The largest US life insurance companies
The short version
Here are the 20 largest US life insurers by how much individual life insurance they sell, with each company's ownership type, when it was founded, and a direct link to its own site. This is ordered by size, not by "best," and no company paid to be here or to rank higher. When you click a company, you go straight to its own site, where you can read about its policies or ask it to connect you with an agent. We collect nothing.
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| # | Company | Ownership | Founded | Good to know | Go |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwestern Mutual | Mutual | 1857 | The largest US individual-life writer; sells through its own advisors. | Visit → |
| 2 | New York Life | Mutual | 1845 | The largest US mutual life insurer; sells through its own agents. | Visit → |
| 3 | MassMutual | Mutual | 1851 | A large, long-running mutual; participating whole life. | Visit → |
| 4 | Prudential Financial | Stock (NYSE: PRU) | 1875 | "The Rock." Not the same as UK-based Prudential plc. | Visit → |
| 5 | Lincoln Financial | Stock (NYSE: LNC) | 1905 | Named for Abraham Lincoln; sold through many channels. | Visit → |
| 6 | State Farm | Mutual (group) | 1922 | Best known for auto/home; life is one line, sold by its agents. | Visit → |
| 7 | Protective | Stock (owned by Dai-ichi Life, Japan) | 1907 | US insurer owned by a large Japanese parent. | Visit → |
| 8 | Pacific Life | Mutual holding company | 1868 | Organized under a mutual holding structure. | Visit → |
| 9 | John Hancock | Stock (owned by Manulife, Canada) | 1862 | Manulife's US life brand. | Visit → |
| 10 | Transamerica | Stock (owned by Aegon, Netherlands) | 1904 | Part of the Aegon group. | Visit → |
| 11 | Guardian Life | Mutual | 1860 | Reports paying a dividend every year since 1868. | Visit → |
| 12 | Nationwide | Mutual parent; life issued by a stock subsidiary | 1926 | The mutual is the parent; policies are written by a stock life subsidiary. | Visit → |
| 13 | Corebridge Financial | Stock (NYSE: CRBG) | 2022 | The former AIG Life & Retirement business, now public. | Visit → |
| 14 | National Life Group | Mutual (flagship) | 1848 | A trade name covering two affiliated carriers. | Visit → |
| 15 | Penn Mutual | Mutual | 1847 | One of the oldest US mutual life insurers. | Visit → |
| 16 | Primerica | Stock (NYSE: PRI) | 1977 | Term-only, sold through a large agent sales force. | Visit → |
| 17 | Mutual of Omaha | Mutual | 1909 | Well known for final-expense and senior products. | Visit → |
| 18 | Equitable | Stock (NYSE: EQH) | 1859 | The former AXA Equitable. | Visit → |
| 19 | MetLife | Stock (NYSE: MET) | 1868 | Now mainly group/employer life; its individual retail block went to Brighthouse in 2017. | Visit → |
| 20 | Globe Life | Stock (NYSE: GL) | 1900 | Sells smaller policies directly to consumers. | Visit → |
The "Visit" link goes to each company's own site. For the agent-sold companies (Northwestern Mutual, New York Life, MassMutual, Guardian, State Farm, Mutual of Omaha) it lands right on their "find an advisor" search, where you enter your ZIP for a local agent. Founding years are as each company states them, and ownership can change, so confirm anything important with the company or your state insurance department. Verify a company →
Run a life insurance company and want to be listed?
We add companies on the merits, and listing is never for sale. If you'd like your company considered for this directory, email contact@lifeinsuranceapply.com with your company name, your state licenses, and a link to your official site.
Sources
- NAIC — 2024 Market Share Reports, Top Life and Fraternal groups, individual life direct written premium (naic.org). Used for the size ordering.
- Each company's own About/history page — ownership type and founding year.
- New York Stock Exchange / Nasdaq listings for publicly traded companies.
Last updated: July 23, 2026