When shopping for life insurance, there are several aspects to consider. We've done the homework to ensure that you only get the finest.
Choosing the correct life insurance coverage is an important element of financial planning, but it may be tough to grasp the various regulations and restrictions that insurance companies throw at you.
To make things easier, we've taken a close look at the top 30 life insurance companies and highlighted the ones we believe provide the greatest value in certain scenarios.
The 2021 Best Life Insurance Companies
Because life insurance generally lasts decades, it is critical to select an insurer that provides stability and good quality. The following life insurance providers are our top picks in a variety of categories.
Best Term Life Insurance Providers
We have ranked the top term life insurance companies for 2021 in the table below. We recommend reviewing the entire list of rankings because the "best" life insurance provider for you may change.
Pricing, for example, maybe the most essential aspect of your financial decision-making and may modify your personal top life insurance company rankings. Fortunately, term life insurance is the most basic and generally the least expensive type of life insurance available.
What is the procedure for purchasing term life insurance? Term insurance will have a set term duration after which it will expire and cease to exist. If you died during the term, your specified dependents would get the full amount of the death benefit.
Rank |
Company |
ValuePenguin Life Insurance Score |
A.M. Best rating |
NAIC complaint index |
Term life insurance quote |
1 | Massachusetts Mutual | 139 | A++ | 0.08 | $124 |
2 | Lincoln Financial | 133 | A+ | 0.27 | $126 |
3 | John Hancock | 131 | A+ | 0.26 | $115 |
4 | New York Life | 128 | A++ | 0.4 | $137 |
5 | Protective Life | 127 | A+ | 0.85 | $110 |
6 | Northwestern Mutual | 126 | A++ | 0.04 | $165 |
7 | Principal Life | 125 | A+ | 0.32 | $142 |
8 | Brighthouse Financial | 125 | A | 0.63 | $118 |
9 | Guardian Life | 123 | A++ | 0.11 | $162 |
10 | Minnesota Life | 122 | A+ | 0.29 | $147 |
Term life insurance prices are based on a 35-year-old applicant in good health. The sample insurance have a period of 20 years and a face value of $100,000.
Best Online Life Insurance Providers
Haven Life Insurance offers the most competitive term life insurance rates for a wide range of client profiles and allows you to complete the whole quotation and application process online.
You may even pay for your coverage using a credit card, which is unusual in the life insurance industry. Furthermore, Haven Life provides among of the quickest approvals for bought policy. Although some are completely underwritten with a medical exam, many clients will receive a decision the same day.
Ladder Life Insurance is a company that focuses on making the process of acquiring insurance as simple as possible while also addressing people's shifting financial conditions. Because the amount of life insurance you require fluctuates over time, Ladder Life makes it simple to raise or lower your policy limits.
This means you don't have to pay for unneeded coverage today if your financial position is likely to change later, such as when you have children or purchase a home.
Though Ladder Life's prices aren't the lowest, the firm is highly competitive, with premiums that are frequently below-average. Its term life insurance is available for terms ranging from 10 to 30 years, and Ladder allows you to purchase up to $8 million in coverage. This is the largest coverage limit we found for an entirely online insurer.
Haven Life sells term plans with terms ranging from 10 to 30 years, and the firm provides up to $2 million in coverage. Though Haven Life's rider set is rather restricted, it has all of the normal features you'd expect from an insurer, such as an expedited death benefit rider and a waiver of premium rider.
Ladder Life Insurance is a company that focuses on making the process of acquiring insurance as simple as possible while also addressing people's shifting financial conditions. Because the amount of life insurance you require fluctuates over time, Ladder Life makes it simple to raise or lower your policy limits.
This means you don't have to pay for unneeded coverage today if your financial position is likely to change later, such as when you have children or purchase a home.
Though Ladder Life's prices aren't the lowest, the firm is highly competitive, with premiums that are frequently below-average. Its term life insurance is available for terms ranging from 10 to 30 years, and Ladder allows you to purchase up to $8 million in coverage. This is the largest coverage limit we found for an entirely online insurer.
Best Companies For Entire Life Insurance
Whole life insurance is the most common type of everlasting coverage since it provides a death benefit as well as a cash value that rises steadily over time.
