This article focuses specifically on the difference between Fabric Life Insurance “Instant” versus “Premium”.

If you are looking for more insights and information about Fabric, check out our full Review of Fabric Life Insurance.

Fabric is now “Fabric by Gerber Life”… Fabric has joined the family of trusted brands under Western & Southern Financial Group (parent company of Gerber Life Agency), offering policies issued by Western-Southern Life Assurance Company.

What is Fabric Instant Life Insurance?

Fabric customers start with Fabric Instant (accidental death) and can apply to upgrade their coverage any time to Fabric Premium (term life insurance).

WHY START WITH FABRIC INSTANT?

If you are age 25 to 44, “accidental death” could be your single biggest risk of dying. You can get coverage, in about 2 minutes, with “Fabric Instant” (Accidental Death Insurance).

What Does Fabric Instant Cover?

Insurance coverage for accidental death (i.e. unexpected events like car, bike, and commercial air crashes, fire, and murder). Illness-related causes, such as heart attacks, are NOT covered. But you can upgrade coverage later to include illnesses, by replacing “Fabric Instant” with “Fabric Premium”, a 20-year term life insurance policy that is optionally convertible to whole life insurance.

What Does Fabric Instant NOT Cover?

There are “exclusions” (events that are not covered by Fabric Instant). For example: death from illnesses, suicide, death while participating in a riot, or committing a crime. The exclusions vary, by state, so —during signup— be sure to tap the “What’s covered by Fabric Instant?” link, to see the exclusions for your State (it’s on the screen where you select your pricing plan).

HOW MUCH IS FABRIC INSTANT?

Fabric Instant offers three simple plans* starting at:

$6/mo for $100,000 in coverage
$15/mo for $250,000 in coverage
$30/mo for $500,000 in coverage*

*prices may vary by state

WHO ISSUES FABRIC’S POLICIES?

All of Fabric’s policies are issued by Vantis Life Insurance Company, an insurance provider since 1942. Vantis Life is rated “A” (“Excellent”) for financial strength and claims-paying ability by A.M. Best, the global authority on insurance company rankings. The policy you receive from Fabric is a legal contract between you and Vantis Life. It remains “in-force” as long as you continue paying premiums.

WHAT INFO DO I NEED TO SIGN UP FOR FABRIC INSTANT?

If you are between the ages of 25 and 50, “Fabric Instant” is guaranteed issue. All that’s required is a connection to the internet, a credit card, a cellular telephone, a social security number… and a willingness to answer some basic questions, openly and honestly. From start to finish, you’ll be covered in about two minutes.

WHEN DOES COVERAGE START?

If you started off by purchasing Fabric Instant, while you go through the application process for purchasing your upgraded Fabric Premium coverage, you will remain covered by your Fabric Instant, accidental death policy. The application process for Fabric Premium, from start-to-final-decision, can vary from person to person. The application itself only takes about 5 minutes. For some, an offer could be received anywhere from immediately to a couple of days*. For others, a medical exam and additional requirements may be requested. In which case, a final decision would be made about a week after all of those requirements were met.

*Full underwriting is required in the states of Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, New York and Wyoming. This means that a medical exam will be needed as part of the application process.

DOES FABRIC INSTANT HAVE A TERM?

Fabric Instant can be purchased by anyone between the ages of 25-50. The policy can be kept until age 60, when coverage terminates. With this policy, you are not locked in to a specific term. It can be cancelled at any time and premiums are paid on a monthly basis.

DO I HAVE TO START BY PURCHASING FABRIC INSTANT? OR CAN I SKIP RIGHT TO PREMIUM?

Most people across the country can apply directly to purchase Fabric Premium. If you live in California or New York, you’ll need to start with purchasing a Fabric Instant policy, which covers you for accidental death. From there, you can apply to upgrade to Fabric Premium, which covers you against death caused by illnesses as well as accidents. Note that the only state where Fabric doesn’t offer insurance coverage is Montana. At the moment, coverage is only available in the United States.

Purchasing Fabric Instant takes about two minutes from start-to-covered, and you’ll have that coverage in place while you apply for Fabric Premium.

