12 Best Life Insurance Companies of 2023

A life insurance policy is the best way to ensure your loved ones’ financial security after your death. It pays a death benefit — often as a lump sum of money — to your named beneficiaries. Your beneficiaries can then use the funds for anything from covering lost income and funeral expenses to paying off a mortgage or other debt.

The best life insurance policy for you will depend on the number of dependents you have and how much you want to provide for them. But not all life insurance products are equal, and comparing policies can be a time-consuming task.

To help you select the best life insurance policy for your needs, we explain how the most popular life insurance options differ from one another and answer some of the most frequently asked questions regarding coverage types and average costs.

Our Top Picks for Best Life Insurance Companies

• Bestow: Best Coverage With No Medical Exam
• Ethos: Best for Guaranteed Issue Policies
• Policygenius: Best for Comparing Life Insurance Quotes
• Haven Life: Best for Term Life Policies
• Ladder: Best for Coverage Flexibility
• State Farm: Best Reputation for Customer Service
• New York Life: Best for Whole and Universal Life Insurance
• Nationwide: Best for Bundled Savings
• Northwestern Mutual: Best for Customizable Coverage

Best Life Insurance Reviews

Why we chose it: Bestow offers speedy and simple term life insurance and is notable for providing a high death benefit without requiring you to undergo a medical examination.

Bestow is our top pick if you need a term life insurance policy that doesn’t require a medical exam as part of the underwriting process. You can apply online and buy a policy without having to first visit a doctor for a checkup, bloodwork or other tests.

Although the company sells only term life insurance policies, it offers a generous maximum death benefit — up to $1.5 million — when compared to other no-exam policy providers. You can also select from various policy terms.

Bestow uses your medical history, plus other personal data and answers you provide about your lifestyle and hobbies, to quickly determine your eligibility and rates. The company claims you can go online, receive a quote and buy a policy within minutes.

You can also purchase a policy through Lemonade via its app and access an extensive library of educational information and related resources.

Lemonade policies are issued by North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, a highly-rated insurance company.

Why we chose it: People who struggle to qualify for life insurance as a result of age or other circumstances might be pleasantly surprised to find that they are eligible through Ethos. The process is quick: You can find out about your eligibility and get a rate quote online within minutes.

Ethos uses three methods for underwriting:

• Simplified issue: You have to answer health and medical history questions, but don’t have to undergo a medical exam.
• Guaranteed issue: Available to everyone — Ethos will not decline to offer you coverage because of your medical history or if you are not in good health.
• Fully underwritten: You need a medical exam and bloodwork for this type of underwriting.

The company writes term life policies using either simplified issue or fully underwritten methodology. Consistent with other insurance companies, it offers whole life coverage — but not term policies — via guaranteed issue underwriting.

If you are between the ages of 65 and 85 and unable to secure coverage elsewhere, take note: You can obtain instant approval — regardless of your health history — for up to $25,000 in guaranteed issue whole life coverage through Ethos.

Ethos also offers an accelerated death benefit rider on most of its policies. This option lets you access a portion of your policy’s face value if you become terminally ill. Any money you receive is typically tax-free and later deducted from your beneficiaries’ death benefit payout.

Why we chose it: Policygenius is a one-stop online marketplace where you can shop for term life and whole life insurance policies from a broad array of providers. The company promises not to sell your data to third-party buyers — a rarity among online insurance brokerages.

Policygenius is our top pick if you like comparison shopping. This comprehensive online brokerage is a one-stop shop with a plethora of insurers on its platform and a wide variety of policy types available.

Partners include major insurance carriers like AIG, Banner Life, Brighthouse, John Hancock, Lincoln Financial, Mutual of Omaha, Pacific Life, Principal, Protective, Prudential, SBLI and Transamerica. Policy options run the gamut, with a wide range of term and permanent insurance at all levels of coverage.

Policygenius is a great destination if you want to learn more about life insurance in addition to comparing quotes. The platform includes an encyclopedic library of resources that cover everything from basic education to guides for people with chronic medical conditions like diabetes or depression who are trying to get life insurance coverage.

If you still have questions even after consulting its resource library, you can contact a Policygenius representative via phone or live chat. Agents do not earn commissions, so you won’t be subject to high-pressure sales tactics or steered towards a product that isn’t a good fit.