If you need to cover a cost, such as buying a car or paying off medical bills, you can borrow against the cash value. It can also be returned to you if you decide you no longer require insurance. We researched insurers to locate the largest firms with the best possible financial strength ratings since whole life insurance must offer coverage for decades./h5>
Overall, The Best Whole Life Insurance
North-western Mutual Life Insurance Business offers some of the greatest customer evaluations, and as a mutual insurance company, it has continuously paid dividends to whole life insurance customers for decades. When the firm declares yearly dividends, you have the option of receiving the amount in cash, using it to pay premiums, or purchasing more coverage.
North-western Mutual's whole life insurance payments are flexible, as you can pay for coverage until the age of 65, until the age of 90, or for a specific length of time (such as 20 years). Paying over a certain period allows you to put more money in the cash value element of the policy early on, resulting in higher returns over the life of the policy.
Furthermore, North-western Mutual provides a one-of-a-kind rider known as an expedited care benefit. Unlike other insurers, northwestern Mutual allows you to receive a portion of your death benefit early if you are diagnosed with a terminal disease.
North-western Mutual's life insurance policies include various limitations. They do not have minor death benefits (the minimum is $25,000), and the firm does not sell insurance with restricted underwriting. If you have a pre-existing medical condition or specific health issues, for example, you must apply with a different insurer.
Policy Alternatives For Best Whole Life Insurance
New York Life Insurance Co. is also a mutual insurance business with A.M. Best's highest possible financial strength rating, and dividends can be used to pay premiums or enhance coverage. New York Life also provides a broader range of whole life insurance policy designs.
For example, if you desire the advantages of paying whole life insurance premiums over a shorter period of time but can only afford a certain dollar amount each year, New York Life allows you to determine exactly how long you pay premiums.
Couples can also choose a joint second-to-die whole life insurance policy, which is generally used to leave an inheritance or to assist dependents in covering estate taxes. While New York Life does not provide first-to-die whole life insurance, it does offer the opportunity to acquire a spouse's paid-up policy (SPPO). This is a one-of-a-kind rider that permits your spouse to acquire single-premium whole life insurance after your death without proving insurability.
While a portion of your policy's death benefit would be used to pay for the SPPO, this might be a beneficial advantage because it can give coverage to your spouse even if they are otherwise uninsurable.
Best Whole Life Insurance With A Guaranteed Pay out
Mutual of Omaha is a life insurance business that provides guaranteed whole life insurance coverage. These policies are identical to regular whole life insurance plans, except they do not need you to complete a medical exam. However, the plans' death pay-outs will be substantially lower - Mutual of Omaha provides coverage amounts of less than $25,000. As a result, guaranteed whole life is frequently employed as a last expenditure coverage for the elderly.
Mutual of Omaha provides some of the best-guaranteed life insurance quotes available in the business when compared to other companies. This, together with an above-average complaint percentage and financial strength rating, makes the life insurance company an excellent choice for any last cost insurance requirements.
Ratings For Life Insurance Companies
State Farm is the top-rated life insurance provider, based on our editors' high ratings and a low amount of complaints in comparison to its competitors.
Many rating agencies assign grades to life insurance businesses based on a variety of characteristics, including financial strength and client feedback. These indicators are incredibly beneficial in determining the best life insurance provider. The following are some of the most prominent third-party ratings used to compare life insurance providers:
J.D. Power: J.D. Power is a global marketing information services organization that ranks the customer satisfaction of some of the finest insurance companies. Its rankings assign a score between 0 and 1,000 to each insurer and include rating variables such as pricing, customer happiness, insurance offers, and engagement.
A.M. Best: A.M. Best is a credit rating firm that assigns a financial health score to life insurance businesses. A++ or "Superior" is the highest available grade, and any firm above A- is typically in a better financial state than the norm.
Better Business Bureau (BBB): The BBB rating system assigns a grade to a firm ranging from A+ to F based on the number of complaints filed and how responsive the company responds to concerns.
By analyzing all of these evaluations, you may obtain a good idea of how many life insurance firms operate. Then, based on policy costs, you may choose the best life insurance provider for you.
Ratings of the best life insurance providers
Insurer |
BBB |
A.M. Best |
J.D. Power(out of 1,000) |
State Farm | A+ | A++ | 838 |
Nationwide | A+ | A+ | 803 |
Northwestern Mutual | A+ | A++ | 790 |
Mutual of Omaha | A+ | A+ | 789 |
New York Life | A+ | A++ | 784 |
Pacific Life | A+ | A+ | 776 |
MetLife | B- | A+ | 773 |
Principal Financial | A+ | A+ | 772 |
MassMutual | A+ | A++ | 769 |
Prudential | A+ | A+ | 759 |
Lincoln Financial | A+ | A+ | 749 |
Guardian Life | A+ | A++ | 743 |
AIG | B | A | 742 |
John Hancock | A+ | A+ | 737 |
Transamerica | A- | A | 734 |
AXA Financial | A+ | A+ | 733 |
Primerica | A+ | A+ | 732 |
Midland National Life | A+ | A+ | 725 |
How To Select The Most Appropriate Life Insurance Company
When deciding between life insurance providers, evaluate customer ratings, company features, and rates - and seek several estimates from each provider - to choose the best provider for your requirements.
