Penn Mutual Life Insurance Review 2025
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Penn Mutual
on Nerdwallet
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
on Nerdwallet
Penn Mutual
Financial strength rating
Online purchase
NAIC complaints
Policies offered
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About Penn Mutual life insurance
Penn Mutual earned 4.5 stars out of 5 for overall performance, thanks to its low volume of consumer complaints and strong financial standing. Founded in 1847, Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. sells policies through a national network of financial professionals. It has a solid lineup of term and permanent life insurance policies, plus riders. However, you can’t get a quote or apply for coverage online.
As a mutual life insurance company, Penn Mutual is owned by its policyholders. The company is set to pay $265 million in dividends to policyholders in 2025, the highest number in Penn Mutual’s history.
Offers term lengths up to 30 years.
Extensive universal life insurance lineup.
Low volume of complaints.
No online quotes.
Limited policy information on the site.
» MORE: Compare life insurance quotes
Penn Mutual life insurance policies
PennMutual sells term and permanent life insurance, and you’ll need to contact a local agent to apply.
Term life insurance. Depending on your age, you can choose a term life insurance policy lasting 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, with coverage starting at $250,000. Qualifying applicants may not need to take a medical exam. If you buy the Guaranteed Convertible Term or One-Year Term policies, you might have the option to convert to permanent coverage without going through the full life insurance application process again.
Whole life insurance. Penn Mutual offers three whole life insurance policy options, all of which build cash value and are eligible for annual dividends:
Protection Whole Life. This policy is open to individuals up to 85 years old, with coverage amounts starting at $50,000. It’s paid up at age 100.
Accumulation Whole Life. This policy also has a maximum age of 85 and minimum coverage of $50,000. One key difference is that you can choose to pay premiums over a variety of time periods, starting at just five years, allowing you to build cash value more quickly.
Survivorship Whole Life. Available to those ages 20 to 85, this policy covers two people — typically spouses. Coverage starts at $200,000.
Universal life insurance. Penn Mutual has seven universal life insurance policies to meet customer needs. These include indexed universal life insurance options, which tie your cash value growth to the performance of an index, such as the S&P 500. If you want to choose the investments to funnel your cash value into, the company’s variable universal life insurance policy might be a good fit.
Penn Mutual also made our lists for best term life insurance, best whole life insurance and best mutual life insurance companies for 2025.
Penn Mutual life insurance riders
Penn Mutual offers a wide range of life insurance riders. The options vary by policy, and include:
Accelerated death benefit. Lets you access up to 50% of your policy’s payout (up to $250,000) if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Accidental death benefit. Pays out an additional sum of at least $5,000 if you die in an accident.
Child term. Provides $5,000 to $25,000 of coverage for your children under your life insurance policy.
Chronic illness accelerated death benefit. Allows you to access a portion of the death benefit if you have a chronic illness and can’t carry out everyday activities.
Disability waiver of premium. Pauses your premiums if you become disabled and can’t work. This rider kicks in after a waiting period of six months.
Disability waiver of premium with automatic conversion. Keeps your policy active if you become totally disabled before age 60, and converts your coverage to a whole life policy if you’re disabled for three consecutive years.
Enhanced permanent paid-up additions. Allows you to make extra payments to increase the cash value and death benefit on a whole life policy.
Estate preservation term insurance. Available on joint life insurance policies, this rider helps to offset estate taxes if you and your spouse die before transferring the policy ownership to an irrevocable trust.
Flexible protection. Gives you a chance to buy more permanent life insurance at a lower cost.
Guaranteed purchase option. Tops up your coverage without taking another life insurance medical exam.
Overloan protection. Prevents your policy from lapsing if you withdraw too much money from your cash value account.
Policy split option. Lets you trade in your survivorship policy for two separate whole life policies if you get divorced or federal tax laws change.
Supplemental exchange Designed for business owners, this rider extends coverage to key employees.
Penn Mutual customer complaints and satisfaction
Over three years, Penn Mutual has drawn far fewer than the expected number of complaints to state regulators for a company of its size, according to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Penn Mutual ranked No. 8 out of 21 companies for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power's 2024 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study .
» MORE: Best life insurance companies
How Penn Mutual compares to other insurers
Penn Mutual | Lincoln Financial | Brighthouse Financial | |
|---|---|---|---|
Star rating | |||
Financial strength | Exceptional. | Strong. | Strong. |
NAIC complaints | Far fewer than expected. | Fewer than expected. | Close to the expected number. |
J.D. Power ranking | #8 out of 21. | #10 out of 21. | N/A. |
Policy types offered | Term & permanent. | Term & permanent. | Term & permanent. |
Read full review |
More about Penn Mutual life insurance
You can manage your policy, pay premiums and update your life insurance beneficiaries by logging into the online portal. Penn Mutual doesn’t have an app for its policyholders. Beneficiaries can fill out the claims form online or call 800-523-0650.
Penn Mutual also sells fixed, variable and immediate annuities.
How to contact Penn Mutual
Penn Mutual can be reached by:
Phone: Call 800-523-0650 on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. New York residents should call 855-446-7393.
Email: No customer service email available.
Live chat: Not available.
Life insurance buying guide
Before you start comparing companies, choose the type of life insurance you want, such as term or whole life. Decide which life insurance riders, if any, you want the policy to include. Calculate how much life insurance you need and how long you want the coverage to last. Check that the insurers you’re considering offer the coverage you’re looking for.
When comparing rates, be sure the quotes are for the same amount of coverage over the same period of time. It’s also important to make sure the policy’s medical requirements match your needs. For example, if you want to skip the life insurance medical exam but don’t mind answering health questions, confirm that the application process for each policy you're comparing aligns with that.
Price may not be the biggest driver behind your decision to buy. Look at the number of consumer complaints each company receives, as high numbers can be a red flag about the quality of service.
For more guidance, see our life insurance buying guide.
Methodology
Life insurance ratings methodology
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.
Insurer complaints methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2021-2023. To assess how insurers compare with 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.