Why we chose it: Haven Life has an extensive range of term life policies compared with many of its competitors, and offers additional tools you might expect to get from a financial advisor, such as guides to creating wills and trusts. Its insurance options include policies with high death benefits and no-exam policies.

Haven Life is our insurance pick for the best term coverage. Benefit amounts range from $100,000 to $3 million and terms between 10 and 30 years in duration.

You can choose from two different kinds of life insurance products: Haven Term and Haven Simple. The former includes a rider for Haven Life Plus, an online destination where you can create a will or trust, utilize fitness and sleep tracking apps and access secure online document storage.

Applicants aged 20-55 are eligible for Haven Simple, which includes an accelerated death benefit rider. Applicants younger than 65 can purchase Haven Term policies that offer up to $3 million in coverage.

Why we chose it: Ladder is notable for its extensively flexible offerings. You can decrease or apply to increase the coverage amount if your insurance needs or personal finances undergo a major change. Ladder also is a good option for people without a lot of money to spend on life insurance, with premiums as low as $5 a month.

Ladder is the best option for younger applicants seeking flexible insurance coverage. Policies are extremely accessible, with affordable premiums as low as $5 a month and a straightforward three-step application process you can complete online. There are no penalty fees if you need to cancel your policy for any reason.

Ladder’s biggest selling point is its adjustable coverage. You can change your coverage level quickly and easily online at any point — although you might incur a rate adjustment as a result. The company offers this high degree of flexibility so that even people with tight budgets or financial circumstances likely to change significantly in the future can still benefit from life insurance coverage.

* Premium based on a 20-year-old female applicant with a Preferred-Plus rating for a 10-year term policy with a $100,000 death benefit.

Why we chose it: State Farm is the best choice if you want excellent customer service. The company has a well-known reputation for customer satisfaction and strong finances.

State Farm is our pick for the life insurance provider with the highest customer satisfaction — and J.D. Power thinks so too. In 2021, State Farm topped a list of 21 life insurers to come out on top of J.D. Power’s ranking. This stellar reputation is based on the company’s superior diversity of products, customer communication and pricing options. It also has very few customer complaints when compared to industry peers.

Credit rating agency A.M. Best gives State Farm its best rating of A++, indicating that the insurer has attained the highest level of financial stability.

The company also gets top marks for its wide variety of offerings, which include term, whole life, and universal life products — including simplified-issue policies that don’t require you to undergo a medical exam in order to obtain coverage.

Why we chose it: New York Life offers a broad selection of policies: term, whole life and universal. Its term policies are unusually flexible in that you can convert your coverage if your financial circumstances change and you have a need for permanent coverage. New York Life is the underwriter for life insurance policies offered by AARP.

New York Life rises to the top if you’re in the market for a permanent life insurance policy. These policies have higher rates but include a cash value component in addition to a death benefit. Choose from an array of variable, universal and whole life insurance options, and customize it with the company’s optional policy riders. Term policies are also versatile in that they can be converted to offer permanent coverage.

New York Life is a mutual insurance company. This makes policyholders shareholders as well as customers. Some policy types even make customers eligible to earn dividends.

New York Life does require customers to go through an agent to get a rate quote and purchase a policy, so you can’t buy coverage or get quotes online.

Why we chose it: Unlike car insurance or homeowners insurance, most insurance providers don’t offer bundle discounts on life insurance products. Nationwide is an exception, which makes it our top pick for bundling term, whole life or universal insurance coverage. It also is highly ranked in customer satisfaction surveys and has a solid balance sheet.

Nationwide is a full-service insurance company that offers a broad range of options no matter how much life insurance you need. Choose from term and permanent policies, as well as optional riders you can use to tailor your coverage to your specific circumstances. The company gets high marks for financial stability from third-party credit rating agencies like AM Best and scores high on customer satisfaction surveys conducted by J.D. Power.

You have to use an insurance agent to buy most Nationwide policies but the company offers one big advantage when it comes to affordability: You can get a discount for a multi-policy bundle that includes life insurance and homeowners or auto insurance (or both).

