Midland National life insurance review 2024
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At a glance
Bankrate's take
Midland Life Insurance Company could be a good choice for those looking for term or universal life insurance and those who prefer working with a local agent. However, the company’s digital offerings are not as robust as those of other carriers, and its product line is relatively limited.
People in search of low-cost term or permanent life insurance who live in any U.S. state aside from New York.
Midland National life insurance
Midland National offers only a few types of life insurance, which may fit the needs of some policyholders but leave others in need of riders to get adequate coverage. The carrier started offering life insurance coverage in 1906 and now sells policies in 49 states (coverage is not available in New York), Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and both domestic and international military installations. It doesn’t offer family life insurance.
Owned by the Sammons Financial Group, Midland National also offers annuities in addition to life insurance products. Bankrate’s Midland National life insurance review could help you understand this carrier’s coverage offerings so you can decide if the company is the best life insurance option for you.
Midland National has three types of life insurance: term, guaranteed universal life and indexed universal life. However, you may find that, depending on your needs and the state you live in, different products are available aside from the ones showcased on Midland National’s website. Talking to a Midland National Life Insurance Company representative is the best way to know what options are available to you.
- Term: Midland National Life Insurance Company provides term life insurance options, which are active for a set period — 10, 15, 20 or 30 years — and feature consistent premium payments. Policyholders might have the opportunity to convert their term insurance into permanent coverage before the term expires. Typically, term life insurance premiums increase with age, making it a more attractive option for younger individuals, such as those with young families. Additionally, some of these term policies offer the ability to access a portion of the death benefit during the policyholder's lifetime.
- Permanent: Permanent insurance gives you coverage until you pass away; it doesn’t expire like term insurance does, as long as you pay the premiums. Midland National offers two types of permanent life insurance policies: guaranteed universal life and indexed universal life. No whole life insurance is available.
- Universal: Midland National’s basic universal life insurance offering is called “guaranteed universal life” but doesn’t appear to be a guaranteed-issue policy. Rather, the “guarantee” is that the policy will provide a death benefit as long as your premiums are paid, which is essentially a feature of all life insurance policies.
- Indexed universal: This type of policy invests the cash value portion into an index, like the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It’s a more complex type of life insurance, so if you are interested, talk to a licensed agent.
Midland National pros and cons
It’s important to understand Midland National policies and how life insurance works before deciding to buy coverage. If you can’t get adequate coverage for your personal circumstances, the payout may not be enough to support your beneficiaries. You may also want to ensure you can afford the premiums, because if you fall behind, your policy can be canceled. A life insurance calculator may help you determine the right amount.
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Near nationwide availability
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Lower-than-baseline NAIC complaint index
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High financial strength rating from AM Best, S&P and Fitch
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Fewer policy options than some other providers
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Lower-than-average J.D. Power customer satisfaction score
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Only term policies can be quoted online
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Whole life insurance combines life insurance with an investment component.
- Coverage for life
- Tax-deferred savings benefit if premiums are paid
- 3 variations of permanent insurance: whole life, universal life and variable life include investment component
Term life insurance is precisely what the name implies: an insurance policy that is good for a specific term of time.
- Fixed premium over term
- No savings benefits
- Outliving policy or policy cancellation results in no money back
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Midland National life insurance endorsements
Life insurance riders, also called endorsements, are add-ons that can give you more coverage. Adding a rider will generally increase the cost of life insurance, so it may not be the right choice if your main objective is to find cheap life insurance coverage. However, riders can give you valuable protections that might make up for the extra premium. Midland National’s riders include:
- Accidental death benefit rider: Exclusive to Midland National's universal life policies, this rider provides an added layer of financial protection. It offers an additional payout over the standard death benefit in case of a policyholder's death due to a covered accident. This extra amount may significantly support beneficiaries in such unforeseen circumstances.
- Children’s term rider: Available across all Midland National life insurance plans, this rider enables policyholders to extend term life coverage to their children. It can be an efficient way to add protection for your child under your own policy, ensuring that your family has comprehensive coverage in one plan.
- Flexible disability benefit rider: This rider, which is not available in California, pays a monthly disability benefit if you are unable to work and disabled for at least six consecutive months. You also need a “waiver of charges for disability rider” for this add-on to kick in.
