SelectQuote life insurance: who issues it and how it works

Overview

SelectQuote is an insurance agency that has sold term life insurance by comparing insurers' prices since 1985. It is based in Overland Park, Kansas. The parent, SelectQuote, Inc., trades on the New York Stock Exchange as SLQT. Life insurance is one of several lines: the company also sells Medicare plans and auto and home insurance, and it has added franchise offices.

SelectQuote is a broker, not an insurer. Its licensed agents compare quotes from a panel of insurance companies and help you apply to the one you pick. The site lets you start a quote online, but the process is built around a phone call with an agent. Its pages say online quotes are only estimates and that an agent can give a more accurate figure.

The company says it has been in business for 40 years, has served more than 2 million customers and has placed $700 billion of life insurance coverage.

Who issues the policy

The insurer you choose issues the policy, sets the final price through its own underwriting, and pays the claim. SelectQuote earns a commission from that insurer. It says its agents are not paid differently based on which carrier you choose, and that it does not rank insurers by compensation.

SelectQuote's carrier page, with AM Best ratings it lists as updated July 2026, names these life insurers:

• Aflac
• American Amicable (iA American Life)
• Americo
• Banner Life and its New York affiliate William Penn
• Companion Life and United of Omaha (Mutual of Omaha)
• Corebridge Financial
• Gerber Life
• Pacific Life
• Protective
• Royal Neighbors of America
• Symetra
• TruStage

Your policy documents name the issuer. Check that company's profile for its ratings and service record.

How buying works

SelectQuote describes the process in five steps:

1. You give basic details online or by phone and see initial price options.
2. A licensed agent completes the formal application with you over the phone.
3. If the insurer requires it, a free medical exam is scheduled at your home or workplace.
4. The insurer reviews your health information and application and sets your final rate.
5. Once approved, you accept the policy, make the first payment, and coverage begins.

For no-exam term, SelectQuote says healthy applicants 60 or younger can be approved in less than an hour, with coverage starting right away if approved. This relies on automated underwriting, in which the insurer checks electronic health and prescription records instead of drawing blood (see accelerated underwriting: approval without an exam). Applicants who don't qualify for that path, or who want larger amounts, go through full underwriting with an exam.

As with any new policy, you have a free-look period set by your state after delivery to cancel for a refund.

Products and limits

• Term life: 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-year terms from the panel insurers.
• No-exam term: up to $5 million, according to SelectQuote's term life page, for applicants 60 or younger in generally good health.
• Permanent life: permanent policies from panel insurers, discussed with an agent.
• Final expense and guaranteed issue: smaller policies for older buyers. SelectQuote's page says guaranteed issue approval is available at ages 45 to 85, with lower death benefits and higher premiums.

SelectQuote publishes dated example rates in its disclosures. One example: the lowest rate it found in January 2024 among its insurers for a 35-year-old man in excellent health buying a $500,000, 10-year term was $17.33 a month. That is the company's example, not a quote; your price depends on the insurer's underwriting.

Reputation

The insurers on SelectQuote's panel carry AM Best ratings of A (Excellent) or A+ (Superior) on our profiles: for example Protective Life A+ (October 2026), Aflac A+ (October 2026), Mutual of Omaha A+ (April 2026) and Banner Life A (March 2026).

SelectQuote itself faces litigation over its Medicare business, not its life insurance sales. On May 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a False Claims Act complaint against Aetna, Elevance Health and Humana and the brokers eHealth, GoHealth and SelectQuote. It alleges the insurers paid the brokers kickbacks to steer Medicare beneficiaries into their Medicare Advantage plans. On March 25, 2026, Chief Judge Denise Casper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts largely denied the defendants' motions to dismiss, letting the kickback and discrimination claims proceed against the insurers and the brokers. These are allegations, not findings; SelectQuote has not been found liable.

Shareholders have also sued. A securities class action filed in 2025 says the company failed to disclose the alleged kickbacks, and Bloomberg Law reported in March 2026 on shareholder suits against executives and board members over the same issue.

Who it suits

SelectQuote suits buyers who want a licensed agent to compare several insurers and walk them through the application by phone, including people with health conditions who benefit from an agent knowing which insurer treats a condition more favorably. It is less suited to someone who wants to apply and buy entirely online without talking to anyone, or who wants the widest possible panel. Its life panel is about 15 insurers, smaller than some brokerages.

Strengths

• Long track record in comparing term life prices
• Agents complete the application with you and coordinate any exam
• No-exam term up to $5 million for healthy applicants 60 or younger
• Final expense and guaranteed issue options for older buyers

Weaknesses

• Phone-centered process; expect follow-up calls after requesting a quote
• Panel of about 15 life insurers
• Pending federal False Claims Act case over its Medicare business

How to contact SelectQuote

• Life insurance general inquiries: 800-670-3213 (Monday to Thursday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central)
• Life quotes: 855-244-1993
• Existing policy or pending application: 888-551-7232
• Corporate office: SelectQuote Insurance Services, 6800 W. 115th Street, Suite 2511, Overland Park, KS 66211; 800-577-2812

For billing, beneficiary changes and claims on an issued policy, contact the insurer named on your policy.