To help you find coverage that fits, we’ll show you our take on the best life insurance companies in the United States, then dig a little deeper into which companies excel in the kind of coverage you may be looking for.
You can read through our complete list of other great companies out there further down the page, but these 7 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.
At Good Financial Cents®, we pride ourselves in connecting people with the life insurance company that best meets their specific needs.
| Sneak Peak: Our Top 3 Life Insurance Companies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Haven Life | Quick Coverage | Get Quotes |
| MetLife | Variety of Policies | Get Quotes |
| AIG | Company Size | Get Quotes |
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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.
They’re also highly rated by the major credit rating agencies, who update their ratings regularly as any changes to a company’s financial outlook occur.
Top 7 Best Life Insurance Companies For 2019
Haven Life
Haven Life has upended the traditional process of acquiring term life insurance by getting rid of the medical exam for people who qualify.
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.
Even if you do need a medical exam, Haven Life’s process is quick and easy to navigate. Read our full Haven Life review.
- Our Rating
- Best ForQuick Coverage
MetLife
MetLife, another well-known provider in the United States and globally, offers 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, worthwhile for customers with health issues. Read our full MetLife review.
- Our Rating
- Best ForVariety of Policies
AIG
AIG is often considered the world’s largest insurance organization with more than 49,000 employees and clients in over 80 countries and jurisdictions.
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. Read our full AIG review.
- Our Rating
- Best ForCompany Size
Banner Life
Banner Life Insurance is a leader in life insurance product diversity and customer service. The company has been operating since 1949, and it currently holds about $685 billion in premiums.
Banner Life has both flexible and comprehensive coverage options, like special rates for younger or health conscious individuals.
In addition, people up to age 95 can apply for a Banner Life term policy, while most insurers cap applicants at age 65 or 75. Read our full Banner Life review.
- Our Rating
- Best ForRange of Coverage
Prudential
Prudential is another long-standing life insurance company which manages more than $1 trillion in assets.
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.
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. Read our full Prudential review.
- Our Rating
- Best ForChewing Tobacco Users
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. Read our full Mutual of Omaha review
- Our Rating
- Best ForClaims Paid
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.
New York Life offers term, whole life, universal life and variable life, and the company is a financial stalwart. Read our full New York Life Review.
- Our Rating
- Best ForBreadth of Coverage
This rounds out the summaries for our top companies. View the full list of 65+ carriers we’ve reviewed below.
Best Companies by Category
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 higher the risk, the higher your insurance premiums will be.
Applicants in certain categories, such as tobacco users, fare better with certain insurance companies when it comes to rate classifications. Here are a few of the most common.
Health Conscious: Health I.Q.
Health I.Q. has teamed with insurance carriers to offer rewarding underwriting for active people. Health I.Q. targets muscular people who have a low BMI, and people with low resting heart rates, even if they have a poor family history. We cover all the ins and outs in our full review of Health I.Q.
According to the statistics on their website, the standard insurance carrier puts 35 percent of applicants in the preferred plus category, but Health I.Q. puts double that amount.
Smokers: Banner Life AND Prudential (Pruco)
Banner Life tops our list for smokers, with Prudential following close behind. Banner Life 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 other companies.
Banner is also the parent company of its often better-known subsidiary, William Penn Life Insurance of New York, which has over $5.7 billion in assets and over $587 billion of life insurance in force.
Diabetics: American General (member of AIG)
American Generdal gets our vote as best option for people with diabetes. Additionally, American General offers an accelerated death benefit rider that enables you to receive some of your insurance proceeds while you are still alive if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Like many companies that offer more liberal underwriting guidelines to high-risk applicants, American General is tougher if your profile involves other risks, like occupations or hobbies.
Cancer Survivors: Prudential (Pruco)
Prudential not only tends to be more liberal in underwriting policies for cancer survivors but also for people with diabetes and DUI histories. 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 looking for the best life insurance premiums, Prudential is the place to start.
Five Year Term Policies: Minnesota Life
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, a five-year policy with Minnesota Life may provide the temporary coverage you need.
Overweight / Obese: Genworth
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 a 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.
No Medical Exam Required: American National (ANICO)
ANICO gets our vote as the best carrier for no medical exam policies. This includes the Legacy Whole Life Insurance Plan, a no exam guaranteed issue whole life policy 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. No exam policies are more expensive, but ANICO is your best bet.
How to Determine a Company’s Strength
All insurance companies must be graded by at least one independent life insurance ratings agency, which assesses the likelihood the insurance company will remain financially solvent and pay claims on policies.
Generally speaking, it’s best to stick with insurance companies that are rated with a grade of A or better. The rating agencies to check with are A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch Ratings.
| Company | A.M Best | Fitch | Moody’s | S&P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haven Life | A++ | AA+ | Aa2 | AA+ |
| Banner | A+ | AA- | n/a | AA- |
| AIG | A | A+ | A2 | A+ |
| Prudential | A+ | A- | A1 | AA- |
| MetLife | A+ | AA- | Aa3 | AA- |
| Mutual Of Omaha | A+ | n/a | A1 | AA- |
| New York Life | A++ | AAA | Aaa | AA+ |
Our Company Honorable Mentions
The companies below represent some of the strongest names in the industry. 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 about $100 billion of life insurance coverage in force with nearly 200,000 customers purchasing 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.
