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Determining who offers the best life insurance is not always a black and white answer.
While you can get quotes from all of the top-rated life insurance companies, you may never know if you’re choosing the best policy for your specific situation.
At Good Financial Cents, we pride ourselves in connecting people with the insurance company that best meets their specific needs. OR, you can compare quotes the easy way
Our Top 10 Best Life Insurance Companies for 2018
To help you find coverage that fits, we’ll first take a look at our take on the best life insurance companies in the United States for 2018, then dig a little deeper into which companies excel in the kind of coverage you may be looking for. Since policy type and company ratings are key factors in your decision, we’ll also discuss how to decipher that data.
Finding the right type of life insurance can seem so overwhelming that it’s easy to put it off. But if you have family members who depend on you financially, you need coverage. A little knowledge can go a long way toward helping you find coverage that’s tailor-made to protect your family.
Deciding on the Best Life Insurance Company for Your Coverage
With more than 800 insurance companies in the United States, you could spend months comparing quotes and analyzing ratings without ever knowing for sure that you’d chosen the right company. And that’s before considering your specific needs OR, you can compare quotes the easy way.
Let’s start by narrowing the choices. We work with numerous insurers and we do a lot of research. We’ve narrowed hundreds of companies down to our 10 favorite. There are other great companies out there, but these 10 consistently offer the best products and customer service, and they exhibit strength and stability, which means they’re more likely to be there when you need them.
So, without further adieu…
Our Top Picks For Best Life Insurance
Although the best company and policy will vary from person to person, we have poured through many of the details for you and have come up with a list of our top picks.
These companies, while diverse in their offerings and history, offer some of the most affordable, helpful coverage and have the best life insurance products on the market.
Haven Life
Haven Life has upended the traditional process of acquiring term life insurance by getting rid of the medical examination for people who qualify.
Even if you do need a medical exam, Haven Life’s process is quick and easy to navigate.
Haven Life offers only term life insurance, which is usually the simplest and most affordable type of coverage, especially if you’re young and in good health. The agency’s policies are backed by MassMutual which has earned the highest financial ratings offered by A.M. Best and other insurance company ratings agencies.
If you are looking to get term life insurance with the least hassle and faster than any other company can offer, then Haven Life is going to be your top company.
Banner Life
Banner Life Insurance is a leader in terms of life insurance product diversity and customer service. The company has been operating since 1949, and it currently holds about $415 billion in premiums in force.
Banner Life has both flexible and comprehensive coverage options. For example, they offer special rates for younger or health conscious individuals. In addition, people up to age 95 can apply for a Banner Life term policy, which is nearly unheard of in the insurance industry (most other insurers cap applicants at age 65 or 75).
Banner Life has earned high ratings, including an A+ from A.M. Best, an AA- from Standard & Poor’s, and an A from Fitch Ratings. The company also has earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Bottom Line: No matter your health situation, or age, we’d suggest a Banner Life Insurance quote.
With more than 49,000 employees and clients in over 80 countries and jurisdictions, AIG, or American International Group, is often considered the world’s largest insurance organization. But does the company’s quality match its size? Generally speaking, the answer is yes, according to all four ratings agencies.
AIG Life and Retirement, the division responsible for the company’s life insurance policies, has earned:
Get a better understanding in our review of AIG and its history.
We’ve also noticed that AIG is great at placing applicants who are on the border of two different rating classes, because of their weight, into the more favorable class.
For example, a 37-year-old male who weighed 215 pounds and is six feet tall rated a preferred policy with Banner Life, but AIG rated him preferred plus, saving him $3,312 over the life of the policy he chose:
Prudential
Another long-standing, top life insurance company is Prudential, which manages more than $1 trillion in assets for clients throughout the world.
Prudential offers a number of different policy options, including term and permanent coverage. Permanent coverage from Prudential includes universal, indexed universal, variable universal, and survivorship universal life insurance.
The 140-year-old company has earned high ratings, including an A+ from A.M. Best, an AA- from Standard & Poor’s, an A1 from Moody’s, and an A+ rating from Fitch. Get a better understanding the company and their products in our Prudential review.
