The best insurance companies are rated by financial strength, policy offerings, pricing, and customer service.
The best insurance companies are rated by financial strength, policy offerings, pricing, and customer service.
![]() |
| 11 Best Life Insurance Companies |
Financial strength is the ability of an insurance company to pay claims on your policies promptly. If a company gets into trouble financially, it might be unable to make good on the promises you've made when purchasing life insurance.
That's why it's essential to choose an independent agency that rates the financial strength of all carriers - and not just one specific carrier - to ensure that you're getting sound advice from someone who's thoroughly vetted all options for you.
Best Life Insurance Companies
Banner Life
Banner Life, founded in 1949, has a financial strength rating of A+ from AM Best. It also has AAA ratings from S&P, Aa1 ratings from Moody's, and an A+ rating from Fitch.
American General Life Insurance Company (AIG)
AIG is a global insurance company with a large financial network. It has the most assets of any life insurer in the world and has been around since 1864. That's a lot of experience!
AIG also has a good reputation for customer service and has many different policy offerings to choose from. Although not necessarily the cheapest life insurance on this list, AIG is still an excellent choice if you want to make sure your family will be taken care of should something happen to you.
State Farm
State Farm has been in business since 1922 and is now the largest provider of auto insurance in the United States. It's headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, where it also offers home and life insurance products. Customer service is available 24/7 - you can contact them by phone or email to get a quote or ask questions about your policy.
State Farm offers standard policies that cover auto accidents as well as more specific plans designed for people who drive sports cars or high-performance vehicles (known as preferred programs). In addition to their standard offerings, they also offer additional coverage options like roadside assistance services and rental car reimbursement if your car breaks down unexpectedly.
When choosing an insurance company you're looking for one that will give you quality customer service when it comes time to file a claim on your policy - and because State Farm has been around since 1922 it should come as no surprise that its financial strength rating from A++ (Superior) with AM Best ensures customers receive fair treatment when filing claims on their policies.
Prudential
Prudential is the largest life insurance company in the U.S., with over $1 trillion in assets. It has a history of more than 150 years, and it offers affordable term and permanent coverage through its network of more than 10,000 financial professionals.
The company provides a wide range of solutions for individuals who need life insurance to help manage their wealth, including term life insurance products such as Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance and Whole Life Insurance; or Permanent Insurance products such as Variable Annuities and Traditional Whole Life Plans.
New York Life
New York Life is one of the oldest life insurance companies in America, dating back to 1845.
The company has a strong financial standing and an A++ rating from A.M. Best, meaning it's extremely unlikely that New York Life will go bankrupt when you need your policy to payout.
New York Life offers policies ranging from $50,000 to $1 million, with coverage options including whole life and universal life insurance. These types of policies feature low premiums but require you to pay higher annual fees and may not offer guaranteed cash values like term insurance does.* For people who are looking for low-cost coverage with a low risk of loss, term insurance can be a great option.* If you're interested in learning more about alternatives to New York Life or other companies on this list as well as what types of policies they offer before making any decisions about which one might be best for your situation please feel free to contact us today!
Pacific Life
Founded in 1868, Pacific Life is a top-rated life insurance company based in Newport Beach, CA. The company has been rated A+ Superior by AM Best and has an A1 rating from Moody’s. Pacific Life also received the Best rating from Weiss Research, which only recognized 20 life insurance companies as “best” for 2018.
Protective Life Insurance Company
Protective Life Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Protective Life Insurance Co., which was founded in 1906 by Arthur E. Brantley and Charles Dickson. The company provides life insurance, retirement income annuities, and long-term care insurance products to individuals and businesses. Its headquarters are located in Birmingham, Alabama.
The company's financial strength rating from A.M Best is A++ (Superior). It has received an “A” rating from AM Best for its long-term ratings with a stable outlook since 1997; these ratings indicate that the company's ability to meet its contractual obligations on time is likely and it has adequate capitalization to do so.
SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc.
SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc. is an American life insurance company that specializes in term life insurance products. It is the sixth-largest life insurer in the United States, with over 2 million policies issued and $43 billion in assets as of August 2016. The company was founded as Social Benefit Life Insurance Company (SBLI) in 1971 by Chase Manhattan Bank and has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 1988 under its current name.
SBLI's financial strength ratings are A (Excellent), Fitch Ratings; A+ (Superior), Moody's Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings; A2 Selective (Strong), Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC--all given due to its focus on providing affordable yet high-quality coverage that includes optional riders for additional benefits such as supplemental death benefit riders and critical illness coverage options such as cancer rider supplements or chronic illness rider supplements that can increase your overall policy value by up to 50%.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (Thrivent)
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (Thrivent) was founded in 1902 in Minneapolis by a group of Lutherans looking to create an insurance company that would serve their specific needs. Since then, it has grown into one of the largest mutual life insurers in North America and is now serving over 700,000 individuals and families nationwide through its network of over 2,500 financial representatives.
The company offers several different products including whole life insurance (with guaranteed coverage options), universal life (which allows you to control your premiums as well as your death benefit), term life policies, and annuities. In addition to these products they also have investment services available through TIAA-CREF which include mutual funds, self-directed brokerage accounts, private client services, and other related options depending on what suits your needs best.
Thrivent Financial has received high ratings from several sources including A+ with A.M Best Company Rating Services since 2001; 4 out 5 stars from Jd Power & Associates' 2009 Consumer Satisfaction Study; has won accolades from Money Magazine's "Best Life Insurance Companies To Work For" award for 9 consecutive years beginning in 2006 (the only company ever to achieve this feat).
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company is the largest direct writer of life insurance in the United States. It was founded in 1857 and has been continuously operated since then. They are also an A++ rated company by AM Best, which means that they have consistently demonstrated sound financial performance as well as strong management practices over a long period.
Northwestern offers several types of life insurance: Whole Life, Term Life, Universal Life, Variable Life, and Survivorship Life (also known as Family Income Benefit). These policies can be used for estate planning purposes or to replace income when an individual dies so their family can maintain their current lifestyle.
Transamerica
Transamerica can be a good choice if you want access to a high-quality insurance company but don't want to pay the higher premiums that come with it. Transamerica Financial is an affiliate of Allstate, so you know the company has financial strength and stability.
- A.M. Best rates Transamerica's financial strength as "excellent."
