Best Whole Life Insurance Companies in October 2023

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

MoneyGeek Score: 87.4
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 772.6
AM Best Rating: A++
NAIC Complaint Index: 0.05

MoneyGeek's Take: Northwestern Mutual tops our list of best whole life insurance companies for its product flexibility and customization options, high third-party customer satisfaction scores, superior financial strength and industry longevity.

Northwestern Mutual is the largest writer of individual life insurance policies in the U.S., with a 9.5% market share, according to the Insurance Information Institute. It offers two whole life insurance policies for individuals up to 85 years old. Minimum coverage starts at $25,000 with no cap, as long as you can prove a financial need for higher death benefits. The company’s CompLife whole life insurance plan allows you to choose how long you’ll be paying for whole life insurance. You can opt to pay for a period of anywhere from 10 to 30 years or until you reach age 65, 90 or until death. Keep in mind that the shorter the payment schedule, the higher your premiums.

Northwestern Mutual is one of the few companies to offer a hybrid solution. Its Whole Life Plus policy combines term and whole life insurance in one policy. You can choose how much temporary and permanent coverage you need, with further customization provided through optional riders like accelerated care benefit to cover long-term care or waiver of premium, which pays your premiums if you become disabled. The company also provides living benefits, which means you can use some of the death benefits while still alive if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness.

As a mutual company, Northwestern Mutual pays some of the highest annual dividends to policyholders in the industry (most policies will receive a 5% dividend in 2023).

Policy Types Offered:

• CompLife
• Whole life plus

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

MoneyGeek Score: 84.5
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 758.1
AM Best Rating: A++
NAIC Complaint Index: 0.07

MoneyGeek's Take: Even during the pandemic, MassMutual managed to pay out a 6% dividend, something they’ve done annually for eligible policyholders since 1869. The company’s consistency in paying dividends is why it topped our list for the best whole life insurance policy for high guaranteed returns and dividends.

Mass Mutual is one of the best whole life insurance providers for seniors and other age groups. Its whole life policies come with a guaranteed minimum of 4% cash value growth. Furthermore, although the company doesn’t ensure annual dividends, it has been paying them yearly since 1869. In 2022, policyholders got a 6% annual dividend, amounting to an estimated $1.85 billion in dividend payouts.

MassMutual requires a minimum whole life insurance death benefit of $25,000. You can choose from various payment lengths, including 10, 12, 15 and 20-year terms, or payments until you reach the age of 65 or 100.

The company also has a Legacy High Early Cash Value whole life policy — usually called keyman life insurance — geared toward businesses providing coverage for key employees. These policies are paid to age 85.

You can choose from a wide range of riders to customize your whole life insurance, including waiver of premium, long-term care, renewable term and accelerated death benefit. With the guaranteed insurability rider, you can buy more whole life insurance at certain times in the future without having to answer health questions or complete a medical exam.

If you want the ability to buy term life insurance when needed, the renewable term rider allows you to turn a whole life policy into a hybrid policy. It also offers you the option to convert the term coverage to permanent or drop it when it’s no longer needed.

Policy Types Offered:

• Legacy high early cash value
• Legacy 10
• Legacy 12
• Legacy 15
• Legacy 20
• Legacy 65
• Legacy 100

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

MoneyGeek Score: 87.5
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 771.5
AM Best Rating: A++
NAIC Complaint Index: 0.16

MoneyGeek's Take: MoneyGeek considers New York Life one of the best whole life insurance companies if customization and riders are what you’re after. It also happens to be one of the oldest and most well-respected providers in the industry.

New York Life is one of the most recognized names in the life insurance industry. It offers a standard whole life insurance policy with a minimum death benefit of $25,000. This policy includes guaranteed cash value, death benefit and premiums. If you want to customize your policy, you get all that and more with custom whole life insurance.

If you’re looking for the best life insurance policy for children, its whole life policies are great. The custom whole life policy begins with a $50,000 death benefit and no cap, as long as you can prove your financial need. New York Life is also a mutual company and has paid dividends annually since 1854.

With New York Life, you can add the following free riders: insurance exchange to transfer your policy to another person (there is a transfer fee), living benefit to access a portion of the death benefit if diagnosed with a terminal illness and paid-up insurance purchase for your spouse. The last of these three allows the living widow or widower to use the death benefit to buy a fully paid life insurance policy for them after their spouse passes.

