Barry Eitel is a content writer and journalist focused on insurance, small business and finance. He has researched and written about personal finance since 2012, with a special focus on entrepreneurship, freelancing and other small business operations. His writing on insurance and small business has been featured in 7x7, Brit + Co, Intuit Quickbooks, Bankrate, Policygenius and Lendio.
Nupur Gambhir is an insurance expert and managing editor of Insure.com. She specializes in life and health insurance content, and has experience as a marketing consultant.
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National Life’s various policy types make it a solid option for whole life insurance shoppers who want cash value and permanent coverage but without the constraints of a typical whole life insurance policy. National Life, ranked No. 8 on Insure.com’s list of best whole life insurance companies, also has strong third-party ratings and longevity on its side. The insurer received an A+ from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which evaluates businesses on their behavior, trustworthiness and performance.
Insure.com’s review of the entire company and its line of life insurance products follows. This review is based on third-party metrics and our survey of insurance customers. Find the full methodology here , including an explanation of our survey scores.
Trustworthiness: The Better Business Bureau (BBB) evaluates businesses on their behavior, trustworthiness, and performance. A business with a high ranking from the BBB can be trusted to meet its commitments. National Life isn’t BBB accredited, which means it has not committed to respond to complaints made to the BBB about its service. Still, the BBB gives National Life an A+.
Financial strength: AM Best evaluates a company’s financial health and its ability to meet its financial obligations. AM Best gives National Life an A+.
Customer experience: Trustpilot is an online platform for individuals to provide reviews of companies and their customer experience. Trustpilot gives National Life a rating of 3.7 out of a possible 5.
Life products offered: Whole, universal, indexed universal, variable universal and term insurance.
Other coverage: Living benefits rider, accelerated benefit riders, lifetime income benefit rider, additional protection benefit rider and a child’s term rider, among other options.
Rates: Contact company or insurance agent for quotes.
Insurance partners: National Life has a broker-dealer affiliate, Equity Services, Inc. It owns Sentinel Advisors and the Life Insurance Company of the Southwest (LSW). Policies are reinsured by Catamount Reinsurance Company and Longhorn Reinsurance Company.
Ages and coverage limits: Whole life coverage is available up to $3 million in coverage for anyone 50 or younger without major health issues. Coverage is available up to $1 million if you’re between 51 and 60, and up to $250,000 up to age 65.
Waiting period: There is no waiting period.
Medical requirements: Depending on your age, medical exams may not be not required.
Additional product line details: National Life offers whole, term, universal, indexed universal and variable universal life insurance. It also offers retirement plans, living benefits, annuities, mutual funds and IRAs.
National Life LifeBuilder whole life insurance: LifeBuilder is similar to universal life but offers whole life coverage. The death benefit is guaranteed, but you can adjust the premium cost to fit your budget. You can pay off your premiums in 5 to 20 years, or choose to pay premiums until your death. This payment structure flexibility makes LifeBuilder a unique option among life insurance policies.
National Life TotalSecure whole life insurance: National Life launched its TotalSecure whole life product just a few years ago to offer policyholders flexibility. TotalSecure has a living benefits rider in case you need to access your policy due to a qualifying injury or disease. You can work with an insurance agent to build your policy, and you can even use the cash dividends you receive to expand your life insurance coverage by buying more riders.
National Life ProtectorLife whole life insurance: ProtectorLife is a convertible life insurance policy. The policy includes an automatic conversion rider (ACR), and you only pay for term life coverage for 10 or 20 years. It is slowly converted into a whole life policy over the years, meaning you get whole life coverage at a lower price. It’s best suited for younger adults who might not have the budget for whole life insurance premiums.
National Life doesn’t provide public information on its rates. You will have to contact the company or an insurance agent for a quote and more details.
Interesting tidbit: National Life provides its employees with paid time to volunteer at nonprofits.
National Life, founded in 1848, is one of the oldest life insurance companies in the United States. Today, it is the 22nd largest life insurer in the country. National Life offers perks to its policyholders like paying a dividend when the company is doing well financially. The company says it is deeply committed to helping out communities, including a focus on small businesses.
Company address: 1 National Life Drive, Montpelier, VT 05604
Company website: https://www.nationallife.com/
Company email: Contact company online through website or app
Company phone: 800-732-8939
The best whole life insurance company rankings are based on a conglomerate of Veralytic and third-party data, including the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint data, which ranks a company by the number of customer complaints it receives, and the Better Business Bureau, which scores how well a company works with its customers. The data was weighed to create a final star ranking, one being the lowest and five being the highest. Each data point was weighed as follows:
The average annual whole life insurance rates are based on rates from male and female 35-year-olds who are in excellent health or smoke tobacco. The policies are paid up until age 100. The rates are an average of rates from 12 different policies from: AIG, American National Insurance Company, Banner Life, Midland National, Nationwide, North American Company, Pacific Life, Protective, United State Life Insurance Company of New York, and Penn Mutual. Some insurers in this list provided rates for more than one type of whole life insurance company.