Best Life Insurance Companies of 2025: Top 12 Picks by Ratings and Coverage

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It’s been said that life insurance is the only kind of insurance that you’re guaranteed to use. Given that, you want to be sure to buy your life insurance from the best company to save money and help ease the financial burden on your family after you pass.

Here’s what you need to know.

Best Life Insurance Companies

There are a lot of insurance companies out there and they sell very similar products. The way they differentiate themselves is on price, customer service and financial strength. Price can vary, especially if you have special considerations like a health condition, so you must take steps to save money on life insurance.

Customer service is comprised of both the sales process and the claims process, although the sales process is what you’ll consider for life insurance. Financial strength is important because you need the company to still be around when it comes time to make a claim.

These 12 life insurance companies got high marks for customer satisfaction and financial stability. Some offer online quotes, so you don’t have to meet with a salesperson to find out how much your policy will cost. Each has its own area where it stands out.

1. Guardian Life

Guardian Life offers a full suite of life insurance products, including term, universal life, and whole life. Guardian also offers disability, dental, vision and accident insurance. You can get a cost estimate online and then purchase your policy through a financial professional.

• Pros:
  • Guardian has the highest JD Power rating of any of the top 12.
  • The company also has the highest AM Best rating.
  • Insure.com customers gave Guardian 4.48 out of 5 stars.
• Cons:
  • You can’t purchase your policy online; you need to go through a financial professional.

Best for: Those with pre-existing conditions. Guardian offers plans for those who have medical conditions that other insurers will decline.

2. John Hancock

John Hancock is a fixture in the life insurance business and is often at the forefront of innovation in the industry. The company is not at the very top of the measures, but it is reliable and trusted by millions of policyholders.

• Pros:
  • John Hancock’s Vitality program lets policyholders save money on their premiums by adopting healthy habits.
  • Customers give John Hancock 4.54 out of 5 stars, and 87% of customers say they are satisfied.
• Cons:
  • Premiums are higher than those of some other carriers.

Best for: Those who are looking for good customer service, even if it means paying a higher premium. Also good for people who pursue an active, healthy lifestyle, which can result in discounts.

3. Lincoln Financial

Lincoln Financial is one of the highest-rated companies on the list and has been insuring Americans for over 100 years. The company has products that range from low-cost term to permanent coverage, plus long-term care protection.

• Pros:
  • Customers give Lincoln Financial 4.24 out of 5 stars.
  • They offer a wide variety of products, including long-term care insurance and investments.
• Cons:
  • It only sells through advisors, so you can’t get your policy online.

Best for: Those with depression or recent weight loss, as well as millennials.

4. MassMutual

MassMutual is a mutual life insurance company, so it is owned by the policyholders. Participating, or permanent, policies receive dividends that can increase the cash value of the policy. The company offers a complete menu of products, including a guaranteed issue policy that provides a low death benefit but requires no medical information.

• Pros:
  • MassMutual has a long-term care and life insurance combination product, which provides money for long-term care if it’s needed, and pays out a death benefit if the money isn’t used for long-term care.
  • Pricing can be more competitive as policyholders own the company.
  • Very low number of customer complaints.
• Cons:
  • You can only buy term or simplified issue coverage online. For anything else, you have to go through an advisor.

Best for: People who want life insurance and long-term care insurance and have the resources to buy both or those who want a small policy but might have health issues.

5. Mutual of Omaha

Mutual of Omaha is well known for its guaranteed issue life insurance policies, which are relatively small face-value policies that you cannot be turned down for. Their prices are low relative to most other carriers, and they specialize in policies with few bells and whistles.

• Pros:
  • Competitive prices for straightforward policies.
  • Guaranteed issue policies are available for those who would not otherwise be approved
  • You can get a quote online or by phone for some products.
• Cons:
  • Guaranteed issue policies are expensive and are usually limited to $25,000 of coverage. If you have a claim within two years of the issue date, the payment will be only for premiums paid.

Best for: Those who can’t otherwise qualify and just want a small policy, or those who want a basic policy.

6. New York Life

New York Life is a mutual company that has paid dividends to policyholders for the past 164 years. In addition to life insurance, it provides annuities, mutual funds, college and retirement savings, and other financial services.

• Pros:
  • New York Life is owned by policyholders, so participating policies earn dividends and premiums tend to be lower.
• Cons:
  • You cannot get a quote online.

Best for: Those who might want financial planning products and services in addition to life insurance.

7. Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual is a full-service financial services provider, including investments and planning services offered through financial advisors. They also offer disability insurance, long-term care planning and annuities. As a Northwestern Mutual customer, you could have your insurance, your retirement savings, your college savings plan and other investments all in one place.

