Forbes Advisor Unveils First-Ever Best Life Insurance Companies Awards

Pacific Life was named top life insurance company of 2020, followed by Northwestern Mutual and Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co.

Forbes Advisor, a trusted destination for money news and reviews, and a financial product marketplace, announced Pacific Life as the winner of its 2020 Best Life Insurance Companies Awards. Northwestern Mutual and Penn Mutual were awarded the second and third best companies.

In its evaluation, Forbes Advisor focused on companies’ cash value life insurance products, since these have larger consequences than term life insurance if the wrong product or company is chosen.

“Unlike term life insurance, where nothing much can go wrong as long as you pay the premiums, cash life insurance policies require the most monetary investment and long-term commitment from customers,” says Amy Danise, Chief Insurance Analyst at Forbes Advisor. “And cash value policies are often relied upon to pass wealth on to heirs or to fund trusts.” Choosing the wrong product or company can mean a buyer pays more premiums or has their policy’s cash value diminished by high fees or low-performing investments.

Forbes Advisor’s data-driven evaluation encompassed 25 large companies based on market share. Scoring factors typically seen in similar rankings, like consumer survey ratings, were not considered since they are often based on sentiment versus actual performance. Instead, Forbes Advisor reviewed the quality and performance of companies’ cash value products based on data exclusively provided by Veralytic, a life insurance analytics company based in Tampa, Florida.

 Life insurance purchase mistakes can easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. One analysis Veralytic did showed that a 45-year-old male in average health could pay $340,000 more than he expected over 20 years for a $1 million universal life insurance policy—the consequences of choosing the wrong company and policy.

 For a full list of the company rankings and Forbes Advisor’s complete methodology, visit https://www.forbes.com/advisor/life-insurance/best-life-insurance-companies/ [IA]