Why we chose it: Northwestern Mutual is our top pick for customization because it has a greater number of rider options you can use to make your policy a perfect fit for your needs. Riders can give you great flexibility: You can extend coverage to your loved ones, get early access to your death benefit if you become gravely ill or even have your premium waived under certain circumstances.

Northwestern Mutual is our top pick for people who want to augment standard policy coverage with optional riders to tailor their life insurance to their financial needs. The company offers term life insurance as well as a variety of permanent plans, including whole life, universal and variable life policies.

Customers express a high degree of satisfaction with Northwestern Mutual. It ranked third out of 21 life insurers in the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study and has a reputation for very few customer complaints compared to its industry peers.

Northwestern Mutual is a mutual company that pays dividends to customers. This means you could be eligible to earn annual payments.

Other companies we considered

Sproutt

Sproutt offers both term and whole no-exam life insurance, ideal for people who need life insurance quickly and wouldn’t get the best rates with a traditional policy. The company’s policies provide immediate coverage with live agents available via phone weekdays from 9 A.M. to 7 P.M. Sproutt’s no-exam life insurance offerings can be denied to people who have filed for bankruptcy in the past.

MassMutual

The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, better known as MassMutual has been offering life insurance policies since 1851 and has a 0.03 complaint index rating with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, much lower than the national average of 1.00. The company offers life insurance policies that may not require a medical exam if you’re relatively young and healthy.

USAA

The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) offers life insurance policies to military members, veterans and their families. As such, it is limited in scope in terms of possible clients, and is not available in all states. The company also requires a medical exam before being approved for its life insurance policies. However, for those who qualify, USAA offers some unique benefits for military personnel, including a severe injury benefit rider on some policies.

Life Insurance Guide

This life insurance guide is intended to answer some of the most common questions about life insurance. It covers the different types of policies and coverage options available to help you decide on a life insurance policy that suits your needs.

What is life insurance?

A life insurance policy is a legal contract between an insurer and an insured individual. The insurance provider commits to paying out an amount of money when the insured individual dies. That sum is called the death benefit and it is paid out to the policy beneficiary (or beneficiaries). In return, the insured person agrees to make premium payments, typically in monthly or annual installments, over the course of their lifetime.

How does life insurance work?

Life insurance often is purchased to mitigate financial hardship faced by the dependents of a primary breadwinner in the event of his or her untimely death. It’s typically intended to replace lost income, cover burial costs or meet financial obligations such as paying off a mortgage or funding a child’s education.

This is not the only reason to buy life insurance, though. Life insurance is not exclusively available for adults and the elderly. Many insurers sell life insurance coverage for children in addition to policies for working-age adults and senior citizens. Life insurance can cover death-related expenses and estate taxes, as well as enhance a policyholder’s future insurability and even provide a financial cushion via the cash value portion of a permanent life insurance policy.

• The death benefit is the sum paid by the insurer to a policy’s named beneficiaries after the policyholder’s death. It may also be referred to as the face value of the policy.
• Premiums are paid, typically on a monthly or annual basis. Life insurers set rate amounts based on a policyholder’s life expectancy. People who are not in good health or at higher risk of death, as well as those who elect a larger death benefit, can expect to pay higher premiums. Life insurance rates for permanent policies are generally higher than those for term life policies.

Permanent life insurance plans — a category that includes whole life, universal and variable policies — include a cash value component in addition to the death benefit. The cash value has two main benefits:

• It can function as a tax-deferred savings account. The policyholder can generally borrow against the cash value that accumulates over the course of their life, although some policies place restrictions or limitations on withdrawals based on how the policyholder intends to use the funds.
• The accrued value can be used to make future premium payments or buy a higher level of coverage.

One important stipulation about the cash value benefit is that it is considered a “living benefit.” In other words, if a policy has an outstanding loan balance at the time of the policyholder’s death,  that balance will be deducted from the death benefit, reducing the amount that beneficiaries would receive.

What are the different types of life insurance?

• Term life insurance: Term policies afford coverage for a predetermined period of time — such as a 10- or 20-year term — after which they expire. If the policyholder died within the term of the policy, their beneficiaries would receive a death benefit. If they outlive the policy term, the death benefit is lost.

• Whole life insurance: This coverage is a type of permanent life insurance and extends for the duration of the policyholder’s life, provided premium payments are kept up to date. You pay a fixed premium in exchange for a death benefit and a guaranteed cash value component.

