National Life whole life insurance review

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Our take:

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.

National Life
National Life Ratings
Overall Rating:
Financial strength:
Cost competitiveness:
Pricing stability:
Account access:
Historical 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.

Pros and Cons

Pros:
  • Some life insurance products don’t require a medical exam
  • Policies are customizable
  • Policyholders are eligible to receive cash dividends based on company performance
Cons:
  • Premiums are more expensive than some other insurers
  • Doesn’t advertise quotes online
  • Doesn’t offer final expense or burial insurance

National Life third-party ratings

Trustworthiness
A+
Financial Strength
A+
Customer Experience
3.7

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. 

More details about National Life life insurance

Policies offered

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.

Other details

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.  

Types of whole life insurance

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. 

How much does National Life life insurance cost?

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.

States where National Life offers coverage

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States where National Life offers coverage
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington D.C.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY
Available
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About National Life

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 background

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

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Methodology

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: 

  • Financial strength: 20% of total score
  • Cost competitiveness: 20% of total score
  • Price stability: 15% of total score
  • Account access and restrictions: 10% of total score
  • Historical performance: 15% of total score
  • NAIC: 10% of total score
  • BBB: 10% of total score

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.

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Barry Eitel
Contributing Researcher

 
  

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.

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