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 a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service.
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Ohio National, ranked No. 3 on Insure.com’s list of best whole life insurance companies, is a top contender for shoppers who value historical performance. The insurer has paid a cash dividend to its policyholders every year for almost 100 years and received the highest score for historical performance of insurers ranked by Insure.com. For those willing to buy a policy through an insurance agent and submit to a medical exam, Ohio National is a solid option.
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. Note: In July 2023, after Insure.com’s rankings were completed, Constellation Insurance — the holding company that owns Ohio National – changed its name to AuguStar Life.
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. Ohio National has been accredited with the BBB since 1938, which means it has signed a commitment to respond to complaints made to the BBB about its service. The BBB gives Ohio National an A+.
Financial strength: AM Best evaluates a company’s financial health and its ability to meet its financial obligations. AM Best gives Ohio National an A, which means Excellent, although it is the third-highest rating on AM Best’s scale.
Customer experience: Trustpilot is an online platform for individuals to provide reviews of companies and their customer experience. However, neither Ohio National nor its parent company Constellation Insurance have been rated on Trustpilot.
Life products offered: Whole, universal, term, indexed universal and indexed whole life insurance.
Other coverage: Living benefits rider, accelerated benefit riders, disability rider, children’s term rider, guaranteed insurability rider and paid-up additions (PUA) rider, among other options.
Rates: Contact company or insurance agent for quotes.
Insurance partners: Ohio National was recently acquired by Constellation Insurance, a Canadian insurance holding company. Another partner is the Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation, which provides financial services beyond life insurance.
Ages and coverage limits: The minimum issue amount for most Ohio National whole life policies is $100,000. If you are very healthy and are purchasing a Prestige Protector policy, then the minimum is $25,000. You can purchase Prestige 10 Pay 3 and Prestige Protector policies up until age 75. You can purchase a Prestige Max 4 policy up until age 54 (see below for product details.)
Waiting period: There is no waiting period.
Medical requirements: Ohio National requires a medical exam and is known for being somewhat discerning for policyholders to receive its lowest rates.
Additional product line details
Prestige 10 Pay 3: This whole life product is structured so you pay the premium for 10 years, which is ideal for people looking to pay up for protection as fast as possible. There are also preferred loan riders that allow you to access the cash value of your policy in different ways. You still receive the guaranteed death benefit and access to other riders with Prestige 10 Pay 3.
Prestige Max 4: Ohio National’s Prestige Max 4 whole life policies are paid up at age 65, which means the payment structure is shortened and you won’t have to pay a premium throughout your retirement. This policy is ideal for younger, healthier people who are looking for life insurance who are still in their prime working years. You can also access the cash value of your policy through preferred loan riders.
Prestige Protector: Prestige Protector is Ohio National’s most affordable whole life insurance option because you will pay a premium up to the age of 100. You still receive the guaranteed death benefit and many rider options like the company’s other whole life products. This policy was created to deliver high levels of protection throughout the policyholder’s entire life.
Company background: Now over a century old, Ohio National is well-respected by its customers and insurance agents. While obtaining quotes and going through a medical exam might be a hassle, Ohio National’s consistent ability to pay a cash dividend adds some more potential value to every life insurance policy.
Interesting tidbit: Ohio National has paid its policyholders a yearly dividend since 1924.
As its name suggests, Ohio National was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, but is now available in every state besides New York. The company is known for regularly paying out cash dividends to life insurance policyholders, although this ultimately depends on how Ohio National performs financially.
As of December 31, 2021, its affiliated companies have $40.8 billion total assets under management.
Company address: 1 Financial Way, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
Company website: ohionational.com
Company email: Contact company online through website
Company phone: 513-794-6100
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.