Best Universal Life Insurance Companies of 2025
Penn Mutual takes the top spot in our analysis of the best universal life insurance companies. Universal life insurance is an attractive option if you want flexible coverage, including flexible premiums and death benefits, along with the possibility of accumulating and leveraging cash value during your lifetime.
To compile our rankings, we reviewed 25 universal life policies, assessing them based on several factors. Cost, investment performance, the reliability of policy illustrations, and financial stability of the companies were all carefully considered.
Our Expert Picks
- Penn Mutual
- Pacific Life
- Protective
- Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG)
- Guardian
- Lincoln Financial
- MassMutual
- Mutual of Omaha
- Prudential
Table of Contents
- What Is Universal Life Insurance?
- How Much Does a Universal Life Insurance Policy Cost?
- How to Choose the Best Universal Life Insurance Company
- Methodology
- Other Universal Life Insurance Companies We Rated
- Best Universal Life Insurance Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Is Universal Life Insurance?
Universal life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance offering adjustable premium payments. You have the flexibility to adjust your premium payments within certain limits, and can also decrease or increase your death benefit. A key feature is the inclusion of a cash value component, which can accumulate interest or investment gains on a tax-deferred basis.
There are three main types of universal life insurance, differing primarily in how their cash value grows:
- Guaranteed universal life: This offers a consistent death benefit and unvarying premium payments. Cash value growth is typically minimal.
- Indexed universal life: With this option, you may be able to adjust your death benefit and premiums within certain parameters. The cash value is linked to a stock market index, such as the S&P 500, or a selection of indexes. Policy fees and charges may be high.
- Variable universal life: This type provides flexibility in adjusting the death benefit and premiums, within certain limits. You select sub-accounts for cash value investments, which means it requires active management.
How Much Does a Universal Life Insurance Policy Cost?
The average monthly cost for a universal life insurance policy at the time of this article’s original publication was as follows, although rates can change.
- Age 30: $102 for females, $114 for males for a $250,000 policy
- Age 40: $146 for females, $154 for males
- Age 50: $190 for females, $211 for males
These figures are based on research by Forbes Advisor and lowest available quotes for healthy, non-smokers.
How to Choose the Best Universal Life Insurance Company
Choosing the ideal universal life insurance company involves evaluating your specific needs and risk tolerance. Consider how various universal life insurance options may fit your situation. Then identify an insurance company that offers strong financial strength ratings and competitive rates.
Here’s how to choose the right policy:
- Determine your coverage needs. Utilize a life insurance calculator for preliminary estimates.
- Identify the type of universal life insurance that best meets your needs, and work with a trusted insurance agent or financial advisor to find the right policy.
- Check financial security ratings from agencies like AM Best to assess the insurer’s ability to pay claims.
- Compare quotes from several top universal life insurance companies to secure the right policy at the best value.
Methodology
To determine the best universal life insurance companies, we utilized data provided by Veralytic, a source of independent life insurance research and analytics. Veralytic assesses permanent life insurance products and can provide a customized analysis for your financial advisor on policies you may own or be considering.
Our evaluation was based on:
- Cost competitiveness (30%): This measures the affordability of premiums and the internal charges within the policy, including the cost of insurance, administration costs, and cash value-based fees.
- Historical performance (25%): This looks at the investment performance of the company’s investments that support cash value growth.
- Reliability of policy illustrations (25%): We assessed the long-term reliability of the company’s illustrations for its permanent life insurance products. Accuracy of the illustrations is important when you intend to hold a policy for decades.
- Financial strength (10%): This measure considers the insurer’s financial strength ratings from AM Best, Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s. It is very important to consider the company’s ability to pay claims over time.
- Access to cash value (10%): We assessed the ease with which policyholders can access cash value.
Other Universal Life Insurance Companies We Rated
- Brighthouse
- John Hancock
- Transamerica
- Ameriprise
- Midland/North American
- Northwestern Mutual
- Principal
- New York Life
- Nationwide
- National Life
- State Farm
- Symetra
- Minnesota Life
Best Universal Life Insurance Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Is universal life insurance worth it? Universal life insurance can be valuable for those who seek a death benefit and cash value accumulation, along with flexible payments and death benefit adjustments.
- How long does a universal life insurance policy last? Assuming premium payments are maintained, universal life insurance can last a lifetime or until the policy’s maturity date. Indexed universal life policies often mature when the insured reaches age 121.
- What are the tax advantages of universal life insurance? Death benefits from universal life insurance are generally tax-free. The cash value component grows tax-deferred and is not taxed during withdrawals or loans, as long as the money came from premium payments.
- Can you borrow money from a universal life insurance policy? You can borrow from the cash value of your universal life insurance policy. Before doing so, review an in-force policy illustration to understand the loan’s impact.
- What is the difference between universal life insurance and term life insurance? The core differences are the policy duration and the cash value component. Universal life is a type of permanent life insurance, while term life has a set end date and no cash value component.
Penn Mutual earned the top spot in our analysis of the best universal life insurance companies.
We like that Pacific Life’s universal life policies are worth considering due to excellent growth of cash value within the early years of the policies.
Low internal costs for universal life insurance policies are a key feature of Protective.
Corebridge’s universal life policies tend to have reliable policy illustrations, so you’re less likely to be caught off-guard.
Enviable financial strength and cost competitiveness boosted the rating for Guardian.
A strong combination of financial strength, competitive costs, and excellent historical performance of its assets are key for Mutual of Omaha.