We’ve noticed that applicants who use chewing tobacco often prefer Prudential because the company does not place chewing tobacco users into its classification for smokers, and this can save a huge amount of money:
For these reasons and more, whatever your personal health history, it’s worth your time to Get a Quote from Prudential.
Met Life
MetLife, another well-known insurance and financial services provider in the United States and globally, offers a variety of policy options, including term, whole life, universal, variable, and survivorship plans.
MetLife also offers a simplified issue term life insurance which does not require applicants to get a medical exam. This can be a good option for those who have health-related issues that might make a medically underwritten policy too expensive or impossible to buy.
MetLife has earned an A+ from A.M. Best, an AA- from Fitch, an Aa3 from Moody’s, and an AA- from Standard & Poor’s. Learn more about MetLife and their services in our MetLife Review.
Voya Financial
Formerly known as ING, Voya Financial has emerged as a leader in today’s financial and insurance services industry. The company is comprised of premier insurance, investment, and retirement companies, and it serves roughly 13 million clients in the United States.
Voya provides a wide array of coverage, including term life, universal life, indexed universal life, variable universal life, and survivorship policies.
The company currently has about $519 billion in total assets under management, and it is considered a top five retirement plan provider based on the number of plans, participants, and assets.
Voya Insurance and Annuity Company has earned high ratings: an A from A.M. Best, an A- from Fitch, an A3 from Moody’s, and an A- from Standard & Poor’s. Learn more about Voya’s history and its financial stability in our Voya review.
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha has been serving customers in the life insurance arena for more than a century. It provides a wide variety of products including term, whole life, universal life, and accidental death.
The company provides easy-to-follow online steps to help customers determine how much coverage they may need. The site also offers calculators to help determine how long life insurance proceeds may last.
Mutual has earned best life insurance company status from the rating agencies due to its financial strength and claims-paying history. Learn more in our review of Mutual of Omaha.
New York Life Insurance Company
New York Life Insurance Company opened more than 170 years ago, and the insurer has more than $425 billion in managed assets. It serves policyholders in both the United States and around the world.
Life insurance in
New York Life offers term, whole life, universal life and variable life. The company is a financial stalwart, earning an A++ from A.M. Best, an AA+ from Standard & Poor’s, a AAA from Fitch, and an Aaa from Moody’s Investor Services. Get a more detailed review of New York Life Insurance Company.
Transamerica
Transamerica began its operation more than 110 years ago, and today it has grown into a financial and insurance powerhouse. Its life insurance company boasts an A+ rating from A.M. Best, an A1 from Moody’s, an AA- from Fitch, and an AA- from Standard & Poor’s.
Get free quotes by using the Compare Life Insurance form on this page or learn more with our Transamerica review.
Transamerica will issue 30-year term policies up to age 58. Most companies will not issue a 30-year term policy on a person seeking life insurance who is over 50.
Lincoln Financial Group
Lincoln Financial Group provides numerous coverage options, including term, universal, and variable universal life insurance coverage. Lincoln also has a combination life / long-term care option whereby a policyholder can use a universal policy as an alternative to purchasing a stand-alone, long-term care insurance policy.
The Lincoln Life and Annuity Company has earned high marks from ratings agencies, including an A+ from A.M. Best, an AA- from Standard & Poor’s, an A1 from Moody’s, and an A+ from Fitch. See our detailed review of Lincoln Financial Group.
How to Determine a Company’s Strength
You’ve probably noticed the alphabet soup that life insurance companies like to include on their sites when they talk about quality. It’s usually a conglomeration of As and plus signs, and it can look impressive. (We included many of these grades in our list of top insurers above.)
So, what’s this all about, and how do you know if an A++ is better than an AA?
Here’s the short answer: All insurance companies must be graded by at least one independent life insurance ratings agency. These ratings agencies analyze an insurance company’s internal finances and grade the company’s financial health. The higher the grade, the more likely the insurance company will remain financially solvent and able to pay claims on the policies it is issuing.
Generally speaking, it’s best to stick with insurance companies that are rated with a grade of A or better. You’ll be paying premiums for decades, or maybe even for the rest of your life, so there’s no need to take chances on coverage from a company that may not exist when your family needs it.
