By The Run My Ads team · Updated · 6 min read
General information, not legal advice. See the note under the sources.
The short answer
Yes. Since January 2025, Meta has required ads for financial products and services, including insurance, to be declared under a special ad category when they run in or target the United States.[1][2] In that category you cannot pick an age range, a gender or ZIP codes, location targets have to cover at least a 15 mile radius, and lookalike audiences are not available.[1] Your words and visuals have to do the targeting instead.
What the special ad category is
Meta has a short list of special ad categories for ads where unfair targeting could shut people out of an opportunity: housing, employment, financial products and services, and social issues, elections or politics.[1] In January 2025 the financial products and services category replaced the older credit category and widened it. Meta's own developer documentation says the new category "will replace the CREDIT input as of January 14, 2025".[1] Independent guides describe the new category as covering credit plus insurance, banking, investment and payment services.[2]
Separately, Meta's advertising standards allow insurance ads but say advertisers may need to be licensed where they advertise, must provide disclosures required by law, and must only target people 18 or older.[3]
What you can no longer do
From Meta's documentation for the category:[1]
- No age range. The audience is fixed at ages 18 to 65 and older. You cannot target only people over 50, even for final expense.
- No gender. Ads go to everyone.
- No ZIP codes. ZIP code targeting is not supported.
- Wider locations. Any city, address or pin you target must include at least a 15 mile (25 km) radius in the US and Canada. States work fine.
- No lookalikes. "Lookalike audiences are unavailable for housing, employment, and financial products and services ads."
- Fewer detailed targeting options. Independent guides report that many interest and behavior options are removed or limited.[2]
Meta requires the declaration, so set it on every insurance campaign, including ones you copy from an older campaign.
How to set it up in Ads Manager
- Start a new campaign and pick your objective. For most agents that is leads.
- In the campaign settings, find Special Ad Categories and choose financial products and services.
- Pick the country the ads will run in.
- In the ad set, set locations as whole states, or cities and pins with at least a 15 mile radius. Leave age at 18 to 65 and older, and gender at all.
- Write your ads and form, then read them once more against the personal attributes rule below.
Meta moves its menus from time to time, so the names in your account may differ a little.
What you can still use
- States and wide areas. Useful if you are licensed in only some states: target only those.
- Your words, visuals and form. These now do most of the targeting work.
- Form questions. Ask what you need to sort and follow up on leads, and give people outside your market a polite answer.
How to reach the right people anyway
With the targeting switches gone, the ad itself picks the audience. In our experience, Meta's delivery shows your ad more to the kind of people who stop, click and fill in the form, so an ad that clearly speaks to one kind of person ends up mostly in front of that kind of person. In practice:
- Name the situation, not the person. "Final expense coverage to help with funeral costs" draws the right reader without targeting anyone by age.
- Use visuals that match the buyer. A homeowner at the kitchen table for mortgage protection, a grandparent with family for final expense.
- Ask a question in the form. A short form question, such as the year someone was born or whether they own their home, helps you sort leads after they arrive.
- Let it run. Give a new ad about a week of results before you judge it. Changing it daily sets it back.
The rule that trips up insurance ads: personal attributes
A separate Meta policy says ads "must not contain content that asserts or implies personal attributes", and age is one of the listed attributes.[4] Meta's own examples: "Meet other seniors" is not allowed, while "Meet seniors" is. The difference is whether the ad implies it knows something about the person reading it.
- Avoid: "Are you over 60?", "You are a homeowner, so you need this", "As a senior, you need this."
- Safer: "Final expense coverage for seniors", "Coverage that can pay off a mortgage", "See what a policy would cost."
State insurance advertising rules still apply
Meta's rules sit on top of your state's insurance advertising rules, not instead of them. Many states base theirs on the NAIC's model rule for life insurance and annuity ads, which, among other things, bars ads that look like they come from a government program or agency, requires the insurer's name to be clearly identified in ads about its products, and requires that "no medical exam" type claims say that issue may depend on health answers when that is the case.[5] Each state adopts its own version, so check yours.
A quick check before you publish
- Is the campaign declared under financial products and services?
- Does any line say or imply the reader's age, health or other personal traits?
- Could anything look like it comes from the government, Medicare or Social Security?
- Is the insurer or your agency clearly named where your state requires it?
- Are "free", "no exam" or "no health questions" used only where they are true, with any condition stated?
- Does the form's consent wording cover how you will call or text?
How Run My Ads handles it
Every insurance campaign Ados plans is set up under the financial products and services category, with state or wide-radius locations and visuals written to speak to the situation rather than the person. You still read and decide on every ad before it runs. See how it works.
About this guide. Run My Ads sells ad software and a Done-For-You Ads plan that delivers leads, so we have a stake in this topic. We have tried to show both sides, cite every number to a public source, and label our own numbers as ours.
Common questions
Do life insurance ads have to use the special ad category on Facebook?
Yes. Since January 2025 Meta requires ads for financial products and services, including insurance, to be declared under the financial products and services special ad category when they run in or target the US.
Can I target seniors with final expense ads on Facebook?
Not by age. The category fixes the audience at 18 to 65 and older. Write the ad and pick visuals that speak to the situation, and let Meta's delivery find the people who respond.
Can I use lookalike audiences for insurance ads?
No. Meta's documentation says lookalike audiences are unavailable for financial products and services ads.
Can I target by ZIP code?
No. ZIP code targeting is not supported in the category, and any city, address or pin needs at least a 15 mile radius in the US.
Will the special ad category make my insurance ads cost more?
It can change who sees your ads and what you pay, because you lose age, gender, ZIP code and lookalike targeting. In our experience, clear ads that speak to one situation make up much of the difference. Judge the results on cost per booked appointment, not cost per click.
Does following Meta's rules mean my ad meets state insurance rules?
No. Meta's rules sit on top of your state's insurance advertising rules. Many states base theirs on the NAIC model rule for life insurance ads, so check your state's version as well.
Sources
- Special Ad Category (Marketing API documentation). Meta for Developers.
- Special Ad Categories: A Guide for Meta Ads. Jon Loomer Digital.
- Financial and Insurance Products and Services (Advertising Standards). Meta Transparency Center.
- Privacy Violations and Personal Attributes (Advertising Standards). Meta Transparency Center.
- Advertisements of Life Insurance and Annuities Model Regulation (Model 570). National Association of Insurance Commissioners. A model rule; each state adopts its own version, so check your state's rule.
Not legal advice. This guide is general information about public rules as we read them on the date above. Laws and platform policies change and differ by state. Talk to a lawyer who knows telemarketing and insurance advertising before you rely on it.