North American Company Life Insurance Review

Our take

North American was founded in 1886 as the North American Accident Association. Over the years, the company underwent several changes and passed important milestones. In 1918, they became the first company to offer disability insurance to women. Today, their legacy lives on through their commitment to helping people plan for the future through their life insurance plans.

North American offers term life insurance and universal policies, as well as annuities that can be useful in planning for retirement. Their term life insurance rates are highly affordable, and some customers may wish to take advantage of their no-frills Classic Term policy, offering affordable rates without additional riders and add-ons.

Customers seeking whole or final expense insurance will have to look elsewhere. Additionally, they offer only one policy with accelerated underwriting. All other policies require a meeting with an agent, as well as a medical exam.

What we like

Affordable Term Life Insurance

North American’s term life insurance premiums are some of the most competitive in the industry. Customers willing to forgo riders and other add-ons can take advantage of their no-frills Classic Term policy.

Online Quotes Available

North American provides a remarkably simple tool that creates online quotes, offering a snapshot of the company’s rates for term life insurance.

High Coverage Amounts Available

North American provides term life coverage as high as $5 million.

What we don’t like

Insurance Can Only Be Purchased Through Agents

North American relies on insurance agents to determine coverage for the majority of their policies.

Medical Exam Required

At North American, nearly all of their policies require a medical exam. While they do have one option (LifeVue Term) that offers accelerated underwriting, there are limits for age and amount of coverage.

No Option for Whole/Final Expense Insurance

North American does not provide whole life insurance or final expense insurance products.

Products

Term

LifeVue Term

LifeVue provides term life insurance for those who wish to forgo a medical exam. Coverage ranges from $50,000 to a max of $500,000, though this drops to $300k for applicants in their 50s, and $200k for applicants over 60.

Classic Term

North American’s Classic Term provides term life insurance ranging from $500,000 to $5 million. It is only available in 10 and 15-year terms and offers no additional riders or policy options. It also requires a medical exam, and its prices are not locked in until you meet with an agent. But this plan does offer highly affordable “no-frills” term life coverage at competitive prices.

ADDvantage (Term Life)

North American’s ADDvantage plan provides term life insurance coverage ranging from $100,000 to $5 million. Plans are available for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years.

Their website provides initial quotes, but applicants will still need to meet with an agent and undergo a medical exam before prices can be finalized.

Universal Life

North American offers three universal life insurance plans.

Custom Growth CV

This plan provides a death benefit as well as cash value accumulation.

Custom Guarantee

This lower-cost option offers guaranteed death benefit coverage, though it’s generally a smaller benefit than other plans.

Custom TermGUL

This universal plan has a low minimum coverage amount of $25,000. Additionally, the plan includes the chronic illness accelerated rider at no additional cost.

Indexed Universal

An indexed universal life insurance plan is similar to a traditional universal plan in that it allows the policyholder to build cash value. The difference is that an indexed universal policy allows you to invest in stock market indexes such as the S&P 500 or Nasdaq. The potential for growth is higher than a traditional universal plan, but because this depends on the performance of the market, this plan also carries a higher level of financial risk.
North American provides four different indexed universal life insurance plans.

Builder IUL

This plan includes an accelerated death benefit rider as well as caps on variable interest rate loans. This plan is best for those looking for long-term cash value accumulation.

Guarantee Builder IUL

This plan includes an accelerated death benefit rider as well as a premium guarantee rider. Like the Builder plan, it also places caps on variable interest rate loans. This plan has a guaranteed death benefit up to age 120.

Rapid Builder IUL

This plan includes an accelerated death benefit rider, but its true selling point is its early cash value accumulation. This plan is best for those who want early access to cash value. It also provides an interest bonus on fixed and index accounts.

Survivorship IUL

This plan is intended to insure two people, paying a death benefit after the death of the second surviving policyholder.

Policy benefits

Riders

Accelerated Death Benefit Rider

This rider allows you to access a portion of the death benefit in the event you are diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness.

Children’s Term Insurance

This rider allows you to add term life coverage for children between the ages of 15 days and 20 years.

Estate Preservation

This rider is available on survivorship policies, providing an additional death benefit of 125% (to a max of $10 million) if both policyholders die within four years of the issue date.

Guaranteed Insurability

Universal and indexed universal policyholders may use this rider to purchase additional insurance without an additional medical exam.

Cost

North American’s term life insurance rates are some of the most competitive in the industry, and their Classic Life plan may appeal to customers looking for basic, affordable life insurance.

North American offers excellent rates for their term life insurance policies, specifically their Classic Term. Their other policies offer more features, without adding additional expense.

Classic Term Cost

Classic term customers can expect highly-competitive rates. Here are some rates we obtained from their website’s online tool. These monthly rates are for a healthy man of varying ages and reflect a policy of $500,000:

These rates fall significantly below industry averages. However, none of these estimates can be taken as final. Applicants will still need to meet with an agent and undergo a physical prior to receiving coverage. Nevertheless, this plan provides an affordable entry point to term life coverage.

ADDvanatage Term

The rates of North American’s ADDvantage term plans are similarly competitive. A healthy male in his 20s can get a 20-year, $250,000 policy for $13.64 per month. Women can receive the same policy for $12.10. Their rates go as low as $8.54 (for a healthy 20-year-old female purchasing a 10-year, $100k plan), making North American one of the most competitive in the industry.

