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Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Review


ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 4.8 / 5 (Excellent)
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Founded in 1857, Northwestern Mutual is financial services organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company offers a variety of investment and planning services and insurance products such as life and disability income. Northwestern Mutual is BBB accredited business with an A+ rating and holds the highest financial ratings of any insurer from A.M. Best, S&P, Fitch, and Moody’s.
 
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How is Northwestern Mutual rated?

Breakdown

5.0/5
Company Stability
4.8/5
Reputation
4.5/5
Policies & Coverage

Overall Rating: 4.8 / 5 (Excellent)

Northwestern Mutual ranks well with us mainly because of reliability. The company has been issuing life insurance policies for over 160 years and is a stalwart American financial icon. Across their term, whole, universal, and variable universal life policies, Northwestern Mutual likely offers the policy features or additional options you would expect to find. If you’re not sure what options are right for you, they offer personalized recommendations through their financial advisors. Northwestern Mutual has very few bad marks against them in terms of customer feedback, which is surprising considering the company's size and reach. You'll get a solid life policy from a trusted and longstanding company, and may even earn dividends as a policy holder.

Financial Strength

Key Details

Underwriter
The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
Standard & Poor's Financial Rating
AA+
Moody's Financial Rating
Aaa
AM Best Financial Rating
A++
Fitch Ratings
AAA

Company Stability - 5 / 5

Northwestern Mutual is the largest direct provider of life insurance in the United States. The company also boasts extremely strong financial ratings, including the highest possible among any insurer from all four major rating agencies, A.M. Best, Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P. Founded in 1857, you don't get a longer history of strength or superior policy performance. Policies bought through Northwestern Mutual will likely be secure far into the future considering the company's history of creditworthiness.
*The above information reflects the market share, premiums, and financial strength of the issuer of the Northwestern Mutual life insurance policies: The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Reputation & Customer Experience

National Association of Insurance Commissioners

NAIC Complaint Ratio 2017
0.03
NAIC Total Complaints 2017
22
*The NAIC complaint ratio (in this case 0.03) is a ratio of the number of complaints a company received for the total premiums written in a calendar year. The median complaint ratio across all companies is 1. A score below 1 means the company received fewer than average complaints. A score above 1 means the company received a higher number of complaints than average.

Customer Ratings

BBB Rating
A+
Date Collected
2019-02-07

Reputation - 4.8 / 5

For a company of its size, Northwestern Mutual has a remarkably low NAIC complaint ratio, and a total of only 22 complains with the organization 2017. The company also has an A+ rating with the BBB with only 8 negative complaints.

Northwestern Mutual Policies

Northwestern Mutual offers customers the following life insurance policies: Term, Whole Life, Universal Life, Variable Universal Life.

Key Term Policy Features

  • Term-Permanent Conversions
  • Guaranteed Level Premiums
  • Guaranteed Renewability
  • Opportunity to Earn Dividends

Key Whole Life Policy Features

  • Lifetime Coverage
  • Opportunity to Earn Dividends
  • Guaranteed Renewability
  • Guaranteed Insurability
  • Cash Value
  • Guaranteed Level Premiums

Policies & Coverage - 4.5 / 5

Although Northwestern Mutual offers most types of life insurance, the company has not published complete policy details on their website. Term lengths, coverage amounts, and age limits can vary, so prospective customers are encouraged to connect with a Northwestern Mutual's financial advisors in order to get personalized information and recommendations. The company has a track record of delivering industry-leading value to its policyowners, and offers just about every policy option available, from guaranteed renewability to the ability to convert term to whole policies. Term-Permanent conversion options are especially key for increased flexibility. You can prioritize lower premiums with a term policy when you’re younger and, within a certain amount of time, convert that policy to whole life later without having to go through underwriting or medical again.

Flexibility and Available Riders

Available Term Life Riders

  • Waiver of Premium
  • Early Payment Benefit

Available Whole Life Riders

  • Waiver of Premium
  • Early Payment Benefit
  • Additional Purchase Benefit

Available Universal Life Riders

  • Waiver of Premium

Flexibility & Available Riders - 5 / 5

While Northwestern Mutual’s term life policies may be more affordable than permanent life options, they don’t provide lifetime coverage or accrue cash value the way their whole or universal life policies do. Talking to one of their advisors can help you determine what type of policy and what options best suit your needs but, if you’re looking for increased flexibility, you may want to consider a whole or universal policy. The cash value in a permanent policy can serve as a flexible asset that’s guaranteed to grow, can’t decline in value, and can be borrowed against or used during your lifetime for any reason. That means you have flexibility in how that value is leveraged, instead of having to select specific rider options.

For additional benefits and protections to help build financial security, they also offer a wide variety of additional products alongside life insurance – like disability income insurance, long-term care insurance, investments, and annuities to leverage as part of a comprehensive financial plan.

Additional Company Information

Homepage URL
https://www.northwesternmutual.com
Company Phone
(414) 271-1444
Headquarters Address
720 East Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53202
Year Founded
1857

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Our Partner
  • Strong financial rating
  • Build cash value with flexible premiums
  • Guaranteed death benefits
  • Living/ accelerated death benefits
  • Spouse protection
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