The Best Life Insurance Companies

Finding the best life insurance company typically involves weighing customer service, financial strength and price. There are hundreds of life insurance companies competing for your business and often selling very similar products.

To help you differentiate among large life insurance companies, we’ve calculated a NerdWallet composite score based on three measurements: complaints against the companies based on data adjusted for market share; A.M. Best financial strength ratings; and J.D. Power customer satisfaction scores.

Our calculations show that Northwestern Mutual is the best life insurance company among those we scored, and many others also are worthy of consideration.

The other element of your buying decision will be price. It’s smart to get life insurance quotes from at least a few companies.

The best life insurance companies
Rank	Life insurance company	NerdWallet composite score (300-point scale)	Complaint score	A.M. Best financial strength rating	J.D. Power customer satisfaction score	Start comparing
1	Northwestern Mutual	282	100	A++	820
2	Guardian Life	279	100	A++	788
3	MassMutual	275	100	A++	753
4	Mutual of Omaha	274	90	A+	791
5	State Farm Life	272	100	A++	823
6	AXA Equitable	270	90	A+	748
7	New York Life	269	90	A++	791
8	Nationwide	265	90	A+	801
9	Principal Financial	262	90	A+	769
10	Lincoln Financial	259	90	A+	738
11	John Hancock	258	90	A+	732
12	Protective	252	80	A+	765
13	Primerica	247	80	A+	723
14	MetLife	242	70	A+	769
15	Voya	235	70	A	749
16	Transamerica	220	50	A+	748
17	Prudential	211	40	A+	755
18	Allstate	195	20	A+	801
19	AIG	185	0	A	748

Methodology

We started with a list of the largest life insurance companies and then calculated a total score based on three measurements, each with equal weight within the score, and adjusted scores to a 300-point scale: 

1. Customer satisfaction scores from J.D. Power.
2. Complaint ratios from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for 2015, which measure complaints adjusted for market share. We adjusted the complaint ratios to a 100-point scale, with the worst performer within the group getting zero and the top performer getting 100. 
3. Financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, which indicate a company’s ability to pay future claims. All of the companies shown have solid financial strength. A.M. Best defines the ratings shown above as:

• A++ and A+ = superior.
• A = excellent.

This article has been updated. It was originally published in March 2016.

Amy Danise is an editor at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: adanise@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @AmyDanise.