- Guaranteed insurability rider: For universal life policies, this option gives you the ability to increase the death benefit on an existing policy (but only by a certain amount) without proving your insurability with a health questionnaire or medical exam.
- Waiver of charges for disability rider: A version of this rider is available for universal and term life policies and allows you to stop paying your premium if you develop a qualifying disability.
Compare Midland National with other insurers
If you are shopping for the best life insurance company, you may want to reach out to several different providers and compare quotes. If you aren’t quite sure if Midland National is the right insurer for you, here are some other carriers to consider:
Midland National vs. MassMutual
MassMutual won our Bankrate Award in both 2022 and 2023 for best whole life insurance due to its high coverage capacity and numerous riders. If you’re in the market for whole life, as opposed to Midland National’s universal life offerings, MassMutual could be a good option.
Learn more: MassMutual Life Insurance review
Midland National vs. State Farm
If you like Midland National’s term life insurance options and its network of local agents, you could also get a quote from State Farm. The company won our Bankrate Award in 2022 and 2023 for best term life insurance company.
Learn more: State Farm Insurance review
Midland National vs. Globe Life
This carrier might be a good alternative if you are looking for coverage that isn’t based upon your ability to pass a medical exam. Although Globe Life’s policies have health questionnaires, most of its life insurance offerings can be purchased without a medical exam.
Learn more: Globe Life Insurance review
Is Midland National a good insurance company?
Our Midland National life insurance review analyzed the company from several angles to help you understand if it's the right fit for you. Our insurance editorial team understands the features that matter most to life insurance shoppers and our goal is to provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision.
Midland National could be a good insurance company if you are specifically looking for universal life insurance with plenty of rider options. While the company offers term coverage, its policies don’t stand out among competitors. Additionally, Midland National life insurance has a below-average customer satisfaction rating with J.D Power, but also has below-average complaints filed with the NAIC. This conflicting information might make it helpful to talk with current policyholders as you compare life insurance quotes and choose a company.
Midland National customer satisfaction
Consumer-data analytics company J.D. Power has another story to tell, however. In the 2023 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, Midland National received a score of 784/1,000, lower than the industry average of 790/1,000. This could indicate that consumers tend to have less than satisfactory interactions with the company.
Midland National typically receives high financial strength ratings, which means that customers may be able to feel confident it has a solid financial history. AM Best, S&P and Fitch all give the company an A+ financial strength rating. This means that, historically, Midland National has been financially stable and able to pay claims, which may give you peace of mind.
| Study or Rating Agency | Midland National | Industry average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 J.D. Power Individual Life Insurance Study | 784/1,000 | 790/1,000 |
| 2022 J.D. Power Group Life Insurance Study | Not scored | 797/1,000 |
| AM Best rating | A+ (Superior) | N/A |
Midland National life complaints
The higher a NAIC complaint index score, the more complaints the company receives. If customer service is a priority, you’ll want to look for an insurance provider with a low score. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Midland National Insurance Company receives significantly fewer complaints than the industry baseline. A score of 1.00 represents an average number of complaints, while Midland National’s most recent Complaint Index for individual life insurance is 0.23.
Other Midland National tools and benefits
In addition to life insurance, Midland National offers several annuity products and a large learning library that anyone can access:
- Multi-year guarantee annuities (MYGAs): This is a fixed annuity that pays a guaranteed interest rate over multiple years.
- Single-premium immediate annuities (SPIAs): This type of annuity starts paying a guaranteed stream of income immediately following the annuitant’s lump sum payment and will pay this income either for the rest of the annuitant’s life or a predetermined period.
- Fixed-indexed annuities (FIAs): This type of annuity credits interest to the contract based upon the performance of an underlying financial benchmark index, such as the S&P 500.
- Learn and plan center: Midland National has a large resource center where customers and non-customers can learn about insurance and financial planning. Topics include annuities, money management, retirement planning and financial literacy.
You can speak with one of Midland National’s financial professionals to determine which products make the most sense for your situation and financial goals.
Frequently asked questions about Midland National
Lara Vukelich is a freelance writer who has written for Bankrate, Huffington Post and Quiet Revolution to Expedia, Travelocity, and MyMove. She is based in San Diego, California.
