The Best Life Insurance Companies of February 2023

For many people, life insurance is a necessary part of their financial plan. It can help protect your family financially or pay off debt if you pass away unexpectedly. It can give you peace of mind, and it can also help you leave a financial legacy. 

However, life insurance can be complicated. There are several different types of insurance, and finding the right type for your needs is important. Term life insurance, where coverage expires after a certain number of years, is one popular type among people with young families looking to keep costs down. Meanwhile, permanent insurance, like whole and universal life insurance policies, keeps coverage in place no matter how long you live, and can even build cash value. 

To help you choose the best coverage for your situation and needs, CNBC Select compared dozens of life insurance companies and ranked them based on factors like customer satisfaction, financial stability, online usability, and whether or not an exam is required. (See our methodology for more information on how we chose the best life insurance companies.)

Northwestern Mutual has been in business for over 160 years and has become the largest issuer of life insurance policies in the U.S. according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). It stands out with a superior rating from AM Best, a measure of the company’s financial health and how likely it will be to meet its obligations and pay out claims. 

State Farm has the highest customer satisfaction ratings of any company on this list. It received an impressive score of 839 out of 1,000 in JD Power’s latest life insurance customer satisfaction ratings. For those wanting coverage without a medical exam, however, the limits are low, as State Farm only offers up to $50,000 worth of coverage for those up to age 50 or a 10-year term, whichever comes first. 

Mutual of Omaha’s relatively high age limits can help seniors overcome challenges in buying life insurance. Term life products are available up to age 80, while whole life products are available up to age 85. While Mutual of Omaha’s whole life policies are limited to $25,000 worth of coverage, they don’t require a medical exam. 

Guardian shines with a top-tier A++ rating from AM Best for financial strength. For those looking for term insurance, Guardian makes it easy to get an idea of how much coverage could cost for those interested in term life policies with a tool on their website. Guardian’s level term insurance offers the option of conversion to a whole life policy in the first five years for free if your needs change, a perk that generally costs extra as a rider on other policies we considered.

MassMutual is an ideal choice for those looking for whole life policies. It offers a wide variety of policies that can be catered to your needs. The insurer also shows strong records for dividends and estimates it will issue $1.9 billion in back to customers in 2023.

Pacific Life’s options stand out for its various universal, indexed universal and variable universal life insurance policies. Individualized plans can help with specific concerns, like supplementing retirement income. 

There’s no set amount of life insurance that everyone needs. Rather, it depends on your income amount, debt, and whether or not others depend on your income. A common rule of thumb is to have enough life insurance to cover 10 times your annual expenses.

To determine the best life insurance companies, CNBC Select collected data points on dozens of U.S. life insurance companies with a variety of policies. 

When selecting the best life insurance companies, we focused on insurance companies that write individual policies. From there, we considered ratings from JD Power’s life insurance customer satisfaction ratings, AM Best financial strength ratings (which measure a company’s ability to pay on debts), and market share data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. We also considered the types of life insurance products offered, the number of riders available, the availability of online quotes, and medical exam requirements. 

After considering the features listed above, we sorted recommendations by the best insurance companies for term life insurance, best for whole life insurance, best for universal life insurance, best for customer satisfaction, best life insurance for seniors, and the best life insurance company overall.

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