• Universal life insurance: Another variety of permanent life insurance, this type of policy also includes a cash value component, although the cash value it can accrue is subject to market fluctuations.

What is the difference between term, whole and universal life insurance policies?

Term Life	Whole Life	Universal Life
There are two different types of term insurance, level and convertible	There are four varieties of this life insurance: traditional or non-guaranteed, indexed, and variable	There are four key types of this permanent life coverage: traditional or non-guaranteed, indexed and variable
Death benefits are paid to designated beneficiaries in the form of a single lump sum, or as an annuity in installments	Policyholders can access during their lifetime the savings (cash value) component during their lifetime and collect dividend payments annually	The amount of Premium payments and the cash value influence contribute to the policy’s face value. There are no dividend payments
Beneficiaries receive the entire death benefit at once via a lump sum payout, while annuitized benefits are paid out in installments	Paying more than the premium lets the policy cash value grow more	Policyholders have leeway to adjust the amount of the death benefit amount

Whole and universal policies are types of permanent life insurance that build cash value. These policies will remain active for as long as premium payments are made.

How do you choose the right type of life insurance for you?

Age: When you are young and healthy, your life insurance premiums are likely to be considerably lower. Since most whole life insurance policies come with level premiums — your payments won’t go up for as long as your policy is active — you can save money and build cash value in your policy more quickly if you purchase it early in life.

Regardless of your age, consider buying some kind of life insurance as soon as you become a parent.

Budget: Term life insurance is generally less expensive than whole life insurance because it has an expiration date and doesn’t build cash value. It’s a good choice when you’re young, healthy and trying to cut costs. Term life can help secure your children’s future.

Gender: If you are part of a heterosexual couple and buying life insurance for just one of you, it’s best to buy it for the female in your relationship. Men have shorter life expectancies and, therefore, pay more for life insurance.

Duration: As its name suggests, a whole life policy is generally considered a  product you keep for your whole life. If you stop paying your premiums, your policy will still have cash value, however. Term life insurance covers you for a specific number of years. Choose the term that reflects how long you want to protect your beneficiaries — for example, until they have finished their higher education.

What does life insurance cover?

Generally, life insurance covers you when you die of natural or accidental causes. It’s important that you tell the whole truth on your life insurance application. Failure to disclose health issues, for example, may be cause for your insurer to refuse to pay the death benefit. You may be surprised to learn that death by suicide is typically covered, so long as you’ve been paying your premiums for the number of years outlined in your policy’s suicide clause.

Covered	Not covered
Death by natural or accidental causes Suicide, in most cases	Death by pre-existing conditions that you failed to disclose Death tied to criminal activity Death related to some high-risk activities

What is the average cost of life insurance and how are the costs determined?

According to Policygenius, in 2022, the average monthly cost for a term life policy is around $30.66, the cost of a whole life policy is $517, and for a no-exam is $29.28. These prices are the estimated premium for a $500,000 policy for a 35-year-old man, and could vary depending on a number of factors, including age, gender and pre-existing conditions.

Life Insurance FAQs

How We Chose the Best Life Insurance Companies

As part of our methodology to determine the best life insurance companies, we looked into the following:

• Variety of insurance policies offered, including term life, whole life, variable universal life and indexed universal life policies.
• Financial stability and timely claims payouts
• Ease of shopping and obtaining quotes
• Customer satisfaction rankings as reported in J.D. Power’s latest U.S. Life Insurance Satisfaction Study
• Financial strength ratings as reported by third-party credit rating agency A.M. Best
• Customer complaints about individual life insurance policies based on data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
• Customization of plans through insurance riders
• User-friendliness and simplicity of the underwriting process

Summary of Money’s Best Life Insurance Companies of February 2023

• Bestow: Best Coverage With No Medical Exam
• Ethos: Best for Guaranteed Issue Policies
• Policygenius: Best for Comparing Life Insurance Quotes
• Haven Life: Best for Term Life Policies
• Ladder: Best for Coverage Flexibility
• State Farm: Best Reputation for Customer Service
• New York Life: Best for Whole and Universal Life Insurance
• Nationwide: Best for Bundled Savings
• Northwestern Mutual: Best for Customizable Coverage