Best Whole Life Insurance Companies of 2023

A type of permanent life insurance, whole life insurance guarantees the insured person is covered as long as premiums are paid. This type of policy also guarantees a specific death benefit and offers a savings component called the cash value portion of your policy.

Whole life insurance provides significant benefits compared with other types of life insurance, but it also costs more. As a result, it’s crucial you pick the policy that best suits your needs. Here, we’ve listed the best whole life insurance companies to help you kick-start your research.

Our Best Whole Life Insurance Companies of 2023

Policy Types: Traditional whole life, single premium whole life, limited pay whole life, final expense

Coverage Amount: State Farm offers whole life policies with death benefits starting between $10,000 and $250,000, depending on the policy.

State Farm offers four types of whole life insurance policies, for which applicants can purchase a policy up to 85 years of age. Most policies are eligible for dividends that can be used to reduce premiums, and some may offer access to tax-deferred cash value. Some ways policyholders can customize their policies include adding riders such as children's term, payor insurance, and waiver of premium for disability.

You may also be able to save money on policies by bundling multiple products with State Farm. Some policies also offer flexible premium payments, allowing you to pay monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually.

Policy Types: Traditional whole life, guaranteed issue whole life

Coverage Amount: The Guaranteed Whole Life plan has coverage that ranges from $2,000 to $25,000, while the Simplified Whole Life policy offers death benefits ranging from $25,000 to $10 million.

USAA offers its life insurance products even if you’re not a member. Both of its whole life policies offer assistance to survivors and protection in the event of a disability. The Simplified Whole Life policy offers coverage up to $10 million, and you pay premiums throughout the life of your policy or for 20 years.

The Guaranteed Whole Life plan offers coverage up to $25,000, and adults up to 85 years old can purchase a new policy. Plus, acceptance is guaranteed, with no health questions or medical exams.

• No online quotes available

• Accelerated death benefit rider not available on all policies

Policy Types: Traditional whole life, simplified issue whole life

Coverage Amount: Nationwide’s whole life policies have a minimum starting coverage of $10,000. The better your risk class, the higher the starting coverage amounts are.

Nationwide offers three types of whole life policies. For those looking for a more simple application process, the Nationwide Simplified Whole Life plan offers guaranteed coverage with no medical exam. However, the coverage amounts are much lower compared to its other whole life policies.

With its Whole Life 100 policy, you stay paying premiums when the insured turns 100, while its Whole Life 20 plan has only 20 years of premiums.

All policies allow you to customize them with riders such as waiver of premium, terminal illness, chronic illness

Coverage Amount: Coverage from MassMutual’s whole life policies starts at $25,000, with the max for some said to be dependent on underwriting, but its two CareChoice policies top out at $720,000.

With 10 whole life policies to choose from, MassMutual offers the most of any company in our rating. Many of the policies include earning dividends, which are not guaranteed, but MassMutual states that it has paid dividends every year since 1869. With some policies, you can increase the death benefit, although the conditions for which this is allowed depend on the policy.

Not all of the policies offer riders, so work with your MassMutual agent to ensure you have the policy and coverage you need. Also, like many of the insurers in our rating, you won’t be able to purchase a whole life policy online with MassMutual. You’ll need to speak to one of its agents.

Read more in our MassMutual review.

Coverage Amount: You’ll need to speak to an agent for information on how much coverage is available on whole life policies.

With New York Life’s Custom Whole Life policy, you can select how long you’ll pay premiums on your policy. New York Life states, however, that in general the shorter the time period you pay premiums, the higher those premiums will be.

You can work with your New York Life agent to customize your policy with riders such as disability waiver of premium, accidental death benefit, chronic care, and the living benefits option.

Whole life policies from New York Life can earn dividends, although this is not guaranteed. The company states that it has paid dividends every year since 1854.

Policy Types: Traditional whole life

Coverage Amount: Northwestern Mutual’s whole life policy offers coverage starting at $50,000.

With Northwestern Mutual’s whole life policy, you can select how long you’ll pay premiums on the policy. The options are for 15, 20, and 25 years or until you turn either 65 or 100. Northwestern’s policy also may pay dividends, but like with other insurance companies in our rating, these are not guaranteed, although the company states it has paid them every year since 1872.

There are several riders to help round out your coverage, including waiver of premium, additional purchase benefit, and accelerated care benefit.

To purchase a whole life policy, you’ll need to speak with an insurance agent.

Read more in our Northwestern Mutual review.

What Is Whole Life Insurance?

Pros:

• Level premiums throughout the policy

• Can earn cash value policyholders can access

• May earn dividends

Cons:

• More expensive compared to term life insurance policies

• Death benefits reduced if cash value component withdrawn

• More complicated terms and conditions for some policies

Whole life insurance is a type of life insurance policy that covers you for life, assuming you've paid your premiums. Unlike term insurance, which only provides a death benefit to named beneficiaries, whole life offers an investment component, also referred to as the cash value component of a policy. This extra feature explains why whole life policies tend to cost more in premiums.