While an A is dependably better than a B, there are some nuances in each ratings agency’s grading scale. So if you’re comparing companies and really want a thorough understanding of their internal finances, you’ll need to learn a little about the ratings agencies themselves, a task that is much easier now that you can find much of this information online.
The rating agencies to check with are A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, Fitch Ratings, and TheStreet.com. Most of the leading insurers are rated by several if not all of the agencies, so be sure to check more than one ratings agency.
Best Life Insurance Companies by Category
Staying with the highest-rated insurance providers, such as the ones we’ve listed above, should give you coverage that you can depend on in case you die unexpectedly and your family needs to file a claim.
So now it’s time to decide which of these top-rated companies best fits your life. When you apply for life insurance, the company’s underwriters will take a close look at your health, your habits, and your family’s health history.
The underwriting process determines the risk your policy would present to the insurance company. The higher the risk, the higher your insurance payments, or premiums, will be. For example, someone who smokes is more likely to die earlier than a non-smoker, statistically speaking. So smokers tend to pay more for life insurance.
In our analysis of insurance companies, we’ve noticed that applicants in certain categories, such as tobacco use, fare better with certain insurance companies when it comes to rate classifications. Finding the company that is most likely to give you a good rate can save a lot of time and money. An independent insurance agent can provide even more nuanced information if you have a specific concern that is not addressed here.
For the Health Conscious: Health I.Q.
Do you start your day with a run? Do you try to eat natural, healthy food? If so, you should find an insurance company who rewards you for those good habits. Health I.Q. thinks health-conscious people are overpaying for their life insurance coverage, and to counteract this, they have teamed with some insurance carriers to offer underwriting designed for active people.
Specifically, they have made some underwriting changes and accommodations to meet the needs of their clients.
They target muscular people who have a low BMI, people with low resting heart rates, and applicants who may have a poor family history but have worked to change that.
According to the statistics on their website, they do a much better job at the rating placements of their clients. The standard insurance carrier puts 35 percent of applicants in the preferred plus category, but Health I.Q. puts double that.
They pride themselves in being able to save their healthy clients large amount on their premiums.
For Smokers: Banner Life AND Prudential (Pruco).
Banner Life tops our list of the best life insurance companies for smokers with Prudential not far behind.
Banner Life is an excellent company for term life coverage in general. They are usually among the most affordable, and writing policies for smokers seems to be their niche. Banner is also the parent company of its often better-known subsidiary, William Penn Life Insurance of New York. The company has more than $5.7 billion in assets and over $587 billion of life insurance in force.
How is Banner Life so kind to smokers? It offers both preferred tobacco and standard tobacco classifications. You’ll still pay more as a smoker than a non-smoker, but the rate hike may not be as high as it would be with just about any other top 10 company.
For Diabetics: American General.
In general, American General is one of the very best insurance companies for high-risk applicants, but the company is especially strong in underwriting policies for those who have type 2 diabetes.
Additionally, American General offers an accelerated death benefit rider that enables you to receive at least some of your insurance proceeds while you are still alive if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. This can help provide important living benefits that will help you to pay at least some of your medical bills and other expenses.
Like many of the top life insurance companies that offer more liberal underwriting guidelines with certain high-risk applicants, American General is tougher if your profile involves other risks. This is particularly true with certain non-health related risks.
American General can be a difficult company to work with if you have a recent bankruptcy or DUI/DWI episode. They are also tough on anyone with a felony charge, particularly if the charge is related to either sexual assault or drugs.
Overall, however, American General offers competitive pricing, flexible underwriting, and a well-deserved reputation for excellent customer service.
For Cancer Survivors: Prudential (Pruco).
Prudential works to be a top performer in different market niches, the kind that other insurance companies prefer to avoid. Prudential not only tends to be more liberal in underwriting policies for cancer survivors but also for people with diabetes and DUI histories.
This makes sense because there are tens of millions of people in the U.S. who fit that description yet need life insurance to protect their families.
