These two come up together because both are known for making term life simple, and they do different jobs today. Banner Life is the insurer, with coverage underwritten and issued by Banner Life Insurance Company and William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York, so it is the one taking applications now. Bestow sold its insurance company to Sammons Financial Group in 2024, where it was renamed Lantern Insurance Company, and Bestow now builds the application and administration technology that other carriers run on. So if you are shopping this month, Banner Life is the name that can issue a contract, and if you already hold a Bestow policy, it is in force and serviced under the Lantern name.
At a glance
| Bestow | Banner Life | |
|---|---|---|
| What the company is | A Dallas technology company that builds systems for carriers | A licensed life insurer, part of Meiji Yasuda Group since 2026 |
| Who issues the policy | Lantern Insurance Company, a Sammons Financial Group member | Banner Life, and William Penn Life of New York in that state |
| Taking applications today | No, the platform now runs behind other carriers' names | Yes, through agents and brokers or a quote request online |
| What is on the shelf | Level term only, back when it sold direct | Term life and guaranteed universal life |
| Term lengths | Ten to thirty years, in five year steps | 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years |
| Ages it serves | Servicing existing policyholders | Term coverage offered to ages 20 through 75 |
| Coverage amounts | Whatever the in force policy was issued for | From $100,000 and written beyond $10 million |
| Underwriting | The term product ran on online health questions | Depends on age, coverage amount and health answers |
| How you buy it | Not sold direct to individuals today | Independent agents and brokers, or its own online quote |
The ten minute purchase and the forty year promise
The clearest way to hold these two apart is to ask what each company is responsible for after you sign. Bestow owns the purchase. It describes itself as a new business and administration technology partner for life insurance carriers, selling the digital application, the underwriting workflow and the policy administration that carriers run on, and it is genuinely good at making that part feel like ten minutes on a phone. It built an insurer once, Bestow Life Insurance Company, and sold it to Sammons Financial Group in 2024, where it became Lantern Insurance Company. Banner Life owns the promise. Its coverage is underwritten and issued by Banner Life Insurance Company and William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York, a family of companies that traces to a 1949 charter, spent 1981 through 2026 as the American arm of Legal and General Group, and joined Meiji Yasuda Group in 2026. That is the kind of company that has to still be standing when a forty year term reaches its end. Both halves of the transaction matter to you. They are simply not the same job, and only one of the two is a contract you can buy this month.
Who each one actually suits
Bestow
A Dallas technology company that builds life insurance systems for carriers
- Your policy came from Bestow and you want to know who stands behind it now, which is Lantern Insurance Company under Sammons Financial Group.
- You have a servicing job rather than a purchase: a beneficiary change, a new payment method, an address update or a claim.
- You bought plain level term on purpose, with no cash value and nothing to steer, and the policy is still quietly doing that job.
- Someone has put a new offer in front of you and you want the Bestow contract you already own valued before anything is replaced.
- You liked applying on a phone in one sitting, and you may well meet that experience again, since Bestow now builds it for other carriers.
Banner Life
A term focused insurer selling through independent agents and brokers
- You are shopping now and want a policy issued in your own name, since Banner Life is the one of these two writing new business.
- You want a long runway, because Banner Life publishes 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 year terms, and a forty year term is not common.
- You need a large face amount, with term coverage starting at $100,000 and written beyond $10 million.
- You would rather have an independent agent or broker carry a complicated health history through underwriting than sort it out on your own.
- You want a door into permanent coverage later, since Banner Life offers a guaranteed universal life policy for conversion from its term products.
If you already hold one of them
A Bestow policy is still a real contract and still in force. The company name behind it changed when Sammons Financial Group bought the carrier and renamed it Lantern Insurance Company, and a new name on the letterhead is never by itself a reason to replace coverage. The same holds for a Banner Life policy, which was priced on your age and your health the day it was issued, not the day you reread it. So the check worth doing is short: is the coverage amount still what your family would need, is the beneficiary current, and could someone find the paperwork without you.
Common questions
Can I still buy a Bestow policy?
