Best Whole Life Insurance Companies of 2024

Our Expert Picks for the Best Life Insurance

Lafayette has the best all-around offering of whole life insurance policies. It’s a good choice for anyone who wants either a very small or very large amount of coverage. Unlike other life insurers that offer just one type of whole life policy, Lafayette offers a variety to suit every need. 

MassMutual is a solid second choice because it’s a financially strong company with a good track record for customer satisfaction. You can be approved for a whole life policy up to age 90, and be eligible for the highest dividend of all the companies we reviewed.  

Anyone seeking a burial whole life policy will find Nationwide a solid contender. Nationwide is also a great choice if you’re looking for a policy with living benefits included. If you want to cover your children, Assurity stands out for its standalone children’s whole life policy and its child term rider. And if you only want a small policy, Transamerica offers a death benefit as low as $1,000.

What Is Whole Life Insurance and How Does It Work?

Unlike a term life insurance policy that ends after a certain number of years, a whole life policy lasts for your entire life, as long as you keep paying the premiums, which stay the same as long as you have the policy. These policies come with a savings component called a cash value account, which grows over time.

What Is Whole Life Cash Value?

Life insurance companies put part of your premium into your cash value account. Once the cash value grows enough, you can access it by withdrawing from the account or borrowing against it. When you die, your beneficiaries receive the face amount, which is the death benefit minus any withdrawals or unpaid loan amounts. 

What Are Whole Life Living Benefits?

Another term for whole life living benefits is accelerated death benefits. These allow policyholders to access a portion of the death benefit while they’re still alive if they’re diagnosed with a specific condition, like a terminal or chronic illness, or need long-term care. The money can be used to cover medical expenses. Some insurance companies include one or more living benefits with their policies for no extra cost. Others charge extra or don’t offer living benefits at all.

What Are Whole Life Insurance Dividends? 

Whole life insurance dividends are payments insurance companies make to certain policyholders when the company performs well financially. Typically, mutual insurance companies—those owned by policyholders—pay dividends to whole life policyholders as a way of sharing their profits. These dividends can help reduce premium payments, increase the cash value of your policy, or go into your savings. 

How Much Does Whole Life Insurance Cost Per Month?

Life insurance companies rely on statistical analysis to determine how much someone will pay for a whole life policy. Overall, they are weighing how much they can expect to receive in premiums against their risk of paying the death benefit. In light of this, many factors come into play when determining the cost of a whole life policy:

• Age: The older you are when you buy a policy, the more it generally costs because of a shorter life expectancy.
• Gender: Women generally pay less for whole life insurance because they tend to live longer.
• Tobacco usage: Smokers pay more because tobacco use increases the risk of health problems and shorter lifespans.
• Occupational or hobby risks: If your job or hobbies are dangerous (like construction work or skydiving), your premiums may be higher due to the increased risk of injury or death.
• General health: People in good health typically pay less since they’re likely to live longer.
• Amount of coverage: The more coverage you want, the higher your premiums will be since the insurer takes on more risk.
• Riders: Adding optional benefits to your policy to get extra protection or benefits can raise the price.

By one estimate, a 40-year-old woman who doesn’t smoke can expect to pay a little over $1,000 a month for a whole life policy with a $1 million death benefit.

How to Choose the Best Whole Life Insurance for You

While all whole life insurance policies work in much the same way, you’ll find differences in the details.

What sets policies apart is the balance of death benefit protection and cash value accumulation, as well as how long you have to pay the premiums.

Consider How You Want to Pay 

Typically, you pay fixed whole life premiums for the rest of your life. The company or your insurance agent can provide you with a cash value illustration to give you an idea of how quickly the cash value will grow. But you may also want to pay more upfront to grow your cash value faster. You can choose a limited payment policy, where you pay premiums for a set period, like 10 or 20 years, or a lump sum policy, where you only make one premium payment. The more you pay early, the faster your cash value grows.  

Think About Whether You’ll Take a Medical Exam 

You may have the option of not taking a medical exam when you apply for a policy. That may be more convenient, but life insurers may charge you more to cover their risk. A simplified issue whole life policy streamlines the application process and doesn’t require bloodwork, but if you’re healthy, you may get lower premiums if you take an exam. A guaranteed issue policy costs even more, but your application is guaranteed to be approved regardless of your health. You usually can’t buy as much coverage without going through medical underwriting.

Choose a Coverage Amount 

Your purpose for buying life insurance will determine your coverage amount. You may want an amount that covers your mortgage, replaces your income, or covers your estate taxes. 

Some financial experts recommend multiplying your income by 10 or considering your debt, income, mortgage, and education costs to estimate your life insurance coverage needs. 

Look for Riders That Fit Your Needs

Look for riders that you are most likely to use in your lifetime. For example, you may want a terminal, chronic, or critical illness rider if you have a family history of serious illnesses. Here’s an explanation of some common riders and how they benefit you and your family.

• Guaranteed insurability: Allows you to purchase additional coverage without undergoing a medical exam
• Waiver of premium: Allows you to stop paying premiums if you can’t work due to a disability
• Disability income: Provides a portion of your income if you become disabled
• Terminal, chronic, critical illness: Allows you to access a portion of the death benefit if you become seriously ill
• Long-term care: Provides payments if you require long-standing in-home or hospice care
• Spouse or child term rider: Adds term life insurance to your policy to cover your spouse or children

Alternatives to Whole Life Insurance

If you want life insurance, but aren’t sure if whole life is right for you, here are other options to consider:

• Term Life Insurance: This type of insurance lasts a set number of years, often 10, 20, or 30. It’s usually cheaper than whole life because it doesn’t last as long and doesn’t build cash value. Term is a good choice if you only need coverage for a specific period, like while paying off a mortgage or raising children.
• Universal Life Insurance: This flexible option lets you adjust your premiums and coverage amounts as your needs change. Like whole life, it also builds cash value over time but gives you more options for growing and using it: Indexed universal life policies tie the cash value to the performance of a stock market index, like the S&P 500, and variable universal life policies invest the cash value in sub-accounts, which are similar to mutual funds.
• Final Expense Insurance: This is designed to help cover funeral and burial costs. It’s a smaller and often more affordable policy, well-suited for older people who don’t need much coverage.

Why You Should Trust Us

Investopedia collected data points related to dozens of criteria that are important when choosing life insurance across 45 companies. We used this data to review each company for financial stability, customer satisfaction, coverage options, cost, and other features to provide unbiased, comprehensive reviews to help you make the right decision. 

Investopedia launched in 1999 and has been helping readers find the best life insurance companies since 2020. We are dedicated to helping you find the right life insurance provider for your needs.

How We Review the Best Life Insurance Companies 

To compile our list of the best whole life insurance companies, Investopedia first conducted preliminary research on dozens of life insurance companies and determined that 45 met our minimum standard for financial strength, customer satisfaction, and online transparency. For each of those, we then gathered a total of 70 evaluation criteria, resulting in 3,150 data points altogether. Data was collected between May 20 and July 3, 2024, and sourced from company webpages, media representatives, third-party rating agencies (AM Best, NAIC, and J.D. Power), and customer service calls.

We combined subject matter expertise, consumer survey and company survey data, and industry research to create a quantitative model that scores each company based on six major categories:

• Policy Features: 50%
• Riders: 18%
• Financial Stability: 10%
• Customer Satisfaction: 10%
• Application and Online Service Features: 4%
• Policy Types: 8%

For more information, read our full methodology explanation.