Best Life Insurance for Seniors in 2023

New York Life is a highly reputable insurance provider that has been around since 1845. Notably, it has a long history of paying dividends to whole life policyholders and has done so for 168 consecutive years. In 2022, the company paid $1.9 billion in dividends. What’s more, New York Life is one of the few life insurance companies to receive the highest possible financial strength rating from AM Best, an A++ (Superior). And New York Life received far fewer complaints than expected over three years, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which is an indicator of overall customer satisfaction. 

The company is a particularly good choice for older seniors as it makes policies available to 90-year-olds. Few companies let 90-year-olds apply for coverage and most limit your age at application to 85 or younger. Plus, you have a suite of riders available with which to customize coverage. These include a terminal illness rider, which lets you receive a portion of the death benefit early if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness, and a chronic care rider that lets you access the death benefit if you experience a chronic illness. 

The main drawback of New York Life is that you’ll need to speak with an agent to get more information and a pricing estimate. If you’re more comfortable transacting online and you just need term coverage, you may want to choose another provider.

Like New York Life, Guardian is one of the few life insurers to receive an A++, the top financial strength score from AM Best. The company also received very few complaints over the past three years, indicating high levels of customer satisfaction. Furthermore, Guardian is ideal for seniors because it is one of the few companies to offer policies up to issue age 90, or 75 for term coverage. Plus, whole life policyholders are eligible for life insurance dividends and several living benefits are available to customize your policy, including a no-cost terminal illness rider and a no-cost chronic illness rider.

While it’s easy to get an instant quote for term coverage, you’ll need to speak with an agent to apply for a policy. You’ll probably also need to speak to an agent if you want policy specifics, as they’re difficult to locate on the website.

Nationwide has an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating from AM Best and ranked second for customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. The company also received far fewer complaints with the NAIC than expected for a company of its size over the past three years. Nationwide offers a wide variety of policy types and riders too. These are among the reasons it’s one of our top picks for best life insurance companies overall. But what impresses us most is that Nationwide includes three living benefit riders at no upfront cost on most of its policies. These let you accelerate a portion of the death benefit if you experience a chronic, critical, or terminal illness. Other companies we reviewed include at most two no-cost living benefits, with many including only one.

If you have an auto or homeowners insurance policy with Nationwide or want to sign up for one, you can apply for a simplified issue policy for up to $50,000 in coverage up to age 80. It’s not a guaranteed acceptance policy, but it doesn’t require an in-person medical exam. It’s important to keep in mind that the policy is only available to existing Nationwide customers and that it will pay out a reduced benefit if you die of natural causes within two years of issue. Also note that there are no riders available with this policy. 

For more information, read our full Nationwide insurance review.

Pacific Life was our top pick for fewest complaints because the company has received an extremely low number of complaints over the past three years, relative to its size. In 2021 they had an extremely low complaint index of just 0.04. Pacific Life was also ranked fourth among life insurers by J.D. Power in 2021. Both indicate stellar customer satisfaction. Plus, the company holds an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating with AM Best, so you can feel confident in its financial outlook and ability to pay claims.

The company also offers a range of living benefit riders, including riders for chronic illness and terminal illness. Term policies are convertible to permanent coverage giving you some flexibility. If you want to start with a permanent policy, you’ll have your choice of whole life, universal life, indexed universal life, or variable universal life. You’ll need to speak with an agent to get a quote and apply.

Most companies cap issue ages at 75 or younger for term coverage, but John Hancock offers term coverage up to age 80. You also have options for converting your term policy to any one of John Hancock’s permanent policies up to age 70. John Hancock’s VitalityGO program is offered with all policies and provides discounts on healthy foods, wearable fitness devices, and more. And for as little as $2 per month, you can enroll in Vitality Plus, which allows you to earn points and be rewarded for healthy activities such as exercise or meditation. This program even comes with a free subscription to Headspace and a free Amazon Halo. 

Though it costs extra, John Hancock offers a valuable twist on the critical illness rider—instead of reducing your death benefit, the rider draws from a separate benefit amount, so the death benefit stays intact for your beneficiaries. The company also offers terminal illness and long-term care riders. 

What’s more, all of these benefits come from a company that received high marks for financial strength and customer satisfaction. John Hancock has an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating from AM Best and few customer complaints.

Mutual of Omaha is a good choice if you need a small permanent policy and have health problems. The company offers a guaranteed issue whole life policy with coverage up to $25,000. The policy requires no health questions and you can apply for it online without contacting an agent. However, the death benefit is graded for the first two years, which means that if you die of natural causes during that time, your beneficiaries won’t receive the full death benefit. You must be between 45 and 85 years old to apply.

The company is rated A+ (Superior) by AM Best, which means it has a superior ability to honor its insurance obligations, such as paying claims. Mutual of Omaha received fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size in 2021.

For more information, read our full Mutual of Omaha life insurance review.