| Life Insurance Company | 2023 Direct Premiums Written | 2023 Market Share % | AM Best FSR | Dividends Paid to Policyholders 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Life Group | $13,287,777,787 | 6.86% | A++ | $2,000,000 |
| Northwestern Mutual Group | $13,061,706,856 | 6.74% | A++ | $6,750,000 |
| Metropolitan Group | $12,284,718,024 | 6.34% | A+ | $0 |
| Prudential of America Group | $10,923,713,601 | 5.64% | A+ | $0 |
| Mass Mutual Life Insurance Group | $9,204,566,734 | 4.75% | A++ | $2,150,000 |
| Lincoln National Group | $8,322,502,167 | 4.30% | A | $0 |
| Nationwide Corporate Group | $5,802,222,162 | 3.00% | A | $0 |
| State Farm Group | $5,754,456,473 | 2.97% | A++ | $725,000 |
| Aegon US Holding Group | $5,103,997,736 | 2.64% | A | $0 |
| Minnesota Mutual Group | $4,954,030,541 | 2.56% | A+ | NA |
1. New York Life Group
- 2023 direct premiums written: $13,287,777,787
- 2023 market share: 6.86%
- 2023 policy owner dividends paid: $2,000,000,000
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 794/1000
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A++
Founded in 1845 in New York City, The New York Life Insurance Company is a mutual company with a long-standing history. It offers a variety of life insurance products along with disability insurance, long-term care, annuities, and financial planning.
New York Life landed the spot as the largest life insurance company of 2023 with more than $13.2 billion in direct-written premiums and a 6.86% market share. It also paid $2 billion in dividends to policyholders in 2023.
2. Northwestern Mutual Group
- 2023 direct premiums written: $13,061,706,856
- 2023 market share: 6.74%
- 2023 policy owner dividends paid: $6,750,000,000
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 790/1000
- AM Best financial strength ratings: A++
With roots dating back to the 1850s, Northwestern Mutual is a long-standing mutual company that serves more than five million clients. It offers life insurance along with financial planning services, disability insurance, long-term care, and annuities.
On the life insurance front, Northwestern Mutual is the second largest insurer with just over $13 billion in 2023 direct written premiums and a 6.74% market share. The insurer also paid out an impressive $6.75 billion in dividends to its policyholders, more than triple the dividends paid by any other competitor.
3. Metropolitan Group
- 2023 direct premiums written: $12,284,718,024
- 2023 market share: 6.34%
- 2023 policy owner dividends paid: $0
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 802/1000
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A+
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, also known as MetLife, opened for business in 1868. It’s now a publicly traded company with more than 49,000 employees in more than 40 countries.
However, MetLife no longer sells life insurance, long-term care insurance, annuities, or disability insurance to individuals in the U.S. Those offerings have been split off and are now offered through Brighthouse Financial, which has become an independent company.
MetLife does still offer group life insurance along with coverage for vision, dental, pets, accidents, disability, hospital indemnity, critical illness, and cancer.
4. Prudential of America Group
- 2023 direct premiums written: $10,923,713,601
- 2023 market share: 5.64%
- 2023 policy owner dividends paid: $0
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 779/1000
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A+
The Prudential Insurance Company of America was founded in 1875. Today it’s a publicly traded company that serves more than 50 million customers in more than 50 countries. In the U.S., Prudential offers individual life insurance policies including term life, whole life, universal life, and more. Additionally, it provides group life insurance, individual health insurance, retirement solutions, and investment management services. After writing more than $10.9 billion in direct premiums in 2023, Prudential earned the spot as the fourth-largest life insurer in the U.S.
5. Mass Mutual Life Insurance Group
- 2023 direct premiums written: $9,204,566,734
- 2023 market share: 4.75%
- 2023 policy owner dividends paid: $2,150,000,000
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 809/1000
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A++
Mass Mutual Life Insurance Group was founded in 1851 and remains a mutual insurance company more than 170 years later. It offers a variety of life insurance policies that include term, whole, universal, and variable options. Additionally, you’ll find annuities, disability income insurance, long-term care insurance, brokerage products, and financial planning services. In 2023, it directly wrote more than $9.2 billion in life insurance premiums and paid more than $2.15 billion in dividends to policyholders.
6. Lincoln National Group
- 2023 direct premiums written: $8,322,502,167
- 2023 market share: 4.30%
- 2023 policy owner dividends paid: $0
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 788/1000
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A
Lincoln National Group (LNC), also known as Lincoln Financial Group, is a U.S. financial services company founded in 1905 that has been publicly traded since 1969. Lincoln offers life insurance, annuities, a lineup of employee benefits, and retirement planning services. In 2023, it was the sixth largest life insurer with more than $8.3 billion in direct premiums written and a 4.30% market share.
7. Nationwide Corporate Group
- 2023 direct premiums written: $5,802,222,162
- 2023 market share: 3.00%
- 2023 policy owner dividends paid: $0
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 840/1000
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A
Nationwide is an insurance company that dates back to 1926 and has been publicly traded since 1997. It offers a wide range of insurance and financial products for individuals including life, vehicle, and property insurance—just to name a few. Nationwide also provides businesses with employee benefits, vehicle insurance, liability insurance, workers’ compensation, and more. The insurer ranked as the seventh largest life insurer with $5.8 billion in 2023 direct written premiums and a 3.00% market share.
8. State Farm Group
- 2023 direct premiums written: $5,754,456,473
- 2023 market share: 2.97%
- 2023 policy owner dividends paid: $725,000,000
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 843/1000
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A++
State Farm was founded in the 1920s as an auto insurance company. By 1929, it had added life insurance coverage. Today, the company offers term, whole, and universal life insurance along with disability, liability, home, property, and business coverage products. State Farm is currently the eighth largest life insurer with more than $5.7 billion in direct premiums written in 2023 and a 2.97% market share. It also paid out $725 million in dividends to life insurance policyholders last year.