As you would expect, premiums will be higher for cancer survivors even with a policy issued by Prudential. The type of cancer, as well as how long it is been in remission, are factors. But if you are a cancer survivor who is looking to get best life insurance premiums possible, Prudential is the place to start your search.
For Five Year Term Policies: Minnesota Life.
We consider Minnesota Life to be the top life insurance company when it comes to five-year term policies.
Most companies issue policies in terms ranging from 10 to 30 years, so finding a good five-year policy can be tough.
If you’re starting a new business and would like to protect your family while you’re in debt, or if you’ve quit smoking but don’t qualify for non-smoking rates yet, a five-year policy may provide the temporary coverage you need, and Minnesota Life is where we’d start that search.
For Overweight/Obesity: Genworth.
With 69 percent of the U.S. adult population classified as overweight, including 35 percent as obese, this is one of the most important specializations.
Genworth tends to take a more liberal stance in regard to weight. This can impact premiums in big ways since body mass index (BMI) is often one of the most important underwriting criteria. Genworth has a history of assigning a “preferred plus” rating to people who are overweight, and “standard risk” to many people who are obese. This is not typical outcome throughout the industry.
For example, a 55-year-old male who is 6 feet tall can get a preferred rate while weighing as much as 242 pounds. Once the man hits age 65, he can weigh as much as 258 pounds with the same rating. With most other insurance companies, the weight limits would be significantly lower than these in either case.
No Medical Exam Life Insurance: American National Insurance Company (ANICO).
ANICO gets our vote as the top company on the list of the best carriers for no medical exam policies.
The company offers several of the best life insurance policies with no medical exam, including a term life policy and a whole life policy. This includes the Freedom Term Life Insurance plan that offers policy amounts up to $250,000 and terms ranging from 10 years to 30 years. They also offer the ValueGuard Whole Life Insurance plan, with face amounts of up to $150,000.
If you are looking for a policy that with no medical exam and no health questions at all, ANICO offers its Legacy Whole Life Insurance Plan. This is a guaranteed issue whole life policy that provides coverage for a face amount of up to $25,000. It is available for those between the ages of 50 and 80, and offers a fixed death benefit, with fixed premiums.
One downside to this policy – though it is common for the policy type – is that it has a two year graded death benefit. This means that if you die within the first two years after the policy is issued, you will be entitled to a return of the premiums paid (up to 110%) but not the death benefit itself.
No medical exam policies are an excellent choice if you would prefer to avoid the exam for any reason. But they do cost more in premiums on a per thousand basis than fully underwritten policies do. In addition, they usually have strict limits on the amount of the death benefit. So for example, if you decided you need a policy with a death benefit of $1 million, a no medical exam policy probably will not work for you.
But if you want this kind of policy, ANICO is the best life insurance company to get it through.
Best Life Insurance Companies – Honorable Mentions
The companies below didn’t make our top 10 list for various reasons, but they do deserve to be mentioned because they represent some of the strongest names in the industry. Any insurance company with good financial ratings and customer service has the potential to offer “the best” life insurance policy for a particular individual because “the best” depends heavily on each person’s circumstances. Each link will take you to a comprehensive review of the individual company.
5 Star – Part of the Armed Forces Benefit Association, which has been around since 1947.
AAA – More than 100 years of business experience and a long history of good customer service.
AARP – Works with New York Life to provide coverage to seniors.
Accordia – Very young but great financial backing.
Accuquote – Over the past 20 years, Accuquote has placed approximately $100 billion of life insurance coverage in force and has had nearly 200,000 customers purchase coverage from the site.
Aetna – Aetna has a ton of different types of insurance and life insurance is a major part of their company.
Aflac – Most famous for their duck mascot, Aflac is a highly respected carrier with great ratings from the BBB.
Allianz – Allianz is a leading provider of life insurance, as well as income-producing products and overall retirement solutions.
Allstate – The good hands people are one of the most well known and trusted insurers in the country.
American General – Part of the AIG group and one of the largest insurers in the USA.
American Income – Over 50 years of experience and a great financial record.
Americo – Well-known for burial and final expense policies, but also has competitive rates on other life insurance products.