Not directly. Bestow says on its own site that it used to sell term life to consumers as Bestow Life Insurance Company, that it sold that carrier to Sammons Financial Group in 2024, and that Sammons renamed it Lantern Insurance Company. Bestow today describes itself as a new business and administration technology partner for life insurance carriers, supplying digital application, underwriting and policy administration software. The Bestow style of buying is still out there, it is just running behind other insurers' names now. If you want a policy of your own this month, Banner Life is the one of the two taking applications.
Who actually issues a Banner Life policy?
Banner Life states that its products are underwritten and issued by its own companies, Banner Life Insurance Company and William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York, with the New York company writing business in that state. The family of companies traces back to a 1949 charter, spent 1981 through 2026 as the American arm of Legal and General Group, and was acquired by Meiji Yasuda Group in 2026 as part of its expansion in the United States. You can look up any insurer current financial strength rating yourself at ambest.com, and every U.S. life insurer is also backed by a state guaranty association up to set limits.
Does Banner Life require a medical exam?
Not in every case, and there is no single answer that fits every applicant. Whether an exam or added lab work gets ordered comes down to your age, the coverage amount you are applying for, and what your health answers and records show, which is normal for an insurer writing large amounts and terms as long as forty years. Ask what the current requirements are for the amount you want before you apply, because those are set at application time and can change. The Bestow term product was built the other way around, on health and lifestyle questions answered online, which is part of why that purchase felt so quick.
How long a term can I get from each one?
The Bestow term product ran ten to thirty years in five year steps, which covers most of what a young family needs. Banner Life publishes 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 year policies. Those last two matter more than they look. A 35 or 40 year term can carry a parent in their thirties past the last tuition payment and the final mortgage payment on one contract, instead of leaving a gap at the end or forcing a second purchase at an older age.
What ages can apply?
Only one of the two is taking applications, so this is really a Banner Life question. Banner Life says its term coverage is available for those aged 20 to 75. Exact availability, term lengths and amounts vary by state and by your answers, so confirm the current terms for where you live. If you are outside that window, or your health history is complicated enough that a single application is a gamble, that is a good moment to have someone price several carriers rather than one.
Can I turn a Banner Life term policy into permanent coverage later?
Banner Life offers a guaranteed universal life policy that it describes as being for conversion from its term products, with protection guaranteed to age 121 and an account value that forms the basis of any cash value if the policy is surrendered before death. Conversion is worth understanding while your term policy is healthy, because the point of the privilege is that it does not ask about your health again. Read your own contract for the conversion window and which products it allows, since those terms are set in the policy you hold rather than on a website.
Which one is cheaper?
Neither, in the abstract, and any page that hands you a number is guessing. A term premium is built from your age, your health, tobacco use, the coverage amount, the term length and your state, and Bestow is not quoting new policies at all. So the comparison that actually helps is Banner Life priced against several other insurers for your exact profile. That is one short conversation and it produces real numbers instead of averages.
If I already have one of these, should I switch to the other?
Not automatically, and often not at all. Coverage you already own was priced on the health you had when it was issued, so if your health has changed since, replacing it can cost more or may not be available on the same terms. Any honest comparison starts by valuing what you already hold, and a review that ends in keep what you have is a perfectly good result.
Can I hold policies from both companies at once?
Yes. There is no rule against owning coverage from more than one insurer, and plenty of households do, often because policies were bought at different life stages for different reasons. What matters is that the total coverage matches what your family would actually need, and that you are not paying twice for the same job.
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The right answer depends on you, not on the brochure.
Rates for Bestow and Banner Life both depend on your age and health, which means the better buy for your neighbour may be the worse buy for you. A licensed professional will price both against what you already have and tell you which is genuinely better, including when the honest answer is to keep what you have.
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This comparison is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Product availability, pricing and underwriting differ by state, age and health, and change over time. Policy Review Center is a free comparison and referral service, not an insurance agency, insurer, or producer, and it connects you with independent licensed agents. Carrier names are used for reference only and do not imply any endorsement or affiliation.