9. Aegon U.S. Holding Group/Transamerica
- 2023 direct premiums written: $5,103,997,736
- 2023 market share: 2.64%
- 2023 policy owner dividends paid: $0
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 757/1000
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A
Aegon is an international financial holdings group that has fully-owned subsidiaries in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1844 as a burial fund but has grown to serve more than 29.5 million clients worldwide. In the U.S., Aegeon operates primarily as Transamerica and offers life insurance and annuities along with retirement, investment, and employee benefit solutions. In 2023, the company directly wrote more than $5.1 billion in life insurance premiums and held a 2.64% market share.
10. Minnesota Mutual Group/Securian
- 2023 direct premiums written: $4,954,030,541
- 2023 market share: 2.56%
- 2023 policy owner dividends paid: NA
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 793/1000
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A+
The Minnesota Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Securian Financial Group, was founded in 1880 in Minnesota. It offers a lineup of products for individuals, financial professionals, financial institutions, and financial services companies. On the individual front, Minnesota Life Insurance provides life insurance, accident and illness insurance, annuities, and credit protection policies. In 2023, it wrote more than $4.9 billion in direct life insurance premiums and held a 2.56% market share.
What to Look for in a Life Insurance Company
When shopping around for a life insurance company, be sure to look beyond an insurer’s size. Here are the main factors to consider:
- Available policy types: Insurers may offer one or more of the following life insurance plans: term life, whole life, universal life, indexed universal life, and variable universal life.
- Death benefit maximum amounts: Insurers vary in the maximum death benefit amount they offer.
- Eligibility: Insurers may limit who can obtain life insurance policies based on age, health, location, and other factors.
- Policy price: Policy premium amounts vary from one insurer to the next.
- Riders: Riders add additional coverage to your life insurance policy such as child term coverage, waiver of premium, accidental death benefits, and living benefits. Availability varies by insurer.
- Exam requirements: Some life insurance policies and providers require a medical exam while others don’t.
- Dividends to policyholders: If an insurer is a mutual company, they may pay dividends to policyholders. Publicly traded insurance companies pay these dividends to shareholders instead.
- J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: J.D. Power provides a customer satisfaction index that gives insight into the satisfaction of a life insurer’s past policyholders.
- AM Best Financial Strength Rating (FSR): AM Best provides an independent opinion on the ability of insurers to meet their ongoing insurance-related financial obligations.
- NAIC complaint index: The NAIC complaint index offers insight into the number of complaints an insurer receives.
The best life insurance company for you is the one that can best meet your needs, from policy type and price to financial strength and customer service. It can be helpful to identify your needs before you shop around, so you can rule out insurers that aren’t good fits. From there, collect and compare quotes to find the best overall fit.
Choosing a Large vs. a Small Life Insurance Company
While each life insurance company is unique, an insurer’s size does tend to impact certain aspects of its offerings. Larger companies, for example, tend to be longer-standing and have higher levels of revenue. As a result, they often have better financial strength ratings, serve larger geographic areas, offer higher death benefits, and have a wider range of product choices.
On the other hand, smaller operations may provide you with more personalized service and offer more flexibility. For example, they may be more lenient with their eligibility requirements and policy options. If you’re having trouble getting life insurance coverage from the big players, a smaller company may be able to offer you customized coverage for your situation.
In either case, be sure to vet insurers according to the factors above. In particular, check a company’s AM Best FSR, J.D. Power customer satisfaction rating, policy options, and pricing.
Key Metrics to Measure the Performance of a Life Insurance Company
You can gauge the performance of a life insurance company by checking its direct premiums written in the most recent year and the market share percentage it holds. The year-over-year market share percentage change also offers insight into the company’s growth trend by showing whether it’s growing or losing ground to competitors.
Another factor to consider is how a company fares in the latest J.D. Power ratings for U.S. individual life insurance companies. J.D. Power provides a customer satisfaction index ranking which is based on a 1,000-point scale (1,000 is the best). By checking the most recent report, you can see how a life insurer’s customer service compares to competitors and the industry average.
AM Best’s Financial Strength Rating (FSR) is also a helpful metric. It provides an independent opinion on the financial stability of insurance providers and their ability to meet financial obligations.
What Is Life Insurance and What Does It Cover?
Life insurance allows you to leave a death benefit to a chosen beneficiary when you pass away in exchange for paying premiums during your life. Your chosen beneficiary can use the death benefit as they wish. Common uses include covering your end-of-life and funeral expenses, replacing your income, and paying off outstanding debts (e.g. mortgage, car loan, etc.).
How Much Does Life Insurance Cost?
The cost of life insurance depends on various factors such as your age, state of health, coverage type, coverage amount, and more. On average, a $500,000, 30-year term life policy for a person in excellent health would range from $25 to $125 per month, depending on their age and sex, according to quotes from Quotacy. Permanent life policies are significantly more expensive than term life policies as they typically offer a guaranteed death benefit and a cash value component.
Which Is the Biggest Life Insurance Company in the U.S.?
New York Life Group is currently the largest life insurance company by direct premiums written. The company presently holds a 6.86% market share.
The Bottom Line
The top 10 largest life insurance companies have all been in business for nearly a century or more—several even date back to the 1800s. Further, they all have strong customer service and financial strength ratings.
One noticeable point of differentiation, however, is whether a company offers dividends or not. Some are mutual companies owned by their policyholders, while others have chosen to go public. A benefit of going with a mutual company is the potential to earn dividends with your policy each year. Beyond that, the right fit will depend on reviewing the fine print of each insurer’s offerings and comparing quotes to find the best fit for your specific situation.
