When you’re searching for a life insurance company, sometimes it helps to know which companies command the largest market share. That way, you know your insurance company will have the financial strength it needs to pay claims. They also tend to offer a wide variety of insurance products, so you can get the policy that supports your goals. And finally, it is assuring to know many other people also trust these companies.
These are the largest insurance companies by market share for 2019.
| Insurance Companies | 2019 Market Share (%) |
| 1. Northwestern Mutual | 6.48% |
| 2. New York Life | 6.35% |
| 3. Metropolitan Group | 6.19% |
| 4. Lincoln Financial | 5.54% |
| 5. Prudential | 5.54% |
| 6. Mass Mutual | 4.59% |
| 7. Aegon Holding Group | 2.8% |
| 8. John Hancock | 2.77% |
| 9. State Farm | 2.76% |
| 10. Minnesota Mutual | 2.71% |
| Top 10 Companies | 45.73% |
Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners “2019 Top 25 groups and companies by Countrywide Premium” PDF Accessed 5/20/20
Below are the highlights of the strength of these companies. You can also click on the link to read our full review of the companies.
1. Northwestern Mutual : 6.48%
Northwestern Mutual occupies the top spot in J.D. Power’s life insurance study for 2019. They offer term life, whole life, and universal life insurance, sold through agents across the U.S. They also received one of the lowest complaint index scores (0.3) of any life insurance company. There is no online quoting, but customer service is stellar.
As a mutual company, they are accountable to their customers, and some policies pay dividends.
2. New York Life : 6.35%
New York Life has been in operation for over 175 years. They claim that no U.S. Life insurer has a higher financial strength rating than they do (as per their webpage). They offer term, whole, universal, and variable universal life insurance. In case you decide you need more than life insurance, they also offer annuities, mutual funds, ETF’s, and 529 plans.
3. Metropolitan Group (MetLife) : 6.19%
You may remember MetLife as being endorsed by Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, but MetLife fired them in 2016. They are planning to de-emphasize life insurance, so we’re not sure how long they will be 3rd on this list. For now, they offer term and permanent life insurance through employers only.
4. Lincoln Financial : 5.54%
Lincoln Financial originated in 1905 in Fort Wayne, IN. They asked Robert Todd Lincoln if they could use Abraham Lincoln’s likeness, and he gave his permission. Abraham Lincoln still serves as the face of the company today.
They offer all manner of life insurance except whole: term, universal, indexed universal, and variable universal life insurance. You can apply over the phone, and some customers will not have to submit lab work.
>>MORE: Compare Indexed Universal Life Insurance with Whole Life Insurance
5. Prudential : 5.54%
Number five on this list is Prudential. They are another long-term player in the insurance field, having originated over 140 years ago. They offer term, universal, indexed, and universal life insurance. They can also sell you annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, and investment management. They are one of few large life insurance companies that do not offer whole life insurance product. Learn more why whole life insurance is not worth it
Prudential was named one of Fortune magazine’s Change the World Sustainability All-Stars in 2019.
>>MORE: The Differences Between Variable Life Insurance (VLI) and Variable Universal Life Insurance (VUL)
6. Mass Mutual : 4.59%
Mass Mutual makes it very easy to apply for term insurance online. DirectTerm is available for customers ages 18 to 64, with coverages ranging from $100,000 to $3 million, all you have to do is enter your gender, state, birthday, and if you smoke or not, and they will give you a quote, and you can be approved online.
They also offer whole life, universal life, variable universal life, disability income, and long-term care insurance.
>>MORE: Is Whole Life Insurance a Good Investment?
7. Aegon Holding Group : 2.8%
This is the parent company of Transamerica insurance. They were acquired by Aegon in 1999. They are headquartered in Baltimore, MD and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In addition to life insurance, they also offer investments, retirement accounts, and annuities. Some term insurance policies may not require a medical exam. You’ll have to contact an insurance agent if you want to buy a policy.
They have whole, term, universal, indexed universal, and final expense insurance.
They didn’t do very well in J.D. Power’s life insurance study, coming in 20th out of 24 companies, a category J.D. Power calls “the rest.”
>>MORE: Is Whole Life Insurance Good for Retirement Savings?
8. John Hancock : 2.77%
John Hancock is based in Boston, MA, and have been around for over 150 years. They are the principal sponsor of the Boston marathon, and their signature is over the scoreboard at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. They are clearly deeply rooted in Boston.
They also have created the first and only life insurance for people living with diabetes. There is a wide variety of life insurance products to choose from, even if you’re not living with diabetes.
>>MORE: Life Insurance for Diabetics: Cost and Providers
9. State Farm : 2.76%
State Farm has every kind of insurance you could ever need, including home, auto, pet, and small business insurance. Life insurance is not their primary focus, but they do have it. If you already have home or auto insurance through them and need life insurance, they can fill the bill. You can get a quote for term insurance online. They also offer whole and universal life.
State Farm even has a mobile app, although it’s mostly for auto insurance. They scored very well with J.D. Power, coming in at number two, right behind Northwestern Mutual.
>>MORE: Is Whole Life Insurance Worth It? A Case Study
10. Minnesota Mutual : 2.71%
In 2018, Minnesota Mutual adopted their parent company’s name, and now they are known as Securian. They have more than 16 million customers and hold more than $70 billion in assets.
They offer term, whole, and universal life insurance. There is a calculator online to determine how much life insurance you might need, but to get a quote, you’ll have to work with an agent. Since they are a mutual company, some policies can earn dividends.
>>MORE: The Best Life Insurance Companies – We rank 30+ life insurance companies in order of our overall ranking
Last thoughts
These are the top ten largest life insurance companies by market share. We gave you just a snippet of information on each one, but you can find them all reviewed by the staff at Bravo Policy by clicking on the link. All of them are large insurance companies and have different strengths and weaknesses. One of them might be perfect for you.