Top 20 Best Permanent Life Insurance Companies [WL, IUL, UL, VUL, LTCI]

The focus of the following article is on getting you familiar with our current crop of the top life insurance companies. As with all our top life insurance companies lists, it is a fluid one, subject to change at our whim based on the different product offerings available in the marketplace.

We focus on the current crop of innovators, companies that differentiate themselves as much on price as on products. Our goal is to align each client with the company that best fits your need, goal, objectives and budget.

In addition, we look for those companies on the cutting edge of life insurance underwriting so that we can not only provide a superior product but also a superior delivery system.

It is our hope to align all of these goals into determining what will be the best permanent life insurance company for you. And the company that is best for you will most certainly be different than for a different client. It all comes down to tailoring each cash value life insurance policy to the specific nuances of each individual, because no two companies, policies or clients are the same.

Top 20 Permanent Life Insurance Companies

Company	Policies
Penn Mutual	WL, IUL, VUL
MassMutual	WL, LTCI Combo, LTCI
New York Life	WL, LTCI
Foresters	WL, UL, VUL
Lafayette Life	WL, LTCI Combo
Ohio National	WL, UL, VUL
Guardian	WL, UL, VUL, LTCI Combo
Northwestern Mutual	WL, UL, VUL
Minnesota Life	WL, IUL, LTCI Combo
AIG	WL, UL, IUL, VUL
Banner Life	UL
John Hancock	UL, IUL, VUL, LTCI Combo
Protective Life	UL, IUL, VUL
Transamerica	WL, UL, IUL, VUL, LTCI
Pacific Life	UL, IUL, VUL, LTCI Combo
North American	UL, IUL
AXA	WL, UL, IUL, LTCI Combo
Principal Financial	UL, IUL, VUL
Voya	UL, IUL, VUL
Prudential	UL, IUL, VUL
American National	WL, UL, IUL, VUL
State Life	LTCI Combo
Lincoln Financial	UL, IUL, VUL, LTCI Combo
Nationwide	WL, UL, VUL, LTC Combo

In a previous article we took a deep dive into permanent life insurance, highlighting the differences between the different types of products available.

Here, we will touch on some of the best permanent life insurance policies offered by these top companies. You can also follow the company reviews link proceeding each company highlighted below to learn more about that particular permanent life insurance carrier.

The top 20 permanent life insurance companies we have chosen were selected based on each companies unique products niche in the marketplace. Each company and policy must be designed properly, with the best life insurance riders, for your goals to achieve maximum results.

The list is in no particular order, although we tried to lump companies based on the particular products offered, such as

• whole life insurance,
• universal life insurance,
• indexed universal life,
• variable universal life,
• long term care life insurance and
• pure long term care insurance.

Also, be sure to check out our article, how much does whole life insurance cost for sample rate charts based on age.

Lastly, you may also be interested in our indexed universal life insurance pros and cons as well as our whole life insurance pros and cons articles.

Penn Mutual

• A.M. Best rating: A+
• Moody’s Investor Service rating: Aa3
• Standard and Poor’s rating: A+
• Comdex ranking: 92

Penn Mutual focuses on delivering cutting edge policies, including

• Whole Life Insurance
• Universal Life Insurance
• Variable Life Insurance
• Joint or Survivorship

For more, please visit our Penn Mutual review.

MassMutual

• A.M. Best Company rating: A++
• Fitch Ratings: AA+
• Moody’s Investors Service rating: Aa2
• Standard & Poor’s rating: AA+
• Comdex ranking: 98 

MassMutual’s product line includes:

• Whole Life Insurance
• Long Term Care Riders
• Pure Long Term Care Insurance

For more, please visit our Mass Mutual review.

New York Life

• A.M. Best rating: A++
• Fitch rating: AAA
• Moody’s Investor Service rating: Aaa
• Standard and Poor’s rating: AA+
• Comdex ranking: 100

New York Life offers:

• Whole Life Insurance
• Long Term Care Insurance

For more, please visit our New York Life review.

Foresters

• A.M. Best rating A

Among Foresters Financial product offerings are:

• Whole life insurance
• Universal Life
• Variable Life

For more, please visit our Foresters Financial review.

Lafayette Life

• A.M. Best rating: A+
• S&P rating: AA
• Fitch rating: AA
• Comdex ranking: 96

Lafayette Life provides a superior:

• Whole life insurance policy
• Long term care insurance rider

For more, please visit our Lafayette Life review.

Ohio National

• A.M. Best rating: A+
• Standard & Poor’s rating: A+
• Moody’s rating: A1
• Comdex ranking: 89

Ohio National has a strong product offering, including:

• Whole life insurance policies
• Universal life insurance policies
• Variable universal life insurance policies

For more, please visit our Ohio National review.

Guardian Life

• A.M. Best rating: A++
• Fitch rating: AA+
• Moody’s Investor Service rating: Aa2
• Standard and Poor’s rating: AA+
• Comdex ranking: 98

Guardian Life’s product offering includes:

• Whole Life
• Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life
• Long Term Care Insurance Rider

For more, please visit our Guardian Life review.