Policy Costs, Specifics, & Alternatives
Term life insurance is the most affordable type of life insurance. Other types of life insurance, such as whole and universal policies, are more expensive since they are meant to offer life insurance coverage for your whole life and typically contain extras such as cash value accounts. As a result, whether you buy term or permanent life insurance will be determined by how long you require coverage. Term insurance is often less expensive for shorter periods of coverage.
To get the best life insurance rates, you need first to figure out how much coverage you'll need and how long you'll need it for. Once this is chosen, you should contact a number of life insurance firms to obtain quotations for the coverage that you desire. You may compare insurers' prices and select a policy that matches your budget by obtaining multiple life insurance quotes.
Customer Feedback
Customer service and experience are crucial aspects of life insurance. Life insurance is a personal product, and obtaining pertinent information about your policy is critical to comprehending the plan's intricacies. Customer evaluations of the firm might provide information about the experience of interacting with the life insurer.
The most crucial customer experience will occur after your death when your loved ones attempt to collect the death benefit from your life insurance policy. Many insurance firms have conflicting feelings about it. For example, many people have had the unfortunate experience of the insurance company deferring payment of the death benefit until the last possible minute. As a result, if you want to locate the finest life insurance business, you need carefully read other customer evaluations.
Almost 10% Of People Have Never Examined Their Life Insurance Coverage.
It is critical to check your life insurance coverage at least once a year and to reassess your needs as you go through life. Because your financial responsibilities may change, the appropriate coverage for your requirements may fluctuate over time. For example, you may be moving employment and receiving a pay raise. It is a wise financial option to update your life insurance to reflect this increase in earning ability.
According to ValuePenguin's most recent poll, roughly 10% of respondents claim to have never examined their policy. Furthermore, the poll found that more than a quarter (29%) of total respondents were either unsure or did not understand life insurance at all.
Even more alarming, one-third (33%) of Generation Xers (aged 38 to 53) are unsure about the complexities of life insurance. Because Gen Xers are in the midst of their prime working years, it is critical that they obtain enough financial protection via life insurance.
How Do Individuals Go About Purchasing A Life Insurance Policy?
Method |
Gen Y |
Millennial |
Gen X |
Baby Boomer |
Silent Generation |
Through a recommended financial adviser | 32% | 23% | 23% | 18% | 18% |
Recommended by family or friend | 29% | 27% | 28% | 21% | 27% |
Conducted research online | 23% | 25% | 22% | 23% | 9% |
Cold-called by a life insurance agent | 3% | 6% | 4% | 8% | 0% |
Saw an advertisement for life insurance | 10% | 4% | 5% | 10% | 36% |
Added on coverage to employer-provided policy | 3% | 12% | 14% | 14% | 0% |
Other | 0% | 4% | 4% | 6% | 9% |
Questions And Answers
Is It Better To Purchase Term Or Full Life Insurance?
Term life insurance is ideal for those with young families since it is less expensive and only lasts for a specific amount of time. This makes it excellent for paying the costs of raising children and sending them to college, as well as ensuring that a spouse can pay off the mortgage on his or her own. If you want everlasting coverage for final expenditures such as funerals and estate taxes, whole life insurance is the way to go. Learn more here.
Who Is The Best Source Of Life Insurance For Me?
While we went to numerous firms who we believe do an excellent job of providing coverage in a variety of circumstances, the ultimate answer is dependent on your preferences. These include the amount of money you're willing to spend and the sort of coverage you choose. Customer service quality is also important, which is why we looked at all three aspects. Learn more here.
What If My Life Insurance Company Declares Bankruptcy?
Don't be alarmed: as a policyholder, you're protected by your state's Life and Health Guaranty Association, which comprises all regulated life insurance companies. If a firm declares bankruptcy, the Guaranty Association will arrange for it to be liquidated and its active life insurance policies to be transferred to another life insurance company. Learn more here.