Buying a life insurance policy can help provide financial protection for your loved ones, but choosing the right policy can be confusing. There are several types of life insurance policies available. Some, like term life insurance, last for a set number of years. Others, like permanent life insurance policies, can provide coverage that lasts a lifetime while offering additional savings or investment components.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of the top life insurance companies of 2022. We’ve also gathered information about different types of policies, how the life insurance quote process works, and how to purchase a policy once you find the right one.
- Bestow
- New York Life
- Northwestern Mutual
- Lincoln Financial
Heaven Life
Pros
Can be purchased online
No medical exam required for some applicants
Cons
Only offers term life insurance
Haven Life
Haven Life is a digital insurance agency that offers two term life insurance options, Haven Term and Haven Simple. Haven Term is a term policy with durations of between 10 and 30 years and coverage of up to $3 million. Haven Simple is also a term-based policy but has lower coverage amounts and shorter offered durations of between five and 20 years. The upside for some people may be that it doesn’t require a medical exam for coverage. Both policies can be applied online without the aid of an agent.
It should be noted that Haven Life doesn’t issue the policies it sells. Instead, the policies are issued by MassMutual, which also made our rating, or one of its subsidiaries.
Bestow
Pros
None of its policies require a medical exam
Terms policies between 10 and 30 years in duration
Cons
Only term life policies available
Doesn’t offer any riders
Bestow
Bestow sells one type of policy with terms between 10 and 30 years available in five-year increments. The policy has coverage amounts up to $1.5 million. The entire application can be completed online, and you can text or call Bestow’s customer support team with any questions. One of the things that set Bestow apart from the other companies in our rating is that none of their policies require a medical exam.
Bestow doesn’t issue the life insurance policies it sells. Instead, the policies are issued by North American Company for Life and Health Insurance.
New York Life
Pros
Offers term, whole, and universal life policies
Term policies can be converted to permanent
Cons
Policies are more expensive than many companies in our rating
Policies aren’t fully explained on the company website
New York Life
New York Life is the highest-rated company in our rating to offer both term and permanent policies. Its permanent life insurance options include both whole and universal policies. The term policies it offers can also be converted to a permanent policy.
You also have the option of adding riders such as Disability Waiver of Premium, Accidental Death Benefit, and Living Benefits.
The New York Life website doesn’t necessarily provide a lot of information on its policies, so you may have to contact a New York Life agent for more detail. Also, its term policies are more expensive than most of the companies in our rating.
Northwestern Mutual
Pros
Offers term, whole, and universal policies
Offers a single-payment universal policy
Cons
Can only be purchased through an agent
Limited online pricing information
Northwestern Mutual
Founded in the 1850s, Northwestern Mutual offers term, whole, and two universal policy options. One of its two universal policy options, Custom Universal Life, gives you options to customize both your death benefit and your premiums. While its Single Premium universal policy is exactly what it sounds like, you can make a single premium payment for a universal life insurance policy.
Something to keep in mind is that all policies must be purchased through an agent, although you can begin the application process online. We were not able to find much information on the pricing of Northwestern’s policies.
Lincoln Financial
Pros
Offers term and universal policies
Some policies may not require a medical exam
Cons
Doesn’t offer whole life insurance policies
Applying for policies requires working with a Lincoln financial professional
Lincoln Financial Group
Lincoln Financial Group offers both term and universal policies. Its two term policies, TermAccel and LifeElements, have durations of between 10 and 30 years with coverage options ranging from $100,000 to $1 million. Some policyholders may also be able to convert their term coverage to a permanent life insurance policy. starting at $100,000. Depending on your application, you may not be required to take a medical exam.
Lincoln offers three types of permanent life insurance: universal life, variable universal life, and indexed universal life.
Applying for a policy requires reaching out to Lincoln Financial.