Additionally, their rates remain consistently competitive across all age brackets. With some companies, customers can see a dramatic premium increase after they turn 50 or 60. With North American, a healthy male can receive a 20-year $500k policy starting at $83.60 per month. A 60-year-old male will receive the same policy for $242, which is a jump, but not as dramatic as other companies.

Of course, these quotes are not final. Applicants will have to meet with an agent before their rates are locked in. It’s also not clear whether these rates would increase following the mandatory medical exam. Still, these rates are highly competitive, and those looking for basic term life insurance can expect reasonable rates from North American.

Universal

North American does not provide estimates for their universal policies outside of a meeting with an agent. Due to the number of options and investment opportunities, applicants will also have to weigh the costs and benefits of these plans. Having an agent explain your options may be helpful, but some customers may prefer investing their money through traditional retirement plans and savings accounts.

Performance

North American enjoys great financial ratings from third-party sources.

Financial ratings

North American boasts of strong financial ratings:

• A.M. Best: A+ (superior)
• S&P: A+
• BBB: A+

Additionally, North American received a complaint ratio of 0.74 from the North American Insurance Commission, indicating they receive fewer customer complaints than other companies of similar size.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is North American Company a good life insurance company?

Yes. North American Company for Life and Health Insurance is rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, with over 135 years of operating history (founded 1886). It is wholly owned by Sammons Financial Group, a mutual-affiliated holding company that also owns Midland National Life Insurance. North American has over $30 billion in assets and is a leading provider of indexed universal life and guaranteed universal life insurance in the U.S. market.

What is Sammons Financial Group?

Sammons Financial Group is the parent company of North American Company and Midland National Life Insurance. It is a privately-held insurance and financial services holding company owned by the Sammons family (founded by Charles Sammons in 1937). The group has over $135 billion in assets under management and is one of the largest privately-held insurance holding companies in the U.S. Both North American and Midland National maintain A+ A.M. Best ratings under Sammons.

What life insurance products does North American Company offer?

North American offers six main product types: (1) ADDvantage Term - level term life in 10/15/20/25/30-year durations, (2) Custom Guarantee UL - guaranteed universal life with no-lapse guarantee to age 90, 95, 100, or 121, (3) Builder Plus IUL - flagship indexed universal life with high accumulation potential, (4) ADVantage Choice IUL - alternative IUL design for retirement-income strategies, (5) Performance Choice GUL Indexed, and (6) various survivorship and high-net-worth designs.

What is Builder Plus IUL?

Builder Plus IUL is North American Company's flagship indexed universal life product. It allows cash-value growth tied to one of several stock indices (S&P 500, Russell 2000, Hang Seng) with a guaranteed floor of 0 percent (no losses) and a cap on annual gains. Builder Plus is designed for tax-advantaged cash-value accumulation and supplemental retirement income, with strong living benefit riders (chronic, critical, and terminal illness ABRs) included at no extra cost.

Does North American Company require a medical exam?

It depends on the product and face amount. North American offers accelerated underwriting up to $1,000,000 for healthy applicants ages 18-55 across ADDvantage Term, Custom Guarantee UL, and Builder Plus IUL - no paramedical exam required. For face amounts above $1,000,000 or for applicants with health conditions, a traditional paramedical exam (blood draw, urine sample, vitals) is required.

How much does North American Company life insurance cost?

Sample monthly rates for a healthy non-smoking 35-year-old female: $500K ADDvantage 20-year term, around $22-30/month. $500K Builder Plus IUL (designed for accumulation), around $300-500/month depending on funding target. $500K Custom Guarantee UL to age 100, around $260-340/month. North American is competitive within the IUL and GUL space, particularly for buyers prioritizing strong living benefits and accelerated underwriting.

How long does North American Company take to approve an application?

Accelerated-underwriting cases (up to $1M for healthy applicants ages 18-55) typically return a decision within 24-72 hours. Traditional underwriting with a paramedical exam takes 3-6 weeks depending on exam scheduling and lab work. Permanent products (Builder Plus IUL, Custom Guarantee UL) generally take longer than term because the underwriting is more comprehensive for cash-value designs.

Who should buy life insurance from North American Company?

North American is best for: (1) Buyers seeking tax-advantaged cash-value accumulation via IUL (Builder Plus is best-in-class for high cap rates), (2) Buyers seeking guaranteed universal life at a competitive cost, (3) Applicants ages 18-55 wanting up to $1M with no exam, (4) Buyers who value strong living benefit riders on permanent policies. It is NOT the cheapest carrier for pure term life; Banner Life and Protective typically beat them on price for vanilla term coverage.

Does North American Company have living benefits?

Yes. North American includes strong living benefit riders (also called accelerated benefit riders or ABRs) on most of its permanent products at no extra cost. The standard suite covers chronic illness (triggered by ADL impairment), critical illness (triggered by specific diagnoses like cancer, heart attack, stroke), and terminal illness (triggered by 12-24-month life expectancy diagnosis). Builder Plus IUL and Custom Guarantee UL both include this suite as standard, making North American competitive with National Life Group on living-benefit depth.

How do I file a claim with North American Company?

Beneficiaries can file a claim by calling North American at 1-877-872-0757 or visiting NorthAmericanCompany.com/contact/file-a-claim. Required documentation includes the certified death certificate, the policy number, and the beneficiary's ID. Most claims are paid within 14 to 30 days of receiving complete documentation. North American is part of Sammons Financial Group, which maintains a consolidated claims processing center for North American and Midland National policies.