At a glance
- Organization
- Ethos
- Type
- Insurtech / digital insurance platform
- Founded
- 2016
- Base / focus
- United States (Ethos Technologies Inc. / Ethos Life Insurance Services)
- Specialty
- Digital life insurance (term, permanent, and related products)
- Official site
- Visit Ethos
Who is Ethos?
Ethos is a digital life insurance agency and technology platform founded in 2016 by Peter Colis and Lingke Wang. It offers term, permanent, guaranteed-issue, final expense, and indexed universal life products online — typically without a medical exam — with policies issued by partner carriers such as Banner Life, Protective Life, Ameritas, John Hancock, and TruStage.
Ethos redesigns the life insurance buying experience around speed and clarity: applicants answer health and lifestyle questions online, receive personalized options, and in many cases obtain coverage without scheduling a paramedical exam.
Ethos is not the company that ultimately pays claims as the issuing insurer. It works with highly rated partner life carriers and acts as agent/administrator for the digital experience.
Key facts
- Founded in 2016 by Peter Colis and Lingke Wang
- Mission: make life insurance more affordable, accessible, and transparent
- Operates as a third-party administrator / agent platform, not the issuing life carrier itself
- Partners with established life insurers for policy issuance
- Emphasizes online applications, often without medical exams
- Product set includes term, permanent/whole, guaranteed issue, final expense, and IUL
History
Ethos began after co-founder Lingke Wang was sold an expensive whole life policy in college that did not fit his needs. With classmate Peter Colis, he founded Ethos in 2016 to make life insurance faster, clearer, and more accessible.
The company built a data-driven underwriting and application flow designed to reduce multi-week paperwork into minutes for many applicants, with a focus on term life and later expanding into permanent and other product types.
Today Ethos markets coverage across broad adult age bands and pairs policies with optional estate-planning tools such as wills where eligibility allows.
Products Ethos offers
Ethos’s public product lineup focuses on life insurance categories (availability varies by age, health, and state):
- Term life insurance
- Permanent / whole life insurance
- Guaranteed issue life insurance
- Final expense life insurance
- Indexed universal life (IUL)
- No-medical-exam pathways for many applicants
- Complementary estate-planning tools (e.g., free will) where offered
Who Ethos serves
Ethos targets individuals and families who want life insurance without a lengthy traditional sales process — including first-time buyers, busy parents, and older applicants seeking simplified or guaranteed-issue options.
Because products are underwritten by partner carriers and subject to state rules, not every applicant receives the same options or limits.
Coverage focus with Epic and Easy
Life conversations involving Ethos often cover:
- Term life for income replacement
- Permanent or final-expense needs
- Simplified-issue or no-exam preferences
- Comparing Ethos options with other life markets we can access
Who it’s for in Virginia
Ethos can fit Virginia residents who want a modern online life insurance experience and may prefer skipping a medical exam when eligible.
If you need complex estate planning, large face amounts with full underwriting, or employer group life analysis, we may recommend a different path or a hybrid approach.
How Epic and Easy helps
We clarify your goals (income replacement, mortgage protection, final expenses), estimate coverage needs, and check Ethos and other life options we can offer.
We keep the conversation educational — no invented premiums on this page — and help you understand free-look periods and replacement risks before you switch policies.
Ethos FAQs
Is Ethos a life insurance company?
Ethos is a digital life insurance agency/platform. Policies are issued by partner carriers such as Banner Life, Protective Life, Ameritas, John Hancock, and TruStage, depending on the product.
When was Ethos founded?
Ethos was founded in 2016 by Peter Colis and Lingke Wang.
Does Ethos require a medical exam?
Many Ethos applications are designed to avoid a medical exam by using health and lifestyle questions plus data-driven underwriting. Requirements can still vary by age, amount, and product.
What life products does Ethos sell?
Ethos markets term life, permanent/whole life, guaranteed issue, final expense, and indexed universal life products, subject to eligibility and state availability.
Can Epic and Easy help me with Ethos in Virginia?
Yes. Tell us your age, health overview, and coverage goals, and we’ll explore Ethos and other life options when appointed and appropriate.
Does Ethos offer a free-look period?
Ethos materials describe a 30-day free-look period on policies, during which cancellation can return premium paid. Always confirm details on your specific policy.
Sources & methodology
This profile summarizes publicly available information from the organization’s official website and related authoritative pages. Product lists describe what the organization markets broadly and do not guarantee availability through Epic and Easy in every ZIP or risk class.
Coverage, eligibility, pricing, and underwriting rules vary by state, product, and applicant. We do not invent AM Best scores, claim counts, or proprietary premiums on this page.
Advertiser Disclosure: Epic and Easy may be compensated when you request a quote or purchase coverage through our agency relationships. Compensation may influence which products we can offer. Carrier availability varies by product, ZIP, and underwriting. Product lists on this page describe what Ethos markets broadly and do not guarantee that every product is available through Epic and Easy in every location. This page does not invent ratings, claim counts, or proprietary premiums.