With dozens of companies offering scores of life insurance policies, it can be challenging to determine what will work best for you and your family. However, it’s an important decision to handle to ensure your loved ones are taken care of in the future. Northwestern Mutual’s breadth of life insurance options makes it a popular choice for many in the market.


What Is Northwestern Mutual?

Northwestern Mutual, headquartered in Milwaukee, was founded in 1857 and has operated for years in the financial services industry. The company offers a traditional approach to life insurance, with plenty of coverage options and a low-tech but personalized method of determining coverage needs. It seems to work for Northwestern Mutual customers, who consistently reward it with great ratings and reviews.

Northwestern Mutual is an excellent option for life insurance. It scores a 4.6 and is the No. 1 overall Best Life Insurance Company in our rating. Northwestern Mutual scores highly thanks to its numerous options and coverage types, giving consumers the flexibility to research and select the best plan for them.

Popular Life Insurance Companies

Pros

  • Northwestern Mutual offers a variety of coverage types.

  • Northwestern Mutual can combine term and permanent policies.

  • Some customers are eligible to receive dividends.

Cons

  • The website doesn’t answer a lot of questions upfront.

  • Company financial advisors need to begin the process.

Northwestern Mutual offers a term life policy with custom terms that can be converted to a permanent policy. There are also riders available for most policy types to customize coverage.

Online convenience features include automatic premium payments, an insurance calculator, estimates for some policy types, and customer service.

Northwestern Mutual's sole term life insurance policy is:

  • Offered with custom terms: Term 10, Term 80, Level Term 10, and Level Term 20.
  • Available with both annually increasing and level premiums.
  • Available with coverage amounts starting at $100,000.
  • Available for customers ages 18 to 65 for Term 80 and Level Term 10, 18 to 60 for Level Term 20 and 40 to 70 for Term 10.
  • Only available through Northwestern Mutual financial professionals.

In addition:

  • Term policies can be converted to a permanent policy with no fees and no medical exam.
  • Death benefits are paid in a lump sum, in installments, to an investment account or in a combination of these options.
  • A waiver of premium benefit rider is available.
  • Online tools include an insurance calculator, estimates and customer service.
  • The financial benefit is a tax-free death benefit paid to the beneficiaries.