Ethos: most-reported complaints
Automated analysis of 929 public Trustpilot reviews published 2026-01-28 to 2026-09-23. TrustScore 4.9 from 7,599 total reviews — see the Trustpilot page. Quick answer: is Ethos legit? Issues below reflect what reviewers reported, not findings of wrongdoing.
Reviewers most often report that customer support is unreachable, with 25 complaints noting long hold times and lack of callbacks. Support staff are also frequently described as unhelpful, accounting for 21 reports, while 19 reviewers cited misleading pricing as a significant issue. Other concerns, such as unsatisfactory settlement offers, were mentioned in 10 instances. Trends indicate that complaints about unhelpful support and misleading pricing are rising, while issues with unreachable support remain flat.
How to reach Ethos
These are the contact details Ethos publishes on its Trustpilot profile, as of our last check on 2026-09-24 — phone (415) 915-0665, address 1606 Headway Circle #9013, Austin, 78754, US.
The company claimed its Trustpilot profile on 2019-01-15, uses Trustpilot’s paid features, uses Trustpilot’s AI-assisted replies, and last replied to a negative review on 2026-09-14. Trustpilot ranks it 29 of 113 in Insurance Agency. We last checked this profile on 2026-09-24 and found 21 new reviews. These are facts Trustpilot publishes about the profile, as of our last harvest.
TrustScore over time
4.9 → 4.9 across 14 census measurements since 2026-08-17. Our own record, independent of Trustpilot’s display.
Reply behaviour over time
Solid: % of negative reviews replied to. Dashed: typical days to reply. Both as reported on this company’s Trustpilot profile, recorded whenever our census re-checked it and a figure had changed — the gaps between points are not equal: 2026-08-17 (96%, 0.8d) · 2026-08-20 (95%, 0.8d) · 2026-08-24 (96%, 0.9d) · 2026-08-27 (99%, 1.1d) · 2026-08-30 (98%, 1.1d) · 2026-09-02 (99%, 1.1d) · 2026-09-05 (99%, 1.1d) · 2026-09-08 (99%, 1.1d) · 2026-09-11 (98%, 1.1d) · 2026-09-14 (98%, 1.1d) · 2026-09-17 (99%, 1.1d) · 2026-09-20 (99%, 1.1d) · 2026-09-24 (98%, 1.1d).
Severity: 20% of this company’s 82 graded complaints were classified as severe (money lost, an essential service cut off, or a problem unresolved for months). See the harm index.
1★ share of negative reviews over time
Share of 1–3★ Trustpilot reviews that were 1★
In October 2025, 62% of 16 one-to-three-star reviews were 1★; in August 2026, 69% of 16.
Counted from October 2025 onward — the period for which our capture of 1★, 2★ and 3★ reviews is complete for all three. Months with fewer than 10 such reviews are omitted.
Reviewers here waited a median of 1.6 days between the experience and publishing their negative review (262 reviews record both dates).
What their policy promises
cancellation method: contact agent/company or stop paying premiums
“You can contact an agent or the insurance company and request to terminate the policy, or you can simply stop paying the premiums.”
cancellation method: contact agent or insurer website
“You’ll need to contact an agent or look up “how to cancel my insurance policy,” on the insurer’s website to start the whole life cancellation process.”
refund window: free look period — meanwhile 8 reviewers in our census window reported refund delays.
“Learn how the free look period in life insurance works, how long it lasts, and what to know if you want to cancel or change your policy during this time.”
Quoted verbatim from the company’s own published policy (source page); complaint counts are census classifications. As of 2026-09-16.
Policy-page monitoring
We monitor this company’s published policy page for changes. 2 changes detected since we started watching on 2026-09-01:
- 2026-09-15: +45/-45 lines; added: Is Life Insurance Worth It? | Wondering if life insurance is worth the cost? Learn how it protects your family, when you should consider it, and what type of coverage fits your needs.; removed: Best Fixed Annuity Rates | Compare the best fixed annuity rates for 2026, learn how MYGA rates work, what determines your rate, and how to find the highest guaranteed return for your money. (snapshot)
- 2026-09-08: +45/-45 lines; added: Best Fixed Annuity Rates | Compare the best fixed annuity rates for 2026, learn how MYGA rates work, what determines your rate, and how to find the highest guaranteed return for your money.; removed: Types of Annuities | Compare types of annuity, fixed, variable, indexed, immediate, and deferred, to find the one that fits your retirement goals. Get expert guidance from Ethos. (snapshot)
Automated change detection on the company’s own published policy page — a record of when the page changed, not a judgement on what changed.
Measured reply time: across 209 negative reviews that received a public reply, the median wait was 1.1 days — the company profile reports an average of 1 days.
Reply quality: of 209 company replies to negative reviews analysed, 38% engaged with the specific problem and 55% were generic templates.
