Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company Review

We understand how frustrating it can be trying to find the best life insurance company to obtain coverage from. It can be even tougher when you’re reading reviews, trying to get a better understanding of the company, and the review is super biased you don’t even know if they’re lying or exaggerating. Either way, it can be difficult to find concrete information, here at InsureChance, we provide the most unbiased, informative reviews for our clients to make their own conclusions. If you are looking for a reliable review about NorthWestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, you have come to the right place! NorthWestern Mutual Life Insurance Company has been around for over 160 years and if you want to know their highlights, stay tuned; the following are some highlights about NorthWestern Mutual Life Insurance Company;

1. Northwestern Mutual Life has traces going as far back as 1857 and was founded by New Yorker, John Johnston.
2. Just like many other big box life insurance companies, Northwestern Mutual Life takes great pride in their community involvement.
3. The types of insurance sold by the company are Term life, Whole life, Universal life, and Variable life.
4. According to A.M Best, Northwestern Mutual Life is rated “A++” which happens to be the highest rating the company can give and it also means superior. Standard & Poor’s rate Northwestern Mutual Life an “AAA” and Moody’s rates them an “Aaa”.
5. It’s important to know what the company’s rating is because it gives you an idea of how financially stable the company is.
6. Term life insurance is a type of temporary insurance and can be obtained for death benefits but doesn’t build any cash value.
7. Whole life insurance is a type of permanent insurance that provides coverage throughout your entire life, pays death benefits, and accumulates cash value buildup.
8. Universal life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that provides coverage throughout your entire life, it allows cash value to accumulate but the difference between whole and universal is that this one is flexible to your specific needs.
9. Variable life is a type of permanent life insurance that offers the opportunity for investment component.
10. Today they have more than $238 billion in assets and in 2015 they took in nearly $28 billion in revenues.

History

Northwestern Mutual Life has traces going as far back as 1857 and was founded by New Yorker, John Johnston. The company was founded in then-rural Janesville, Wisconsin. It wasn’t until 1859 when the company got their first claims right before the U.S Civil War began. They went from being 25th company insurance in-force in the nation in 1860 (among 40 competitors) to being eighth in 1870 (among 100-plus). The company moved their headquarters to a bigger city, Milwaukee in 1870 until 1886. They grew quicker than most of their competitors and Northwestern Mutual Life grew too large for their home office and moved to where their current headquarters are today, still in Milwaukee just a couple blocks down. When the depression clouds lifted in 1882, while their dozen competitors failed, Northwestern Mutual Life managed to rank seventh by insurance in-force, and their dividends were among the industry’s highest. Between the years of 1911-1930, Northwestern Mutual Life’s commitment to its promises was repeatedly tested but proven trustworthy when they had numerous of payouts but still managed to reach $2.2 billion in insurance in force in 1920. 

By the company’s 100th anniversary they paid in benefits or held in reserve $1.30 for every dollar received in premiums. By 1970 insurance in force reached $19 billion and their assets reached $6 billion. In 1996 Northwestern Mutual Life’s new premium sales exceeded $1 billion and became the number 1 provider of ordinary life insurance in the United States. By their 150th anniversary, the company became the first direct provider of life insurance to have reached $1 trillion of individual life insurance in force.

Northwestern Mutual Review and Rating

Northwestern Mutual Life has been around for more than 160 years, and are one of the oldest and strongest companies in the country. They offer a comprehensive selection of coverage options with flexible policy features. The types of insurance sold by the company are Term life, Whole life, Universal life, and Variable life. They also offer other products and services such as annuities, disability insurance, long-term care insurance and much more. Northwestern Mutual Life has over $1.2 trillion of life insurance protection in force and has more than $47 billion dividends.

According to A.M Best, Northwestern Mutual Life is rated “A++” which happens to be the highest rating the company can give and it also means superior. Standard & Poor’s rate Northwestern Mutual Life an “AAA” and Moody’s rates them an “Aaa”. All of which are fantastic and hard to obtain and they may have high ratings but don’t let that be the only reason you obtain coverage from them. Always try to shop around when it comes to life insurance to ensure you are getting the best possible quote and rating. Just like you would be shopping for cars and reading up on the cars before you buy a car, do that for life insurance too, read some reviews and get familiar with some life insurance terms.

Why should I care about the company’s rating?