Amica – Based on the company’s financial strength and claims paying ability, Amica Mutual Group has received a rating of A+ (Superior) from A.M. Best Company.
Assurity – Assurity has been in the business of offering coverage and protection to its policyholders for well over 100 years.
AXA Equitable – Very competitive at underwriting in specific age brackets and great with a few health conditions.
Baltimore Life – The Baltimore Life Insurance Company offers a long list of personal life insurance options to choose for individuals and families.
Bankers Life – Commonly referred to as simply BLIC – it was founded in 1976, and while it may not be one of the oldest insurance carriers in the U.S., it has proven a viable player in the life insurance and annuity arena.
Cincinnati Life – The Cincinnati Life Insurance Company has been providing wealth enhancement and protection products to its customers ever since 1950 when four independent insurance agents got together to form the company.
Colonial Life – Based on its strong financial foundation, along with its timely payments of policyholder claims, Colonial Life Insurance Company has received high ratings from the insurer rating agencies.
Columbus Life – One of the first insurance companies to have a website; remains competitive with technology.
Conseco.com – The company serves more than 4 million customers primarily considered “middle income working America.”
Esurance – Esurance is owned by Allstate Insurance Company which is the oldest publicly held personal lines insurance carrier in the United States.
EquiTrust – All life insurance plans offered through EquiTrust are permanent, meaning there is death benefit protection and a cash value/savings component.
Erie Life – Erie Insurance Company has been in the business of offering coverage protection to its customers for nearly 100 years.
Farm Bureau – Farm Bureau Financial Services is financially stable, and the company pays policyholder claims quickly.
Farmers – Farmers serves more than 10 million households with more than 19 million individual policies.
Fidelity Life – Fidelity Life has been in the business of offering protection to its customers and their loved ones since 1896.
Foresters Financial – A non-profit with more than 135 years in the life insurance market.
Forethought – Only 30 years old, but moving up in the ranks of reliable life insurance companies.
Frankenmuth – The company’s principal mission when providing insurance services to its policyholders is to be the insurer of choice.
Geico – Over the past 80 years, the company has grown and expanded exponentially, and today the company is ranked as the second largest private passenger auto insurance company in the United States.
Globe – Offers the best small, simplified issue policies.
Guardian – A Fortune 250 Global Financial Services Company, Guardian offers a wide variety of financial services along with life insurance.
Hartford – Hartford offers an extensive list of insurance and other financial products which can help its clients to customize their wealth enhancement and protection.
John Hancock – One of the better known and more solid companies in the United States.
Liberty Mutual – Liberty Mutual is ranked as number 75 on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations.
Minnesota Life – Awesome at rating people who have recently stopped smoking.
Mutual Trust – Over the past 110 years, the company has grown and expanded exponentially, and it now offers its life insurance and annuity products in 49 of the U.S. states, as well as the District of Columbia.
National Life Group – National Life Group has been providing financial protection to its customers for nearly 170 years.
National Western – More than 60 years of experience and top financial ratings.
Nationwide – This financial and insurance entity offers a broad range of products and services that can help clients with growing and protect wealth.
Navy Mutual – Navy Mutual has been offering insurance and annuity benefits to military members since 1879.
North American – Privately owned and expertly managed when it comes to its investments.
Northwestern Mutual – One of the largest life insurance companies in the world.
Pacific – Pacific Life has been helping its clients grow and protect their wealth for more than 145 years.
Phoenix – Phoenix Life Insurance Company has more than a century and a half of providing coverage to its customers.
Primerica – Primerica has been offering term life insurance that is affordable since 1977.
Progressive – This company has grown and expanded exponentially, and it has also added more coverage products and services, including progressive home insurance.
Protective – Great for term life insurance policies.
Royal Neighbors – Royal Neighbors has a unique mission of insuring lives, supporting women, and serving communities.
Sagicor – Offers great no exam term policies and guaranteed issue universal life.
SBLI – Great for annual premium prices and variety of lengths of term life insurance.
State Farm – If you already have homeowners/renters and auto insurance with them they offer great bundling of policies.