• Pros:
  • Near the top of the pack for customer satisfaction and financial strength.
  • Offers a wide variety of products
• Cons:
  • You have to contact a financial advisor to get a quote.

Best for: People who might be looking for investments and planning in addition to insurance.

8. Pacific Life

Pacific Life offers various life insurance products, annuities and long-term care solutions in combination with life insurance. It also sells mutual funds and offers more complex financial services. All of its products and services are sold through financial advisors.

• Pros:
  • A variety of financial services are offered, so you could have all your business in one place.
  • A holistic approach to planning for your family’s future.
• Cons:
  • No option to get an online quote.

Best for: Gen Xers who are moving from thinking about life insurance to protect their families to using it as an investment.

9. Protective Life

Unlike some of the old-school carriers, Protective actively promotes its term life insurance. It offers a bare-bones term policy at attractive rates, which can be great for young families who have a high insurance need but not a lot of disposable income.

• Pros:
  • Costco members can save up to 20% on their premiums.
  • Online quote and application
• Cons:
  • The company’s ratings for customer satisfaction and financial stability are among the lowest on the list.

Best for: Costco members, and people with a family history of cancer or scuba divers and others who participate in risky hobbies.

10. Prudential

Prudential is an old-school life insurance company with a full range of products. You can get a free quote for term life insurance online.

• Pros:
  • Lenient pricing for former smokers.
  • Those who have quit for 12 months get non-smoker rates
• Cons:
  • Premiums tend to be higher than other carriers.
  • Customer satisfaction was among the lowest on the list.

Best for: Former smokers. Even if you’ve quit smoking, your history can impact your health and your premiums. Prudential treats former smokers more favorably than other companies, and you only need to have not smoked for 12 months to get non-smoker rates.

11. State Farm Life

State Farm is the highest-rated life insurance company by JD Power for the fourth year in a row. The company provides the most policy discounts at 67% compared with the industry average of 40%.

• Pros:
  • Ranked highest by JD Power and by AM Best.
  • You can get a quote on State Farm’s website or call an agent.
• Cons:
  • State Farm doesn’t do business in Massachusetts.

Best for: Those who want the highest rated company for customer satisfaction and financial stability.  

12. Transamerica

Transamerica is a full-service financial planning and protection company that offers investments and financial planning services in addition to life insurance.

• Pros:
  • Get a quote online or contact an agent.
  • Offers a variety of financial products and services.
• Cons:
  • The lowest J.D. Power and AM Best ratings on the list.

Best for: Those who may need a range of products or riders, and who are generally healthy.

How To Choose the Best Life Insurance Company

Choosing the best life insurance company for your particular needs can be challenging. When every company sounds like the best one, it can be hard to compare. Here’s a three-step process for choosing the best company for you:

Narrow Down the List

Go through the list of companies above and look for the ones that might be best for your circumstances. Try to narrow it down to three or four. Be sure to pay attention to financial stability — a life insurance policy is only as good as the company that writes it, and you want a company that will be around to pay the claim when the time comes.

Get Online Quotes

Visit the websites of the companies you are considering. If you can get a quote online, do so. If you have to call an agent, do that too. Just let them know that you’re shopping around. Agents often represent more than one company, and they might have insight into which company will provide the best value for your needs.

Compare Quotes

When you get a few quotes, review them carefully to make sure you are comparing apples to apples. There’s a lot of jargon in the insurance industry, and different companies use different names for the same thing. If you aren’t sure what something means, ask the agent or the company. Many companies have live chat on their websites.

Life Insurance Basics

Life insurance is generally broken down into two categories: term and permanent. Term insurance is the least expensive kind of life insurance since you only pay for it, and it is only in force for a specified period. When the term ends, the coverage ends.

Term is what most people buy when they have young children to support and their death would put a financial strain on the family.

Permanent insurance is designed to last for your whole life. Because of that, it’s more expensive than term coverage. Permanent insurance builds cash value and some people use it as an investment.

Some life insurance policies include special features, called riders, that can cover long-term care or critical illnesses. There are also policies you can get with no medical exam or questions, called Guaranteed Issue policies.

Before you purchase a policy, consider what you want the policy to do for you. Most insurance companies have information on their website about the different kinds of coverage and which is best for different circumstances. You can also consult a life insurance agent to help you choose.

Click through to read more about what to do if you are the executor of a will.

To determine the 12 best life insurance companies, GOBankingRates evaluated the JD Power ratings (for customer satisfaction), and AM Best ratings (for financial stability) for 12 life insurance companies. The criteria included whether online quotes were available, who they were best for and what the pros and cons of each company were.

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