It’s important to know what the company’s rating is because it gives you an idea of how financially stable the company is. Just like you wouldn’t hire a nanny off care.com with a bad rating, you shouldn’t receive coverage from a company with a bad rating. Why? Well if a company has a bad rating it means that they are not financially stable for one. For two, they won’t know how to handle a random disaster. Let’s face it, disasters are rarely planned they are more random than anything else. Chances are that if the market crashed the company who received a bad rating won’t know what to do other then pull out or file bankruptcy. What happens to the premiums paid to that day? It’s gone like the wind, while the other companies who received high ratings stand tall and strong. Then you’re stuck wishing you had read their rating!

Northwestern Mutual Products

Like we mentioned Northwestern Mutual Life offers Term life, Whole life, Universal life, and Variable life. Before we go into the highlights of each product the company has to offer we would like to take a moment and define what each term is so that we can all be on the same page.

• Term life insurance is a type of temporary insurance and can be obtained for death benefits but doesn’t build any cash value.
• Whole life insurance is a type of permanent insurance that provides coverage throughout your entire life, pays death benefits, and accumulates cash value build up.
• Universal life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that provides coverage throughout your entire life, it allows cash value to accumulate but the difference between whole and universal is that this one is flexible to your specific needs.
• Variable life is a type of permanent life insurance that offers the opportunity for investment component.

Level Premium Term Life

• With this product, you will have a choice of two level premium term life insurance policies.
• Level Term 20 is simply a 20-year term policy that guarantees your rates will be fixed for the duration of the term.
• Level Term 10 a ten-year term with level premiums so also guaranteed to not increase rates during the term.

Annually Renewable Term Life.

• Premiums are low when you are young but increase every year.
• Northwestern Mutual Life has two annually renewable plans.
• Term 80 provides protection until age 80.
• Term 10 term plan for 10 years.

Whole Life

• This product offers a guaranteed level for premiums which means that the premiums will neither increase nor decrease.
• Guaranteed death benefit is also offered with this product.
• You can build also have some savings element known as cash value.
• Your cash value is also accessible to pay for any unplanned event or to pay for education costs etc.
• Besides the guaranteed growth you can also partake in dividend payments.
• Northwestern Mutual Life offers a choice of three whole life insurance policies.

65 Life (Whole Life)

• This product has the same features listed above.
• Designed to be paid up by retirement age of 65.
• When you reach age 65 you will have life insurance with no more payments due for the rest of your life.

90 Life (Whole Life)

• This product offers the same features listed above under whole life.
• This policy designed to get paid up at age 90.

Limited Pay Life (Whole Life)

• This product offers the same features listed above under whole life.
• You can select to pay the policy for 10, 15, 20, 15, or 30-years.

Custom Universal Life (CUL)

• This product is designed to last your entire lifetime.
• You have the potential to build equity or cash value that is also tax-deferred
• The cash value is accessible for any unexpected needs.
• This policy allows you to meet a wide array of insurance objectives from basic to complex.
• You have the flexibility to match your protection to your needs.

Single Premium UL (Universal Life)

• This product allows you to be covered for your entire lifetime but with only one premium to pay.
• This policy allows you to still provide death benefits that are tax-deferred

Variable Life

• This product is a type of permanent life insurance that provides coverage for your entire life.
• Variable life offers a potential for greater cash value and death benefit growth.
• You can decide how you want the cash value that you build in your policy to be invested.
• You can select and change your death benefit option and amount, based on your policy’s provisions in order to meet your changing needs.
• This policy offers flexibility to choose to make higher or lower premiums within certain limits.
• The cash value you build is also accessible for any unexpected needs.

More about Northwestern Mutual Life

Northwestern Mutual Life is one of the largest, financially stable insurance life insurance companies in the world. Last year the company paid out more than $5.5 billion in total dividends to its life insurance and disability insurance policyholders. Today they have more than $238 billion in assets and in 2015 they took in nearly $28 billion in revenues.

Work With InsureChance!

In conclusion, NorthWestern Life Insurance Company is a reputable life insurance company who have been around for more than 150 years. However, they are only one of many other high rated companies. You should always shop around for quotes and compare them so that you can ensure you are getting the best quote possible. Here at InsureChance, we work with over 60 top “A” rated companies which gives us more options to work with. We also have zero ties to any of the companies we work with and that’s what makes us different from our competitors. Our loyalty is to our clients and them only! Give us a call today or compare quotes with top companies now!