Policyholders can access the cash value component while they're alive, either by withdrawing it or borrowing against the policy. They can also withdraw the entire portion of their investment, surrendering their policy, so there will be no death benefit. If the policyholder only withdraws part of the cash value component, the death benefit may be reduced.

In most cases, the investment portion of a whole life policy offers tax benefits. Like some types of traditional retirement accounts, the cash value will continue to grow tax-free until withdrawal and if the value is more than what was paid into the policy. Some policies may charge fees for each withdrawal.Some whole life policies will earn dividend payments. These payments can be used in different ways, such as put into your cash value or used to pay premiums.

There are different types of whole life insurance policies, including final expense insurance. This type of policy offers a death benefit that is smaller, making the premiums more affordable. The point is to offer a death benefit to beneficiaries to cover end-of-life expenses such as cremation, embalming, and a funeral service.

For more information, visit our guide to 

whole life insurance.

How Much Does a Whole Life Insurance Policy Cost?

According to LIMRA, over half of Americans believe that a life insurance policy costs three times more than it actually does.

“Over half of Americans believe that a life insurance policy costs three times more than it actually does.”

Whole life insurance policies typically cost more than term life because of the cash value component that results from interest you accumulate inside the policy. However, the exact cost of your premium payments may surprise you. The cost of your policy will depend on a few factors, including your coverage amount (or death benefit) and your risk profile.

Generally, the higher your desired death benefit, the higher your premiums will be. Your medical history and current health condition will also be taken into account when determining premiums.

The more high-risk you are, the more likely you’ll need to pay higher premiums because of the perceived risk. People who are considered low-risk tend to pay lower premiums.

For instance, if a medical exam determines that you are at risk for heart attacks, insurers will charge higher premiums because they’re more likely to pay out a death benefit. Conversely, if you’re a non-smoker with an excellent health history, you may not pay as much as some who are at higher risk, even if both of you choose the same death benefit amount.

However, you won’t know the exact amount you pay until you go through the application process.

How To Choose the Right Whole Life Insurance Company for You

Here are several ways to choose the best whole life insurance company for you:

• Determine choice of add-ons and riders: When considering your death benefit, look at the type of protection you need and whether an insurance company will provide it. For instance, if you want riders that provide long-term care, pay accelerated death benefits, or account for inflation, then make sure you can include those when doing your research.
• Look at the insurance company’s financial ratings: Make sure that your cash value will be around if you need it and the insurance company will have enough money to pay out death benefits to your beneficiaries. Look at an insurance company’s financial ratings (such as those provided by AM Best) to determine whether they’ll be financially sound for years to come.
• Research the company's customer service: 
  In addition to looking for a well-established company, find out whether a company you're considering answers questions, processes transactions (such as if you want to borrow money from your cash value), and services claims promptly.
• Shop around: 
  Finding a cost-effective policy means digging into the fine print to determine premium costs and any other relevant fees. For instance, you want to see how much you’ll get paid in dividends, or what the interest rate may be if you were to borrow from your accumulated cash value.

For more information on choosing the best life insurance company read our guide, How to Buy Life Insurance.

Life Insurance FAQ

A whole life policy lasts for the duration of your lifetime as long as you keep the policy in force or until you surrender the policy.

Whole life insurance policies may offer dividends, depending on several factors including the type of insurance company your policy is with, which represent part of the insurer's profits paid to you, the policyholder. They're similar to investment dividends, which represent the profit from a public company. The dividends you receive typically depend on how much your policy is worth. Not all whole life policies offer dividends.

Cash value is the savings component of your policy which accumulates in value, separate from your death benefit. Policyholders can withdraw funds from the cash value or borrow against it. Some policies may also allow policyholders to use part of the cash value to pay premiums. The exact rules and regulations on how you can use your cash value will depend on the insurance company and your policy.

Yes, you can. You’ll borrow from the cash value component of your policy — how much will depend on the insurance company and the cash value you’ve accumulated. Policyholders won’t need to go through a credit check, though the cash value will act as collateral for your loan. You will need to pay back the loan plus interest or else your policy may lapse.

If you die before you’ve repaid the loan, the insurance company will subtract the outstanding loan amount when calculating how much of the death benefit will go to your beneficiaries.

A beneficiary is a person or entity that receives the death benefit from an insurance policy when the insured passes away.

The policyholder is the person or entity who owns an insurance policy. The policyholder can make adjustments such as naming and changing beneficiaries, have full access to the cash value, and is responsible for paying the premiums.

A death benefit is a sum of money paid out to beneficiaries when the insured dies, assuming the policy is still active.