- Allied – As a subsidiary of Nationwide, Allied Insurance offers personal, business, and farm/ranch policies.
- 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.
- American National – Top provider of no medical exam policies.
- Americo – Well-known for burial and final expense policies, but also has competitive rates on other life insurance products.
- Ameritas – Popular company for disability insurance coverage.
- Amica – Based on 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 – BLIC was founded in 1976, and while it may not be one of the oldest insurance carriers, 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 since 1950 when four independent insurance agents formed it.
- Colonial Life – Based on its strong financial foundation, and timely payments of 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.
- Family Life – Family Life Insurance Company specializes in mortgage protection life insurance policies.
- 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 – Fidelity Life is known for offering affordable life insurance products to a growing middle-class customer.
- 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 expanded exponentially, also ranked as the second largest private passenger auto insurance company in the US.
- Gerber – Great at offering affordable guaranteed issue policies.
- Globe – Offers the best small, simplified issue policies.
- Guarantee Trust Life – Record gains in the year 2016, making the company’s overall financial condition the strongest that it has ever had in its 80+ year history.
- 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.
- Illinois Mutual – From the BBB, they have an A+ rating and have been BBB accredited since 1943.
- Jackson National – The firm primarily offers retirement annuities and investments.
- John Hancock – One of the better known and more solid companies in the United States.
- LeapLife – An aggregator of sorts, get a faster life insurance policy while sifting through the nation’s best providers.
- Liberty Mutual – Liberty Mutual is ranked as number 75 on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations.
- Lincoln Financial – Lincoln Financial Group is a Fortune 500 company that provides a very diverse array of financial services and solutions to its business and consumer clients.
- Lincoln General – Intends to provide superior handling of any and all claims that are filed, as well as to favorably impact the financial results for its shareholders.
- Mass Mutual – For over 160 years, Mass Mutual has had a single purpose: helping people to secure their future, and to protect the ones they love.
- Minnesota Life – Awesome at rating people who have recently stopped smoking.
- Monumental Life Insurance Company – In 2014, changed its name to Transamerica Premier Life Insurance Company.
- Mutual Trust – Over the past 110 years, the company has grown to offer 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.
- Ohio National Financial Services – Company is over 100 years old.
- Pacific – Pacific Life has been helping its clients grow and protect their wealth for more than 145 years.
- Petersen International Underwriters – A+ rating based on everything from the company’s honoring of commitments, customer service, transparency, and more.
- Phoenix – Phoenix Life Insurance Company has more than a century and a half of providing coverage to its customers.
- PolicyGenius – PolicyGenius lets you get dozens of quotes from different companies for all your insurance coverage needs, all in one place.
- Primerica – Primerica has been offering term life insurance that is affordable since 1977.
- Principal Financial Group – One of the few that will offer a no exam policy up to $1 million.
- 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.
- Select Quote Online – One of their online agents helps to pair you with the best policy for your needs.
- 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.
- The Standard – Headquartered in Oregon, and has over 6 million customers in every state.
- TIAA – TIAA is a Fortune 500 company, and it serves millions of clients.
- Transamerica – As one of the world’s leading insurance and financial services companies, Transamerica offers insurance and investments to more than 19 million customers worldwide.
- 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.
- Voya Financial – Formerly known as ING, Voya Financial has emerged as a leader in today’s financial and insurance services industry.
Nnamdi says
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?
Jeff Rose says
I really can’t Nnambi. Check with the issuer.
Marc says
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?
Jeff Rose says
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.
Tom S. says
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Jon says
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.
Jeff Rose says
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.
JoAnn Moorefield says
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
Jeff Rose says
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.
Tom Church says
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.
jeanne says
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.
Hunter McDaniel says
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!
Jeff Rose says
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.
Jim Morrison says
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
Sooner House Buyers says
Nice Sharing!
John Micheal says
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!
Duncan G. says
Good helpful information. Life insurance really is important, I wish I didn’t wait so long to get it! Anyways, great info.
Jean says
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!
Jeff Rose says
@ 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.
Tom Church says
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.
Jon says
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.
Ron Finch says
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
Amol says
Great list of insurance Insurance Companies. Thanks for sharing valuable information.
eric van haaften says
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!
Jeff Rose says
Thanks Eric!
angela says
Hi, thanks for this great article. I just recently obtained my LAH license in NYC and am looking to associate with a carrier that provides the best life insurance coverages, as well as voluntary supplemental benefits.
Do you think you can advise on this? I know there is the Aflac and Colonial Life, but how do their Supplemental benefit compare to other larger carriers?
Thanks
Bill in NC says
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.
Maybe they’re OK for term…