New York Life also has the following paid riders that you can add to your life insurance premium:

• Accidental death
• Annual convertible term
• Children’s term
• Children’s protection benefit (covered until age 25)
• Chronic care
• Disability premium waiver
• Dividend option term
• Level premium convertible term (a convertible 5-year term)
• Paid-up additions option
• Payer protection benefit (for when the payer and insured are not the same)
• Policy purchase option (guaranteed insurability to buy more life insurance in the future)

Policy Types Offered:

• Custom whole life
• Whole life

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

MoneyGeek Score: 81.6
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 735.8
AM Best Rating: A++
NAIC Complaint Index: 0.73

MoneyGeek's Take: We chose Guardian Life as our top pick for best product options and flexibility because of its diverse whole life insurance policy lineup.

With Guardian Life, you get varied whole life insurance options and flexibility, especially if you’re interested in long-term care coverage. Guardian’s standard whole life insurance policy allows you to choose payment terms ranging from 10 to 20 years or terms that are paid up at certain ages, like 65, 95 or 99 years old.

The death benefit starts at $25,000 for individuals up to 80 years old, with no maximum coverage cap. Like other mutual companies, Guardian Life has paid out dividends annually since the 1800s, though they aren’t guaranteed.

Guardian's joint long-term care rider and survivorship whole life policy provide a long-term care solution with life insurance for one or both spouses in one product. You have the option of accelerating up to half of the death benefit’s face amount for long-term care. If you do that, you can use the monthly benefit payments for care, and Guardian will credit premiums as paid, so the policy stays in force.

All long-term care payments will reduce the death benefit, but not deplete it. The remaining death benefit can be paid to your beneficiary when the second-to-die spouse passes. This rider can be added as early as age 18 and up to age 70, but you must be in good health to be eligible.

Policy Types Offered:

• Joint Long-Term Care Rider and Survivorship Whole Life
• Whole life

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

MoneyGeek Score: 97.4
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 820.5
AM Best Rating: A++
NAIC Complaint Index: 0.19

MoneyGeek's Take: State Farm has 19,000 agents across the country, making it easy to purchase through an agent and get a personalized experience.

State Farm is another mutual life insurance company that offers dividends on its whole life insurance policies. Though product availability varies by state, State Farm has whole life insurance options. It also has local agents to help you find what you need to protect your family. State Farm offers a single premium whole life insurance policy, limited payment options for 10, 15, or 20 years, and a standard to-age-100 whole life policy. Starting at age 50, seniors can purchase final expense whole life insurance with up to $10,000 in coverage.

When you speak to an agent, ask about State Farm’s rider options if you want to customize your life insurance policy. Several options are available, including the children’s and spouse term rider, waiver of premium for disability, guaranteed insurability, payor insurance benefit and level term to age 95, which offers a hybrid solution of term and whole life in one policy.

The minimum death benefit for State Farm's whole life policy is $10,000. If their policy death benefit is less than $1 million, healthy individuals under 50 may qualify for coverage without a medical exam.

Policy Types Offered:

• Final expense
• Limited pay whole life
• Single premium whole life
• Whole life

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

MoneyGeek Score: 90.8
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 783.4
AM Best Rating: A+
NAIC Complaint Index: 1.20

MoneyGeek's Take: Mutual of Omaha is our pick for best guaranteed acceptance whole life and best whole life for seniors. With no medical exam or health questions, coverage is guaranteed, and tobacco use doesn’t increase premiums.

The older you get without buying life insurance, the greater your chances of no longer being eligible for coverage. For seniors with health concerns, Mutual of Omaha offers up to $25,000 in guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance. If you are between 45-85 or 50-75 in New York, you cannot be turned down for coverage.

Your premiums are only determined by your age at the time of issue, gender and coverage amount. While this is more expensive than medically underwritten whole life insurance, guaranteed issue whole life allows you to get final expense coverage without health being a factor.

If you don’t have as many health concerns but still prefer not to undergo a medical exam, Mutual of Omaha also has simplified issue whole life coverage. This policy makes you answer a few simple health questions but doesn’t require a medical exam and doesn’t take tobacco use into consideration. It offers coverage of up to $20,000 ($40,000 in Washington) and provides a graded death benefit. The latter only provides returned premiums plus 10% if you die from a non-accidental death within the first two years. If you want a level death benefit immediately, an accelerated death benefit rider can give you up to $40,000 in coverage for being confined to a nursing home or diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Policy Types Offered:

• Level benefit plan whole life insurance
• Graded benefit plan whole life insurance
• Guaranteed whole life insurance