Life Insurance Companies 2025

When you’re buying life insurance, choosing the right company is key. You want a company that offers excellent customer service, policy features, and financial strength to follow through on its promises if the worst happens.

We rounded up a list of top life insurance companies to help you shop for life insurance. Along with noting their strengths, we point out where they fall short. We’ve also broken down the different types of life insurance available and how much you might pay for a policy.

Life insurance companies with the most market share

Life Insurance Company	Market Share	AM Best Rating	J.D. Power Rating
Northwestern Mutual Group	6.76%	A++	670/1,000
Metropolitan Group (MetLife)	6.35%	A+	644/1,000
New York Life Group	6.35%	A++	639/1,000
Prudential of America Group	6.15%	A+	626/1,000
MassMutual Life Insurance Group	4.42%	A++	673/1,000
Lincoln National Group	4.00%	A	652/1,000
Nationwide Corporate Group	3.59%	A+	666/1,000
State Farm Group	2.93%	A++	699/1,000
Dai-ichi Life Holdings Group (Protective Life Corporation)	2.77%	A+	653/1,000
Minnesota Mutual Group	2.58%	A+	Not Rated

Northwestern Mutual Group: Best for financial strength

Metropolitan Group (MetLife): Best for group life insurance

New York Life Group: Best for whole life insurance

Prudential of America Group: Best for coverage options

MassMutual Life Insurance Group: Best for low complaints

Lincoln National Group: Best for no medical exams

Nationwide Corporate Group: Best for bundled discounts

State Farm Group: Best for customer satisfaction

Dai-ichi Life Holdings Group (Protective Life): Best for long policy terms

Minnesota Mutual Group: Best for hybrid coverage

Types of life insurance policies to consider

You can choose between two main types of life insurance. Term life insurance is temporary, often lasting up to 30 years. Permanent life insurance, available in many forms, can last your entire life as long as you pay the premiums.^[2]

Unlike term life, permanent life insurance offers a death benefit and a cash value component. These are the different types of available policies:

• Term life insurance: With a term life policy, you pay a fixed monthly premium. Your beneficiary receives the death benefit if you die within the policy term. Term life insurance is the most affordable, but coverage is temporary.

• Whole life insurance: Whole life insurance is permanent coverage with fixed premiums and guaranteed returns. It may pay dividends, which you can use toward your premiums, cash value, or death benefit. Whole life is more expensive than other permanent life insurance types.

• Universal life insurance: Like whole life, universal life insurance has a death benefit and a cash value component with a guaranteed return. But universal life insurance has flexible premiums, meaning your returns may be higher or lower based on how much you pay.^[3]

• Variable life insurance: Unlike whole life, variable life insurance lets you invest your cash value. Your returns may be higher, but you risk losing money.

• Indexed universal life insurance: Indexed universal life insurance is tied to a specific index, such as the S&P 500. Although your risk may be lower than with a variable policy, there’s no guaranteed return.

• Final expense life insurance: Final expense life insurance — also called burial or funeral expense coverage — is designed to pay for end-of-life expenses and funerals. It often has a low price tag and no medical exam requirement.

• No-exam life insurance: Also known as simplified-issue or guaranteed life insurance, this coverage doesn’t require a medical exam. No-exam life insurance may be a good option if you have a medical issue that prevents you from getting other coverage, but it often has lower policy limits.

How much does life insurance cost?

The cost of life insurance varies depending on policy type, coverage amount, age, and health status.

While you’ll need a personalized life insurance quote to determine your cost, available data can provide an estimate. For example, a 35-year-old man buying a 20-year term life insurance policy worth $1 million would pay about $32.64 per month, or $392 per year. By contrast, a whole life policy with the same death benefit costs about $324.21 per month, or $3,891 per year.

Average term life insurance costs

The tables below show term life insurance rates for $1 million in coverage based on age, gender, and policy term.

Average cost of whole life insurance

The tables below break down average whole life insurance costs by gender and age for $1 million in coverage.

What are riders, and how can they customize your policy?

A rider can increase a life insurance policy’s value, especially in certain situations.^[4]

These are some of the most common:

• Accelerated death benefit: Allows you to receive some or all of your death benefit while you’re alive if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness

• Critical and chronic illness: Provides access to your death benefit while you’re still alive to pay for critical or chronic conditions

• Waiver of premium: Lets you waive your monthly premiums if you become disabled and can’t work

• Child/spouse term: Provides term life insurance coverage for your spouse or child

• Return of premium: Returns some or all of your premiums if you’re alive when your term life insurance policy ends

• Guaranteed insurability: Guarantees the option to buy additional coverage after life events, such as marriage or the birth of a child, typically without a medical exam

• Long-term care: Covers your long-term care expenses while you’re alive, either in addition to or instead of your beneficiaries receiving a death benefit

Life insurance companies FAQs