If/when you decide to upgrade your coverage to “Fabric Premium”, your “Fabric Instant” policy will automatically be canceled.

Have you had first-hand experience with Fabric Life Insurance— Instant or Premium?

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Fabric Life Insurance Review – Pros & Cons – Frequently Asked Questions

What is Fabric Premium Life Insurance?

Fabric Premium is a Term Life Insurance policy. That’s an agreement between you and the insurance company saying that if you pass away while the policy is active and in force, the insurer will make a lump sum payment (the “death benefit,” also referred to as the “coverage amount”) to the person or persons of your choosing (the “life insurance beneficiary”).

This money could be used to help replace your lost income and make debt payments in your absence. It could also include one-time expenses (like funeral costs) or other ongoing expenses, after you’re gone.

Term life insurance, specifically, covers you during a certain time period usually 10, 15, or 20 years. If you had a 20-year term policy, for example, you’d be covered for that 20-year span. After that, your coverage would end unless you opted to buy another policy.

Often, people choose term life insurance as an affordable way to help protect their loved ones during a specific, high-need time. One of the most common situations is when they’re raising kids. After 20 years, for example; your kids might be ‘out of the house’… so your life insurance goals and needs will likely change.

Some exclusions may apply, and these will be outlined in the policy and available for you to view prior to purchase. Fabric Premium is optionally convertible to whole life insurance.

Fabric Premium is issued by Vantis Life Insurance Company, an insurance provider since 1942. Vantis Life is rated “A” (“Excellent”) for financial strength and claims-paying ability by A.M. Best, the global authority on insurance company rankings. The policy you receive from Fabric is a legal contract between you and Vantis Life. It remains “in force” for the duration of your term, as long as you continue paying premiums.

HOW DO I GET A QUOTE FOR PREMIUM?

To get a quote for Fabric Premium, you will need to provide your age, gender, state, whether you smoke and a general sense of your health (whether you’d rate yourself as excellent, good, or “OK”).

Fabric will provide you with an initial quote based on that info. That’s just an estimate of how much it might cost for you to get covered. Your real, confirmed price will be based on a more in depth look at your health and personal situation. When you apply for Fabric Premium, they will ask you about any health conditions you might have, your work situation, your hobbies (for example, do you skydive?) and more.

Based on that information, their underwriting team will determine if they can offer you coverage and if so, at what monthly rate. When possible, they will crunch the numbers and make you an offer immediately. In some cases, they may need to ask you some follow-up questions or request that you get a quick health exam (they will send someone to your home or office around your schedule—for free).

Once the underwriters have reviewed your application, they may even be able to offer you a few pricing options —with different term lengths and coverage amounts— to help you find a price that makes sense for your budget.

WHAT INFO DO I NEED TO APPLY FOR FABRIC PREMIUM?

When you apply for Fabric Premium, they will ask you about your health and personal situation. That’s because their underwriting team needs to know a little more about your life in order to complete the review of your application.

You will likely know most of this info off the top of your head. A couple things you may need to dig up:

Your driver’s license number
Your beneficiary’s Social Security number
Contact info for your primary care physician

Fabric will guide you through the rest. And if you have any questions during the application process, you can always reach out to their customer support team by clicking the “support” button in the menu on our website.

WHEN DOES COVERAGE START FOR FABRIC PREMIUM?

From starting the application to getting a final decision, the process for Fabric Premium (term life insurance) can vary from person to person. The online application itself only takes about five minutes and you don’t need to talk to any insurance agents.

Whenever possible, Fabric will make you an offer immediately so you can sign up right away. In some cases, they may have follow-up questions or ask you to take a quick health exam. They make the health exam as easy as possible: You’ll be asked to schedule a qualified examiner to come to your home or office around your schedule, at no cost to you. In these cases, Fabric will get back to you with a final decision as soon as all of the other requirements have been received.

Note that California and New York require full underwriting. That means that you have to take a health exam as part of the application process, even if Fabric otherwise would be fine with you skipping it. It’s a law in those states.