Symetra – Gets top ratings from all the bureaus and has a clean record from the BBB.
TIAA – TIAA is a Fortune 500 company, and it serves millions of clients.
USAA – USAA is the top company for those with military service or a family member who has served in the military.
United Home – along with its parent company United Farm Family life, this company has a strong financial reputation.
Vantis – Vantis is more than 80 years old and is reliable at paying claims.
Veterans Group – If you have an existing condition, you will do very well with this company.
Types of Life Insurance to Consider
So you know the importance of quality, and you’ve identified insurance companies that specialize in your specific needs, so now it’s time to decide what kind of policy to buy. Life insurance products can run the gamut, but most fall into one of four categories:
Many variables occur within each of these insurance “types,” but each can be described as follows:
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is so named because it lasts only for a specific period of time, or term, which usually ranges from 10 to 30 years. Most people buy term life insurance to protect their loved ones while they have a lot of debt and/or not much in savings. That way, if they died unexpectedly, their families wouldn’t be forced to sell the house or make other financial sacrifices.
Because term life insurance doesn’t include an investment component, it is almost always the most affordable coverage you can buy. One major benefit of term life insurance is that your premium shouldn’t change while your policy is in force. Once you “lock it in,” you can count on those premiums for the duration of your policy. The younger and healthier you are when you lock in your rate, the less you’ll likely pay throughout the life of the policy.
The ideal customer for term life insurance is:
Someone who wants to protect his or her family from financial losses during their working years.
An individual who only needs coverage for a specific length of time (i.e. thirty years).
Someone who has not had a chance to save enough money to support their loved ones for 5 to 10 years.
People who want life insurance that will never expire.
People who want to purchase a life insurance policy that will build cash value.
Whole Life
Whole life is also aptly named. Once you buy a policy (or commit to funding one), the coverage lasts for the rest of your life. This kind of coverage, which is also called permanent life insurance, adds an investment component as well. The life insurance component is designed to provide for your family when you die, just like term life, but part of the premiums you pay for a whole life policy become an investment with cash value. Like other investments, you can generally borrow against the cash value of your policy with favorable terms.
The ideal customer for whole life insurance is:
Someone who wants to purchase life insurance coverage that will never expire.
Someone who wants a policy that will build cash value they can borrow against.
Someone who wants the most affordable premiums money can buy.
Anyone who only needs life insurance for a limited term, or length of time.
Universal Life
Like whole life, universal life is permanent. However, universal life combines this coverage with a more complicated investment component. This kind of coverage offers flexible premiums: The amount you pay into your policy can fluctuate from year to year. As a result, your policy may build more cash value some years than others.
The ideal customer for universal life insurance is:
Anyone who wants flexibility in their premiums and death benefit.
Someone who wants a permanent death benefit that will never expire.
Someone who wants fixed premiums and a fixed death benefit.
Someone who wants to keep their premiums affordable.
Select quote life insurance
Variable Life
Variable life insurance is another form of permanent life insurance that offers an investment component that builds cash value. Because variable life insurance allows you to allocate a portion of your premiums to a separate investment account, this type of life insurance is generally more expensive than other types of coverage.
Due to the way these policies are set up, consumers can decide when to pay higher premiums for a higher death benefit within certain limits. Since you can generally choose from a variety of investments within the investment component of your coverage, and since returns are never guaranteed, variable life insurance is regulated under federal securities laws.
The ideal customer for variable life is:
Someone who wants to participate in various investment opportunities without being taxed on their earnings.
Anyone who wants the potential for higher returns, but doesn’t mind the risk of losses.
Individuals who just want life insurance for a fixed length of time, usually ten, twenty, or thirty years.
People who prefer not to take any risk.
Your New Life Insurance Policy: How and Where to Purchase Coverage
If you are ready to buy a policy from one of the best life insurance companies or haven’t reviewed your life insurance in a while, we can help. We can get you all of the information that you need in order to make an informed buying decision.
You can obtain pertinent details on policy features and premium price, as well as compare the plans of various carriers. Best of all, any information you need can be obtained quickly and easily, directly from your computer and without the need to meet with an insurance agent.
