6 Best Life Insurance Companies in Los Angeles, CA in 2024 (2024)

Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading global insurance organization and one of the largest life insurance companies in the U.S. It offers a wide range of life insurance products, ranging from term life insurance (temporary insurance for a fixed term) to variable life insurance (investment-driven cash value accumulation).

Like many life insurance companies dating back a century or more, MassMutual is a mutual company (owned in part by policyholders) and pays out dividends on some of its permanent life insurance policies.

MassMutual has an excellent reputation, which is well-deserved. It has the highest financial ratings possible, indicating superior claims-paying ability. It also ranked 9th overall for customer satisfaction, based on J.D. Powers’ 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study.

MassMutual’s insurance policies are sold through a career agent sales force, meaning that agents are company employees. This helps ensure their agent force receives comprehensive product training, which benefits policyholders and prospective clients.

The company is also highly touted for offering high coverage limits with its policies. Term policies start at $100,000 and can go as high as $10 million. These limits are beneficial to high-net-worth individuals and business clients.

MassMutual is not known for having the lowest premiums. Because of the high overhead associated with maintaining a career agent sales force, MassMutual’s premiums are not on the same level as some insurers that sell their policies through independent life insurance agents.

However, compared to other companies with career agents, such as New York Life and Northwestern Mutual Life, MassMutual’s premiums are competitive.

In addition to offering different types of life insurance policies, MassMutual offers fixed and variable annuities, which can provide a lifetime income after a lump-sum deposit.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and founded in 1925, Nationwide is one of the largest financial service companies in the world and is the runner-up for being the best overall life insurance company in Los Angeles.

Nationwide offers a range of life insurance products, including term life, whole life, and universal life. It sells its life insurance product through its agent sales force, but also partners with approved financial professionals who are vetted carefully by the company.

In addition to individual life insurance, Nationwide caters to the business market by offering larger face amounts and annuities, health insurance, and other financial services. The company also is popular with seniors.

When visiting Nationwide’s website, you’ll be struck by the many different types of insurance it offers, including long-term care and pet insurance. The site is easy to navigate and contains detailed product descriptions that will help you pick out the right type of policy.

Nationwide also has a bundle discount that will lower your rates if you combine your life insurance with auto insurance and homeowners policies. This allows you to protect your family and property with one company, which can simplify your life when paying premiums.

If you’re considering buying life insurance for estate planning purposes, Nationwide life insurance agents won’t be your best source of assistance. Many of the company’s agents concentrate more on property and casualty insurance than life insurance, selling it as an add-on to existing policyholders.

It might not be the cheapest life insurance, but if you are shopping for a bundle discount that includes life insurance, Nationwide is a good choice since some of their chief competitors, like Liberty Mutual, don’t offer life insurance.

Transamerica Life Insurance offers the cheapest life insurance in Los Angeles. Its premiums are the most competitive for younger adults, though they are very affordable for all age ranges.

Transamerica sells its life insurance products strictly through independent life insurance agents, often referred to as “brokers.” They don’t have a career salesforce, which helps keep their premiums low.

Transamerica’s anchor life insurance product is the Trendsetter Super Policy, which offers up to $10 million in term life protection. If you purchase this policy and are in excellent health, you probably won’t be required to take a medical exam if the policy’s face amount is $2 million or below.

The Trendsetter Super Policy is a convertible term life policy that allows you to convert your coverage to permanent life insurance during the conversion period specified in the policy. This lets you initially purchase a policy with a large face amount and low premium, then convert it to a whole or universal life insurance policy with a higher premium when your income is higher.

Transamerica also offers life insurance to foreign nationals working in the United States. You must have a global net worth of at least $1 million and be from one of 47 qualifying countries.

If your primary buying criterion is price, Transamerica is the best choice. I’ve sold Transamerica life insurance and experienced no problems having policies issued or serviced.

In the greater Los Angeles area, you’ve probably noticed a State Farm office in just about every neighborhood. Thanks to their neighborhood agents, State Farm is known for being there “like a good neighbor” not only when you want to buy insurance, but also when you need customer service.

State Farm was established in 1922 as an auto insurance company, then branched out to include many other types of insurance, including homeowners and renters insurance.

The company is not particularly well known for its life insurance products (which I’ve owned before), but don’t take them lightly when it comes to the quality of its permanent life insurance policies, like its whole life offering.

State Farm’s term life insurance rates are not extremely competitive, but if you don’t mind paying a little extra for dealing with an agent in your local area, it’s not overpriced.

Besides having over 18,000 agents in the U.S., State Farm also has 343 claim offices and 30 operations centers. This is evidence of the company’s commitment to customer satisfaction and why it consistently ranks at the top of JD Powers’ annual release of life insurers’ customer satisfaction levels.

Having purchased State Farm life insurance from a neighborhood agent, I can attest to how good the service was and how convenient it was to buy. If you don’t mind paying a little more for convenience and superior customer service, State Farm is an excellent choice.

Most seniors are very familiar with Omaha from growing up or raising their children watching the “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” television show.

Mutual of Omaha is aptly named because it too is a mutual (policyholder-owned) insurance company located in Omaha, Nebraska. I know it well, having spent five years with the company as an agent, trainer, and manager.

While the company sells life insurance to people of all ages through its subsidiary, United of Omaha, it primarily targets Baby Boomers and their parents. In addition to life insurance for seniors, Mutual of Omaha is a popular provider of Medicare Supplement policies to seniors, and you may have seen their travel insurance kiosks at the airport.

Focusing on life insurance, Mutual of Omaha offers a wide assortment of life insurance, including term, whole, and universal life. Their prices for permanent insurance are on the higher end of the pricing spectrum, but still competitive.

The insurer shines when it comes to life insurance for seniors. It has become well-known for its “no medical exam” senior whole life insurance policy, which is available to people ages 45-80. The policy is marketed by Mutual of Omaha as being “Final Expense Insurance,” though it is simply a whole life insurance policy with a smaller face amount.

• Unsure if you need life insurance after 65?

Though a medical exam is not required for their senior life policy, questions concerning your medical history must be answered, and there is no guarantee the policy will be issued.

Mutual of Omaha senior life is an excellent choice for seniors looking for smaller face amounts of life insurance ($5,000 to $25,000) and fairly liberal underwriting and application approval. Its customer service also ranked 3rd highest in J.D. Powers’ 2022 Life Insurance Survey.

Haven Life is not one of the oldest insurers around, but it has a strong pedigree as it’s owned by MassMutual. Haven only sells term life insurance, but it is a very appealing alternative to computer-savvy individuals who want to buy insurance on their laptops in the comfort of their own homes.

Its flagship term life insurance product is Haven Term, which has a maximum death benefit of $3 million. Premiums for Haven Term are very competitive, and the product ranks among the best term life insurance in Los Angeles.

Haven makes buying life insurance online quick and easy. After you enter some basic information about yourself and select a face amount of insurance to get a quote, you complete a streamlined application that takes less than 15 minutes.

Doing business with Haven Life is a simple, fully digital process. From getting a quote to filing a death claim, everything is done online, and the instructions on the website are clear and easy to follow.

A final huge plus for Haven Life is they don’t require a medical exam, so no paramed will be coming to your home or office. Approval will be based solely on the answers to medical questions, and underwriting is known for its fairness.

If you’re looking for an easy online experience when you buy term life insurance, Haven Life is a strong choice. Being backed by MassMutual will give you confidence your claim will be paid, and the company’s customer service is highly-rated.