If you’re a Fabric Instant customer who’s applying to upgrade to Fabric Premium, your accidental death policy will remain in effect while you go through the application process for Fabric Premium. Once the Fabric Premium policy has been purchased, your Fabric Instant policy would automatically terminate.

HOW LONG IS THE TERM FOR FABRIC PREMIUM?

Fabric Premium is a term life insurance policy. The term, or time period during which you’ll be covered by this policy, can vary from customer to customer. Depending on the state that you live in, you may have the option to choose and agree to a specific term when you apply for the policy.

One of the most common terms is 20 years. That’s because many people get life insurance to help protect their families during the period when they’re raising kids—in many cases, after 20 years, your children would be grown up and (hopefully!) self sufficient. There are states where selecting the term length isn’t an option at the moment. For those states, Fabric Premium is a 20-year term life policy.

Your term begins once your application has been approved and your first payment has been received. If you choose to do so down the road, you can convert your term life insurance policy into a whole life insurance policy later.

I JUST COMPLETED MY PREMIUM APPLICATION. NOW WHAT?

Once you submit your application, Fabric will do their best to offer you coverage immediately.

If Fabric needs a little more info before they can make a final decision, their underwriting team may reach out to you with any additional questions. In some cases, they may also ask you to take a brief health exam. Fabric makes this as convenient for you as possible: A qualified health professional will work around your schedule (including nights and weekends!) and come to your home or office, at no cost to you. He or she may take your blood pressure and pulse, draw blood and ask you questions about your health.

More specifically, here’s how it will go down:

You’ll receive a phone call from a company called APPS, Fabric’s partner company, to confirm your appointment. APPS will mention Vantis Life, the insurer who backs our insurance products, when identifying themselves. They’ll also call a day or two prior to your appointment to confirm the time and place.
You may also receive a phone call from Fabric’s underwriting team if they have any additional questions while reviewing your application. Although they are very much part of Fabric’s team, the underwriters officially work for a company called EMSI.
Fabric’s underwriting team may need to view your medical records and will sometimes request a written statement from your doctor. They will take care of this for you, so no action is typically required. Some doctors require their patients to sign a release form proving that they give permission for us to view their records. If that is the case with your doctor’s office, Fabric will let you know.
From there, Fabric will let you know when they have made a final decision on your application, and —if that includes an offer of coverage— it’ll include final pricing as well.

Your application for Fabric Premium will not be complete until you answer any follow-up questions, take a medical exam (if required) and they have received all necessary information.

DO I NEED TO TAKE A MEDICAL EXAM TO APPLY FOR FABRIC PREMIUM?

Fabric Premium is a medically underwritten term life insurance policy. Whenever possible, Fabric will offer you coverage to start immediately after they get your application. But in some cases, they will need to gather more information, and they may ask you to take a brief health exam. This can depend on the State that you live in (for example: it’s always required in New York and California) and on the underwriting team’s ability to make a final decision without an exam.

If Fabric asks you to take a health exam, they will send someone to your home or work—around your schedule—at no cost to you. If you want, you can even have the results sent to you.

HOW DOES THE HEALTH EXAM WORK?

A friendly, trained medical professional will work around your schedule and travel to your home or work. They will ask questions about your medical history, will take height and weight measurements, and a blood and urine sample. Plan for the appointment to take 30 to 45 minutes.

ANYTHING I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SCHEDULING THE EXAM?

After you’ve applied for Fabric Premium, Fabric will let you know if we need you to take a health exam. If so, expect a call from a company called American Para Professional Systems (APPS) on behalf of Vantis Life, the insurance company. They’ll schedule an appointment around your schedule, even including nights and weekends. APPS will call again a day or two before your appointment to confirm the time and place. Please pick up when they call to make scheduling easy!

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO GET THE HEALTH EXAM RESULTS?

Once you have completed your health exam, it takes about five to seven business days for your results to come in and be reviewed by Fabric’s underwriting team. After their underwriting team has received and looked over all the info they need, they’ll send you a final decision—and if that includes an offer for coverage, a confirmed price—along with any other relevant information as soon as possible. You can request a copy of your health exam results by sending Fabric a message.