term convalescence. This includes stays of up to one year in a nursing home or other convalescent facility,

Group Coverage

Standard offers a range of voluntary employee benefits available even to small companies. These include accident, cancer and critical illness, short-term disability, and even group whole life.

Rates

Standard Life and Accident does not offer online quoting. So we are unable to provide accurate health and life insurance rates. However, quotes can be obtained by calling a toll-free number, or by contacting a local agent.

This is a big enough company that, although they are agent-driven, we would like to see online quoting at the very least for the life insurance products they offer.

Claims

Standard has two separate claims lines, one for life and one for health claims.

Life claims can be reported over the phone during business hours, which are listed as Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. central time. Life claims forms are also available on the website for download, and can then be mailed in to the company.

Health claims forms can also be downloaded, and a toll-free number is provided for assistance. Business hours for this claims department are not listed on the website but are likely similar.

Ratings and Consumer Reviews

Both Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company and the parent company, American National Insurance Company are currently not rated by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The reason stated is a lack of information, which is strange given how long this company has been in business. Standard has no complaints on file in the past three years.

In keeping with the lack of information on this company’s reputation, we were unable to find reviews in any of the usual locations. This is a large company in business for a very long time, therefore the lack of reviews is unusual. In some cases, this is a good thing for an insurance company, but it’s not something on which we can rely.

The Bottom Line

Standard is a good-sized company that has a long history and appears to be stable. The minimal information on products and the lack of rates and reviews make it very difficult to form any solid opinion as to the value and service they offer.