Ready to get started? Let us take care of the details. All you need to do is:
Fill out the form to the best of your ability, adding your personal details along with the type of coverage you’re interested in.
Include accurate contact information so that an agent can get ahold of you if absolutely necessary.
If you have any additional questions regarding which of the best life insurance companies might be best for your needs, or about how you can obtain life insurance quotes, start by filling out the form on this page. If you need to discuss a specific medical condition with an agent, on the other hand, you will be contacted and receive answers to any of the questions or concerns that you may have.
Purchasing life insurance can seem absolutely overwhelming at times, and that’s especially true when you’re considering different types of coverage with more than one provider. By highlighting the best life insurance companies on the market today, we hope to minimize your research and help you find the best company for your needs.
With your family’s financial security on the line, reading through these crucial details and conducting some research on your own is an excellent use of your time. And if you need help, all you have to do is ask.
“American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading global insurance organization serving customers in more than 100 countries and jurisdictions. AIG companies serve commercial, institutional, and individual customers through one of the most extensive worldwide property-casualty networks of any insurer. In addition, AIG companies are leading provicers of life insurance and retirement services in teh United States. AIG common stock is listed on teh New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Additional information about AIG can be found at AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty, life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American International Group, Inc. Products or services may not e available in all countries, and coverage is subject to actual policy language. Non-insurance products and services may be provided by a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurers do not generally participate in state guaranty funds, and insureds are therefore not protected by such funds.”
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Reader Comments
I put my money in an IUL with an annual contribution option for the premiums but now i want to bring my money out since i have reservations about an IUL, i noticed it wasn’t listed as available policies to consider in this article. Could you advice?
I really can’t Nnambi. Check with the issuer.
Does anyone know how to get general terms and conditions of insurance products, (e.g. life types) and supplementary (e.g. critical illness, hospital cash benefits, etc.) to be able to compare definition of risk covered as well as exclusions?
Hi Marc – There’s probably not single source. Mostly you have to get information from the companies individually and do your own comparison. That’s why it helps to work with an insurance broker who represents multiple companies.
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This post is very incomplete. Northwestern Mutual is not even mentioned. NM is the HIGHEST rated company and has been for a long time. They have been ranked #1 for the longest time with AAA ratings. I’m surprised MassMutual isn’t mentioned either. This article may be directed to unhealthy people or people with smoking habits but not for the healthy people, NM, Mass, or NY Life is the way to go.
With the amount of mentions for Genworth, it would seem as though they might be sponsoring a portion of this article. Genworth is not worth working on the life insurance side of things anymore (besides servicing existing policies). They even made the mistake of getting into the LTC game and ended up losing due to the persistence of clients keeping the policies.
Hi Jon – The quality of an insurance company does depend on who’s doing the rating, and what the specific criteria are. It would be impossible to come up with a single list that would include all carriers in every category. I guess what I’m saying is that it would be impossible to construct a list that would satisfy everyone in all circumstances.
I put Nationwide Whole Life Insurance on my son 18 months before he committed suicide. I understood the policy must be in effect for 2 yrs before paying in full but you are at least due the premiums back. They continued to take premiums from my checking account two months after his death. It has been 5 months and they have not paid anything. They keep saying they need information that I know has been sent
I’m sorry for your loss JoAnn, and sorry for the hassle that you’re getting on this. I would contact the company and ask to speak with someone in management. If that doesn’t work, you might have to contact your state’s insurance commissioner. A brief letter, including copies of the suicide clause in the insurance policy and a death certificate should move this forward.
Many of these carriers are good carriers and rated highly, but do not base your decision on just ratings alone. For instance, the website doing the review of these companies has Genworth Financial listed as one of the best life insurance companies, do they know that Genworth stopped selling life insurance and annuities in 2016 and are only servicing old business? Be careful, work with someone local or at least someone that has knowledge on every company.
Initial quote (around $10/mo) was amazing, so I went on Haven’s site and filled out application (hated to do online, since so many companies are getting hacked). I’m a healthy 42 year old female. After filling out medical information, the quote was $27.50 per month for $100k minimal term life coverage and only temporary until a medical exam was performed. Maybe that’s a reasonable rate, but your article states no medical exam required. Also, I felt the initial quote was misleading.