Review provenance: 815 company-invited reviews in the recent window average 4.95★, while 29 organic (uninvited) reviews average 3.31★.
69% of its 802 recent 5★ reviews came from accounts that had written only that one review when we captured it (the median across companies is about 39%). A high share is a reason to look closer, not evidence of fake reviews.
Sector benchmark: support unreachable makes up 30% of this company’s complaints vs a 19% median across 135 ranked companies in its sector.
Review velocity: 4,767 of this company’s 7,599 Trustpilot reviews (63%) were written in the last 12 months.
What are the most common complaints about Ethos?
Support unreachable
25 reports · 30% of complaintssteady“Phone calls go on hold for indefinite times, and even when I provided call back number I was never contacted.”
The company replied on 2026-05-22: “Hello David, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience and understand your concerns regarding communication and follow-up. Our team has reviewed the matter and reached…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“email and phone calls to follow up after weeks went by dragged out almost 3 months”
“16 business days later still no refund”
The company replied on 2026-08-04: “Hello Mary, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience. We’d like the opportunity to look into your concerns and assist you further. Please reach out to us at…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
Support unhelpful
21 reports · 26% of complaintsrising since 2026-07“27 DAYS NOW AND NO REFUND!”
The company replied on 2026-08-06: “Hello Jonathan, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience. We’d like the opportunity to review your concerns and assist you further. Please reach out to us at…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: to escalate.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“I haven’t been able to access my account and make a payment since I signed up.”
The company replied on 2026-02-09: “Hello Dylan, Thank you for bringing your concern to our attention. Your monthly premium payments are processed automatically, so there's no action required on your part unless you need to change the…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: to make contact.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“they will put an extreme amount of pressure on you to buy the policy right then and there”
The company replied on 2026-06-18: “Hello, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations. We strive to provide a helpful and informative experience for individuals…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
Misleading pricing
19 reports · 23% of complaintsrising since 2026-07“The price I was quoted (over $3k for $250K) was three times as much as I'm paying now”
The company replied on 2026-08-04: “Hello Jim, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations. Coverage eligibility and premiums are determined through our underwriting…”
Our classifier read this reply as a deflection.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“They’re website was extremely misleading in my opinion!”
The company replied on 2026-03-16: “Hi Richard, We’re sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations. Our goal is to provide clear information about our services, and we appreciate feedback when something does not…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“The quote I received was a monthly charge. The fine print is this charge will increase in 18 months.”
The company replied on 2026-02-24: “Hi Neal, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We understand your concern and appreciate you taking the time to raise it. We recognize that pricing details and how future rate changes are presented…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
Other
10 reports · 12% of complaintssteady“I was offered $2000 which was a joke.”
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“rude and pushy guys calls me”
The company replied on 2026-04-20: “Hello Charles, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience and understand your concerns regarding the interaction. This has been reviewed internally, and we are…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: to escalate.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“They sold my information”
The company replied on 2026-04-22: “Hello, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience and understand your concerns. We take privacy and data protection seriously and would like to look into this…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
Refunds delayed
8 reports · 10% of complaintsrising since 2026-07“27 DAYS NOW AND NO REFUND!”
The company replied on 2026-08-06: “Hello Jonathan, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience. We’d like the opportunity to review your concerns and assist you further. Please reach out to us at…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: to escalate.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“$55 was taken from my bank when i had canceled my so called policy online”
The company replied on 2026-05-28: “Hello, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience and understand your concerns regarding the cancellation and refund process. We’d like to review this further and…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“it's been 12 days and still no response.”
The company replied on 2026-04-23: “Hello, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience and understand your concerns regarding the cancellation process and refund. We’d like to look into this further and…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
Account/app problems
7 reports · 8% of complaintsfalling“I haven’t been able to access my account and make a payment since I signed up.”
The company replied on 2026-02-09: “Hello Dylan, Thank you for bringing your concern to our attention. Your monthly premium payments are processed automatically, so there's no action required on your part unless you need to change the…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: to make contact.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“your site is very hard to navigate, and you app don'y work”
The company replied on 2026-05-22: “Hello, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience with the site and app functionality. Our team is aware of the issue on your application and is actively working toward a…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“Every time I call, their system is down!”
The company replied on 2026-07-16: “Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us Jodie. We’re glad to hear that you had a great experience—that means a lot to us! We're happy we could make things convenient for you. If…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
Compare Ethos with…
Method: reviews are classified into a fixed complaint taxonomy by an automated reader; every category shown is backed by at least two verbatim quotes from distinct reviews. Trends are computed from dated review counts only. Negative reviews are deliberately over-sampled for evidence depth; headline percentages use an unbiased recent sample only. Report updated 2026-09-24.