Best Whole Life Insurance Companies of March 2023

New York Life is one of the largest life insurance companies in the country and has the second-longest dividend-paying history of the 91 companies we reviewed (Penn Mutual beats it with 175 years). The company offers multiple living benefits on its whole life policies (also called accelerated death benefit riders), which let you receive some of the death benefit prior to death in the event of a chronic, critical, or terminal illness, or long-term care need. Also available is a disability income rider which is an uncommon offering among insurers. 

New York Life makes policies available to applicants as old as 90, which makes it a great option for older seniors looking for permanent coverage. It's also our top pick for best life insurance companies for seniors.

Nationwide—which ranks No. 1 in our reviews of best life insurance companies and best life insurance companies for people over 50—is our second-best pick for whole life insurance.

The company ranked highly in J.D. Power's 2022 U.S. Life Insurance Study and is an A+ (Superior) rated carrier by AM Best. It also has some perks that make its whole life policies in particular pretty great. You are eligible to get up to $5 million in coverage without taking a medical exam if you’re in excellent health and 50 or younger (up to $1 million if you’re 51 to 60 years old) on “Whole Life 100” and “20-Pay Whole Life” policies. Plus, those policies include chronic, critical, and terminal illness accelerated death benefit riders at no extra charge. This means you can access the death benefit early if you’re diagnosed with a chronic, critical, or terminal illness.

Note that while it provides a bevy of standout benefits, Nationwide does not pay dividends on its whole life policies, unlike many other providers on this list.

Of the 91 life insurance companies we reviewed, only six others received fewer complaints than Guardian over the last three years. One of them (Northwestern Mutual) is also on this list. Guardian also came in with above average customer satisfaction in J.D. Power's 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study.

Notably, Guardian is one of only six insurers to issue policies to 90-year-old applicants. Most cap eligibility at age 80 or 85. Plus, the company makes term policies available to applicants as old as 75. These are some reasons it's a top pick in our review of the best life insurance companies for seniors.

The main drawback is that you won’t find specific policy information online—you’ll need to reach out to an agent.

MassMutual is an all-around great insurance company. Only nine out of the 91 companies we reviewed received AM Best’s highest rating, an A++ (Superior), and MassMutual is one of them.

Of those A++ companies, only one other has stood the test of time for as long. MassMutual got its start in 1851, just a few years after New York Life (1845). But MassMutual tips the scale by ranking higher than New York Life on J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction survey.

Like some other life insurance heavyweights, MassMutual pays dividends, and has done so every year since 1869. It also makes its whole life policies available to 90-year-old applicants and has received very few customer complaints relative to its size. 

But like most of its competitors, you won’t find policy details online and will need to reach out to an agent (or have one contact you) to do so.

For those interested in a smaller whole life insurance policy, Mutual of Omaha offers a couple of options that are relatively easy to qualify for and don't require a medical exam. Its guaranteed issue policy allows applicants that face serious health issues to qualify for up to $25,000 in coverage via an online application and secure same-day coverage.

Its simplified issue policy requires that you reach out to an agent, but this policy includes a terminal illness rider and you could qualify for coverage up to $40,000 (also without an exam). You must be at least 45 years old to apply for either policy. These types of policies are often referred to as final expense life insurance or burial insurance; in fact, Mutual of Omaha is our top pick for best burial insurance companies of 2023.

Mutual of Omaha is rated A+ (Superior) by AM Best, which means it has a superior ability to honor its insurance obligations, such as paying claims. It came in third for customer satisfaction in the 2022 J.D. Power life insurance study.

With a dividend-paying history of 175 consecutive years, Penn Mutual is our top pick for dividend-paying whole life policies. But the company also impresses with its A+ (Superior) financial strength rating and efforts to ease the whole life application process, especially for applicants in need of a substantial death benefit.

Penn Mutual offers a very high amount of no-med-exam life insurance—up to $7.5 million for qualified applicants—and its whole life policies include both terminal and chronic illness riders free of charge. For these reasons, it's a top pick in our review of best no-medical-exam life insurance companies. The company also receives very few customer complaints relative to its size.

But like many of its competitors, Penn Mutual fails to disclose policy specifics on its consumer-facing website. It doesn’t even clarify that it offers whole life insurance. To get that intel plus policy features, you’ll have to talk to a financial professional.

State Farm has been the No. 1 life insurance company in J.D. Power’s U.S. Individual Life Insurance Studies from 2020 to 2022. The study ranked customer satisfaction according to how well each insurer performed in the areas of communication, customer interaction, price, available products, and policy statements. 

As you might expect, State Farm has also received few customer complaints for a company its size, according to the NAIC. In addition, the company earned an A++ (Superior) AM Best rating, meaning it has a superior ability to honor its ongoing insurance obligations. One unique perk among the carriers on this list is that you can bundle a State Farm life insurance policy and auto policy to receive a multiline discount.

However, State Farm doesn’t offer any free living benefits with its policies, which is uncommon among carriers, especially the competitors on this list. Living benefits generally refer to chronic, critical, and terminal illness riders that allow you to receive some of the death benefit early if you’re diagnosed with an eligible condition.

Financial stability is one of the most important factors when choosing a whole life company and informs all of the selections on this list. In fact, only nine out of the 91 companies we reviewed received AM Best’s highest rating, an A++ (Superior), and six of those companies make this list. But one company stands out in this regard, and that’s Northwestern Mutual.

The company has an A++ (Superior) rating from AM Best, and holds the highest rankings from Fitch (AAA) and Moody's (Aaa) as well. It also received the fewest complaints (relative to its size) of all the companies on this list, and the fourth-fewest complaints of all 91 insurance companies we reviewed. So it’s no surprise that the company came in fourth for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s 2022 customer satisfaction survey. Plus, Northwestern Mutual has paid dividends to eligible policyholders for the past 150 years. 

What’s not to like? Well, the company falls short when it comes to living benefits. Most of the companies on this list offer at least one living benefit rider for chronic, critical, or terminal illness at no extra charge with their policies. But according to the company, Northwestern Mutual does not. And if you’re looking for specifics about Northwestern Mutual whole life policies, you’ll need to speak with an agent.