Genworth is awful. They were just bought out by a Chinese holding company and have horrible insurance products and are poorly rated. This post is obviously just an advertisement for these companies. You can not be serious!
Hi Hunter – Did you have a bad experience with them? This list is actually based on third party ratings of the companies, so it’s more general in nature. That doesn’t prevent someone from having a bad experience.
This is an excellent post, Absolutely agree to these list of Insurance companies. Life insurance nowadays are very important to all of us, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow or the near future. thank you for sharing
I was just looking your post about good life insurance company. You have briefly discussed about your ideas. I got the best advice from your post. You say that right life insurance matters in life. Keep it up!
Good helpful information. Life insurance really is important, I wish I didn’t wait so long to get it! Anyways, great info.
I am going to purchase Long Term Care Insurance (not Hybrid policy). Do you have a similar list of companies for LTC? Appreciate your work, thank you!
@ Jean Insurance companies that offer long term care insurance are changing frequently. Many top carriers that used to offer LTC policies are now out of the market. One company that still offers LTC insurance is Genworth. I’m not saying they are the best company but they have been offering the product for quite some time.
Feel free to contact our office if you would like a quote from them and other insurance companies to find you the best rate.
I am sure you have made a decision by this time on what LTC carrier to go with, but if not can give you some advice. We work with all of the major LTC carriers and the only two that I trust are Mutual of Omaha and Thrivent. The other carriers have taken huge rate increases. Rate increases are going to happen, it’s the nature of the game, but you need to look at the rate increase history and if you look at MOO you will see the largest ever taken with them is 28% (in some instances this is 100% less than others). If you look at Thrivent financial, you will see that they had a 59% rate increase in 2007 but they spread it out over 5 years and have not taken any since (pretty good when Genworth has policies that have been on the books for only 6 years and have taken 2 rate increases, one being 48%). Thrivent also has a 5 year rate lock guarantee, no other traditional carrier offers this. You can purchase Thrivent through non Thrivent agents, you just need find out where they are, typically Midwest and me specially, Sioux Falls, SD area. If you have any questions I would gladly help, I help protect people’s assets ever day with LTC and work with both traditional and hybrid products.
When it comes to LTC standalone policies, I wouldn’t trust any company except Northwestern Mutual. Their underwriting guidelines are the most strict. This, in turn, means that they are careful with who they insure so that when the time comes to pay the claims, they are able to do so. NM’s dividend is the highest payout in the industry due to their financial strength. Be careful when choosing an insurance carrier (for life, disability, long term care, etc), because the stronger the company, the better suited they are to pay a claim.
NewYork life shares the same amount of financial strength does Northwestern Mutual but, New York life has been around for a hundred and seventy two years and paying dividends for the last hundred sixty four years straight. Track record on that stands alone for itself. Northwestern Mutual hasn’t been around that long and hasn’t been paying dividends for that long. Also, you’ve paid the largest dividend in history but the dividend interest rate payout is different for every company so comparing that to what you just said is inaccurate. With our long-term care we have only increased our prices once in 2008. We have the most competitive long-term care plans in the market we even have a plan where you could pay in a lump sum or 10 years or 20 years and if you still don’t like the product will give you your money back.
Why would you want to go with Genworth when they just sold their business to China
Great list of insurance Insurance Companies. Thanks for sharing valuable information.
I was just looking for listings of the best life insurance companies in America. Your list ranking the top 10, was the most comprehensive. Super list of companies and helpful information too. I was not even aware that Haven was part of Mass Mutual. Thanks!
FYI, I am in the process of filing complaints against Banner Life with both my state’s and their state’s insurance regulators.
On two universal life policies (same product) taken out on the same person for the same amount at the same time they charged me over 30% more than my sibling (both policies had premiums fixed for the first ten years).
So at the end of ten years my sibling was able to surrender the policy and receive back roughly $75,000, but at that same time there was no cash value in the policy I held.
The insurance agent who sold those policies flat out told us they would never do business with Banner again.
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