Northwestern Mutual

• A.M. Best Company rating: A++
• Fitch rating: AAA
• Moody’s Investors Service rating: Aaa
• Standard & Poor’s rating: AA+
• Comdex ranking: 100

Northwestern Mutual is best known for its:

• Whole life insurance
• Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life

For more, please visit our Northwestern Mutual review.

Minnesota Life

• A.M. Best rating: A+
• Fitch rating: AA
• Moody’s Investor Service rating: Aa3
• Standard and Poor’s rating: A+
• Comdex ranking: 92

Minnesota Life has a diverse product line, including:

• Whole life insurance
• Indexed Universal Life
• Long Term Care Life Insurance

For more, please visit our Minnesota Life review.

AIG

• A.M. Best rating: A
• Fitch rating: A+
• Moody’s rating: A2
• S&P Global rating: A+
• Comdex ranking: 81

AIG has a whole life insurance policy. But the company really shines with its:

• Universal Life Insurance Policies
• Variable Universal Life Insurance

For more, please visit our AIG review.

Banner Life

• A.M. Best rating: A+
• S&P rating: AA-
• Fitch rating: AA-
• Comdex ranking: 94

Banner Life offers one of the best priced Guaranteed Universal Life policies in the marketplace.

For more, please visit our Banner Life review.

Protective Life

• A.M. Best rating: A+
• S&P rating: AA-
• Fitch rating: AA-
• Moody’s rating: A1
• Comdex ranking: 91

Protective Life is a world class leader, providing:

• Universal Life
• Indexed Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life

For more, please visit our Protective Life review.

Transamerica

• A.M. Best rating: A+
• Fitch rating: A+
• Moody’s rating: A1
• S&P Global rating: AA‐
• Comdex ranking: 90

Transamerica has one of the biggest permanent life insurance product offerings, including:

• Whole Life
• Universal Life
• Indexed Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life
• Long Term Care Insurance

For more, please visit our Transamerica review.

Pacific Life

• A.M. Best rating: A+
• Fitch rating: A+
• Moody’s Investor Service rating: A1
• Standard and Poor’s rating: AA-
• Comdex ranking: 90

Pacific Life provides several options, such as

• Universal Life
• Indexed Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life
• Long Term Care Life Insurance

For more, please visit our Pacific Life review.

North American

• A.M. Best rating: A+
• S&P Global rating: A+
• Fitch rating: A+
• Comdex ranking: 88

Among North American Company’s product offerings are:

• Universal Life Insurance
• Indexed Universal Life Insurance

For more, please visit our North American Company review.

AXA 

• A.M. Best rating: A
• Fitch rating: A+
• Moody’s Investor Service rating: A1
• Standard and Poor’s rating: A+
• Comdex Ranking: 84

AXA Equitable provides several permanent policies, including:

• Whole Life
• Universal Life
• Indexed Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life
• Long Term Care Rider

For more, please visit our AXA Equitable review.

Principal Financial

• A.M. Best rating: A+
  
• Fitch rating: AA-
  
• Moody’s rating: A1
  
• Standard and Poor’s rating: A+
  
• Comdex ranking: 90

Principal Financial Group offers the following permanent insurance coverage:

• Universal Life
• Indexed Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life

For more, please visit our Principal Financial Group review.

Voya Financial

• A.M. Best rating: A
  
• Fitch rating: A
  
• Moody’s rating: A2
  
• Standard and Poor’s rating: A
  
• Comdex ranking: 77

Voya has some innovative crediting options on its Indexed Universal Life as well as providing options like:

• Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life

For more, please visit our Voya Financial review.

Prudential (PRUCO Life)

• A.M. Best rating: A+
  
• Fitch rating: AA-
  
• Moody’s rating: A1
  
• Standard and Poor’s rating: AA-
  
• Comdex ranking: 92

Prudential has some fantastic underwriting niches and provides options such as:

• Universal Life
• Indexed Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life

For more, please visit our Prudential Life review.

American National

• A.M. Best rating: A
  
• Standard and Poor’s rating: A
  
• Comdex ranking: 78

American National’s permanent insurance coverage includes:

• Whole Life
• Universal Life
• Indexed Universal Life
• Variable Life

For more, please visit our American National review.

State Life Insurance Company

• A.M. Best rating: A+
• S&P rating: AA-
  
• Comdex ranking: 95
  

State Life Insurance Company shines when it comes to the companies best in class asset based long term care insurance product line.

For more, please visit our State Life Insurance Company review.

Lincoln Financial Group

• A.M. Best rating: A+
  
• Fitch rating: A+
  
• Moody’s rating: A1
  
• Standard and Poor’s rating: AA-
  
• Comdex ranking: 90

Lincoln Financial’s flagship company for permanent life insurance is Lincoln National, which offers:

• Universal Life
• Indexed Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life
• Long-Term Care Life Insurance

For more, please visit our Lincoln Financial review.

Nationwide

• A.M. Best rating: A+
  
• S&P rating: A+
  
• Moody’s rating: A1
• Comdex ranking: 89

And last but not least, Nationwide offers a comprehensive line of permanent insurance coverage with:

• Whole Life
• Universal Life
• Variable Universal Life
• Long Term Care Life Insurance Hybrid

For more, please visit our Nationwide review.