8 Best Life Insurance Companies in February 2023
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The life insurance market in the U.S. is competitive, made up of a mix of longstanding insurers and newer “insurtechs” that sell policies online. To narrow down our list of the best life insurance companies, we looked at customer complaints data, consumer experience and financial strength. We also assessed the types of policies on offer, and the ways you can buy coverage.
Based on these factors, these are our top life insurance companies for 2023.
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Our picks for the best life insurance companies in February 2023
All of the life insurance companies listed below scored 5 out of 5 stars. There are hundreds of insurers competing for your business, often selling very similar products, so it’s smart to compare life insurance quotes from a few before making a decision.
Term, whole, universal and variable universal. | ||
Term. | ||
Term, whole and universal. | ||
Term, whole, universal and variable universal. | ||
Term, whole, universal and variable universal. | ||
Term, whole, universal, variable universal and indexed universal. | ||
Term, whole and universal. | ||
Term, whole and universal. |
How we ranked the top life insurers
NerdWallet’s life insurance ratings are based on consumer experience, complaint index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for individual life insurance, and weighted averages of financial strength ratings, which indicate a company’s ability to pay future claims. Within the consumer experience category, we consider ease of communication and website transparency, which looks at the depth of policy details available online. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale.
These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.
Best life insurance companies: Pros and cons
Learn more about our top life insurance companies in 2023 by reading the brief summaries below and checking out our comprehensive reviews.
Jump to:
MassMutual: Best overall
Haven Life: Best for online experience
Northwestern Mutual: Best for consumer experience
New York Life: Best for high coverage amounts
Pacific Life: Best range of permanent life insurance
State Farm: Best for customer satisfaction
MassMutual
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
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MassMutual
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
Company overview: Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., often shortened to MassMutual, is one of the largest life insurers in the country. Founded in 1851, it offers a wide range of products, from term life to variable universal life insurance — a type of permanent policy with flexible premiums and investment opportunities. MassMutual is a mutual company, which means it’s owned in part by its policyholders and pays out dividends to qualifying members. Its 2023 dividend payout is the highest yet at almost $1.9 billion.
» Read the full review: MassMutual life insurance
Haven Life
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
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Haven Life
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
Company overview: Haven Life offers term life insurance with accelerated underwriting, a process that uses algorithms and data to quickly assess your insurability. The entire application process is conducted online and the company says it can be completed in about 25 minutes. While Haven specializes in one type of life insurance, it offers choices for its customers. Depending on the policy you pick, you could buy $25,000 to $3 million in coverage, and choose a term lasting from five to 30 years. Haven Life’s policies are issued by MassMutual, which drew significantly fewer than expected customer complaints for a company of its size.
» Read the full review: Haven Life insurance
Guardian Life
Financial strength rating
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Guardian Life
Financial strength rating
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Company overview: Guardian was founded in 1860 and has paid dividends to its eligible policyholders since 1868. The company is set to pay out $1.26 billion in dividends in 2023, the largest sum in the company’s history. The insurer drew significantly fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for a company its size. Aside from life insurance, Guardian also sells a range of products including dental, vision and cancer insurance.
» Read the full review: Guardian life insurance
Northwestern Mutual
Financial strength rating
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Northwestern Mutual
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
Company overview: Founded in 1857, Northwestern Mutual is the largest seller of individual life insurance in the United States, according to the latest data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Universal life policyholders have flexible payment and coverage options, while term life customers have the opportunity to convert their policy to permanent coverage without taking a medical exam. The company is set to pay $6.8 billion in dividends to qualifying policyholders in 2023. Northwestern Mutual received significantly fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for a company of its size, making it a trustworthy choice for shoppers.
» Read the full review: Northwestern Mutual life insurance
New York Life
Financial strength rating
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New York Life
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
Company overview: New York Life is a mutual company, which means it’s owned by its policyholders. As such, you may be eligible to vote in board elections if you’ve held a permanent policy for more than a year and earn dividends — the insurer is set to pay out $2 billion in 2023. The company is one of the largest life insurance companies in the U.S. and drew fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for a company of its size. It ranked about average in J.D. Power’s 2022 customer satisfaction study for life insurance. One of its whole life policies includes a flexible payment option, allowing you to pay off your premiums early.
» Read the full review: New York Life insurance
Pacific Life
Financial strength rating
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Pacific Life
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
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Company overview: Pacific Life has been in business for more than 150 years. It has drawn significantly fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size over the past three years. Among Pacific Life’s range of policies is the company’s indexed universal life insurance. These policies typically grow investments based on stock market indexes like the S&P 500. They also have a guaranteed floor, which means your life insurance cash value won’t fall below a certain value if the stock market dives.
» Read the full review: Pacific Life insurance
State Farm
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State Farm
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Company overview: When you think of State Farm, you probably think of its auto insurance products. But it also offers a decent range of life insurance policies, including return-of-premium life insurance — if you outlive the term, you get a refund of the premiums you paid into the policy. State Farm also offers a single premium option for its whole life policy and a final expense policy that can help cover funeral costs.
State Farm ranked first out of 22 companies in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Life Insurance Study for customer satisfaction, and has consistently topped this list in recent years — pointing to its positive reputation among policyholders.
» Read the full review: State Farm life insurance
USAA
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
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USAA
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
Company overview: USAA was founded in 1922 to provide life insurance for veterans and active military members. It now offers coverage to civilians as well. Its policies can be used to supplement the government-provided Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, which is automatically issued to eligible military personnel. Policyholders ages 18 to 35 may have the option to increase their coverage amount if they get married, buy a house or have a baby.
» Read the full review: USAA life insurance
How to choose the best life insurance company
Follow these four steps to find the best life insurance company for your family.
1. Look at customer satisfaction scores
Other customers’ experiences can help you decide whether you want to do business with a company. You can get clues about an insurer’s reputation through complaints filed with state regulators, which are visible on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website. All of the companies listed above have had fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for insurers of their size, according to three years’ worth of data from the NAIC.
2. Consider financial strength
It’s especially important to look into life insurance companies’ financial strength because you’ll want a company that can pay claims many years down the road. NerdWallet’s insurance reviews use weighted averages of financial strength ratings. For additional information about life insurance companies, try a ratings agency like AM Best. We recommend looking at insurers with an AM Best rating of A- or better.
3. Evaluate the policy options
Term and permanent are the two main types of life insurance.
Term life insurance lasts a set number of years and is typically sufficient for most families.
Permanent life insurance lasts your entire life and often includes an investment component. Under the umbrella of permanent life insurance, there are several different types of policies, such as whole life insurance and universal life insurance.
4. Get prices from a handful of companies
The cost of coverage varies among companies, so it’s smart to compare life insurance quotes from multiple insurers.
Although many companies sell similar policies, some focus on certain products — such as whole life — or on particular customers, such as seniors who need life insurance. You can narrow down your options by focusing on the companies that specialize in the type of insurance you’re looking for.
Insurer complaints methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2019-2021. To assess how insurers compare to one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
