These two get compared constantly because they started in the same place: term life, sold entirely online, with no medical exam. They answer different questions today. Ethos is still taking applications from individuals and places them with established insurers, while Bestow sold its insurance company to Sammons Financial Group in 2024 and now supplies its technology to other carriers instead of selling policies direct. So if you are shopping today, Ethos is the one quoting, and if you already hold a Bestow policy, it is still in force under the Lantern Insurance Company name.
At a glance
| Bestow | Ethos | |
|---|---|---|
| What the company is | Life insurance software platform and TPA services provider | Licensed producer and third party administrator |
| Who issues the policy | Lantern Insurance Company, a Sammons Financial Group member | Banner Life, Protective, Ameritas, TruStage, North American |
| Taking applications from individuals | No, the platform now powers other carriers | Yes, start to finish online |
| What it offers | Level term only | Term, whole life, guaranteed issue, indexed universal life |
| Term lengths on the term product | Ten to thirty years, in five year increments | Varies by issuing carrier and product |
| Ages it serves today | Servicing existing policyholders only | Roughly 18 to 85, depending on the product |
| Medical exam | No exam, health and lifestyle questions online | No exam, online health questions |
| Where it is available | Not offered in NY, ME, CO or Puerto Rico | Every state and DC except New York |
| What comes with it | Self service portal for servicing and claims | Online will and trust service, in most states |
One built its own carrier and sold it. The other never wanted to be one.
Both companies opened with the same promise, term life bought online in minutes with no needles involved. Then they took different routes, and that is the whole comparison. Ethos stayed a distributor. Ethos Technologies Inc. is a licensed producer and third party administrator, not an insurer, and it hands your application to an established carrier: Banner Life, Protective Life, Ameritas, TruStage through CMFG Life, or North American for indexed universal life. Bestow went the other way and built its own insurer, Bestow Life Insurance Company, then sold it to Sammons Financial Group in 2024, where it was renamed Lantern Insurance Company. Bestow today sells application, underwriting and administration technology to other carriers rather than policies to households. That structural choice is what decides which one is useful to you. If you are shopping now, Ethos is the one quoting, and which insurer ends up on your contract depends on your age, your health and your state. If you already own a Bestow policy, the contract did not change. The name on the servicing portal did.
Who each one actually suits
Bestow
Online term life brand whose policies are now serviced by Lantern Insurance Company
- You already own a Bestow term policy and want to know where it lives now, which is Lantern Insurance Company under Sammons Financial Group.
- You need to update a beneficiary, change a payment method or file a claim, and you want the servicing route rather than a new quote.
- You wanted plain level term with no cash value and nothing to manage, which is exactly what that product was built to be.
- You are weighing an in force Bestow policy against a new offer and want the older policy valued honestly before anyone replaces it.
Ethos
Licensed online agency that places no exam policies with several established insurers
- You are shopping today and want to apply online without a medical exam, because Ethos is the one of the two still taking applications from individuals.
- You are shopping later in life, since Ethos places whole life and guaranteed acceptance whole life for older applicants, up to age 85.
- You want something other than level term, such as whole life, final expense coverage or indexed universal life, from a single application.
- You would rather have one set of answers shopped across several insurers than apply to one carrier at a time.
- You want the will and trust service included with an Ethos policy in most states, which is a real convenience for a young family.
If you already hold one of them
If you hold a Bestow policy, it is still a real contract and it is still in force. Only the company name behind it changed when Sammons Financial Group bought the carrier, and that by itself is never a reason to replace anything. Your policy was priced on the health you had the day it was issued, so if anything has changed since, a replacement can cost more or may not be offered on the same terms. The same is true of an Ethos policy: confirm the coverage amount still matches what your family would need, confirm the beneficiary is current, and then leave a working policy alone.
Common questions
Is Bestow still selling life insurance?
Not directly to individuals. Bestow states on its own site that it used to sell term life under the name Bestow Life Insurance Company, and that it sold that carrier to Sammons Financial Group in 2024, where it was renamed Lantern Insurance Company. Bestow today is a technology provider, supplying application, underwriting and policy administration systems to other life insurers. So the Bestow experience is still out there, it is just running behind other carriers' names now.
What happened to my Bestow policy, and is it still good?
It is still in force and the terms did not change. Sammons Financial Group purchased Bestow Life Insurance Company in 2024 and renamed it Lantern Insurance Company, and Lantern services the policies and pays the claims. Because the name change had to clear each state, some policies show Lantern and some still show Bestow Life Insurance Company, depending on which entity was licensed in your state. Keep paying the premium, keep the beneficiary current, and keep the login where your family can find it.
Who actually issues an Ethos policy?
Ethos Technologies Inc. is a licensed producer and third party administrator, not the insurer. It lists Banner Life Insurance Company, Protective Life Insurance Company, Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., TruStage through CMFG Life and MEMBERS Life, and North American Company for Life and Health Insurance for indexed universal life. Which one issues your policy depends on your age, the product and your state. You can look up any insurer’s 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 either one require a medical exam?
Neither was built around one. The Bestow term product asked health and lifestyle questions online instead of ordering an exam, and Lantern describes the same approach today, noting that some applications are reviewed by a person. Ethos says all of its policies are underwritten without a medical exam, using online health questions with a decision for most applicants in minutes. In both cases the questions still matter. Answer them accurately, because a life policy has a contestability period of roughly two years during which the insurer can review what you wrote.
What ages can apply to each one?
Only one of the two is taking applications, so this is really an Ethos question. Ethos says its products can cover more than 95% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 85, and that U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who have lived here for the past six months are eligible to apply. Younger applicants generally land on term, and older applicants on whole life or guaranteed acceptance whole life, which is approved without health questions. Ethos advertises coverage up to $3 million, though what is actually available to you depends on the carrier, the product and your answers.
Which one is cheaper?
There is no single answer, because a term premium depends on your age, your health, tobacco use, the coverage amount, the term length, your state and which insurer issues the policy. Any figure quoted without those details is an average rather than your price. Since only one of these two is writing new business, the useful comparison is Ethos against several other carriers for your exact profile. That is a ten minute exercise with real numbers, and it is the only version worth acting on.
Is a policy bought online as real as one bought through an agent?
Yes. The contract is the same kind of contract, issued by a state licensed insurer, regulated by your state insurance department, and backed by the same guaranty association protections. What differs is how you buy it and how much help you get deciding. Buying online is fast and works well when you already know the amount and the term you want. Talking to a licensed professional tends to help when your health history is complicated or you are not sure how much coverage your family actually needs.
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 Ethos 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.