Insurer profile · Principal · NAIC + CMS

Principal Financial

Principal Financial's complaint record, claim-denial rate and reputation grade, drawn from published NAIC complaint data and CMS Transparency in Coverage.

A
Reputation grade
0.48
Complaint index
50
States active

The verdict

Principal Financial earns a A reputation grade - far fewer consumer problems than peers of its size, according to the NAIC's published complaint index, its ratio runs 0.48, below the 1.0 market average.

A
reputation grade
0.48
NAIC complaint index
AAA
Reputation grade A (composite score 80.8) - A=Excellent, F=Failing. Based on NAIC complaint ratios and CMS denial data.

Graded on 1 of 3 measures: NAIC complaints. The score is rescaled across the measures available, so it is not directly comparable with a carrier graded on more of them.

How we calculated this grade →

NAIC CIS filing desk

NAIC 61271 A · 80.8

GRADE-A · INDEX-QUIET · DENIAL-NONE · RANK-BEST · PHOTO-FINISH · LINES-1 · BOOK-RICH

  • GRADE-A A · 80.8
  • INDEX-QUIET 0.48
  • DENIAL-NONE No CMS file
  • RANK-BEST #10/72
  • PHOTO-FINISH Erie Insurance · A
  • LINES-1 1 line
  • BOOK-RICH 6/7 fields

Nearest complaint-index peer: Erie Insurance (±0.04 index pts)

Instrument codes from this carrier’s NAIC Consumer Information Source filing: grade band, complaint index, CMS denial band, corpus rank, photo-finish peer, line book, and field completeness. Not an official NAIC rating.

Complaint-index neighbourhood around Principal Financial

Quietest and hottest poles plus nearest index peers, not a full NAIC corpus board reprint.

Principal Financial - complaint index neighbourhood

complaint index

What this shows According to PlainInsurer's dataset, Principal Financial has a lower (better) NAIC complaint index than 86% of the 72 rated insurers it tracks and ranks #7 of 16 carriers by complaint ratio in Life Insurance.

Source NAIC published complaint index (2024) As of 2026

Where Principal Financial sits on complaints

complaint index

What this shows Principal Financial's complaint index of 0.48 is 52% below the 1.0 market average for a carrier of its size.

Source NAIC published complaint index (2024) As of 2024

Principal Financial vs. the full rated-insurer dataset

48% Among the most affordable more affordable than 86% of 72 rated insurers

Principal Financial 0% 425% all rated insurers, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more rated insurers. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NAIC published complaint index (2024) · 2024

Scale vs. complaint-adjusted score

NAIC complaint counts with PlainInsurer composite scores (multi-vintage: NAIC MCAS + CMS TiC/MA when present), 72 rated insurers 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 entities by Total complaints → (X) and Composite score (higher = more friction) → (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. Large, high frictionSmall, high frictionLarge, low frictionSmall, low friction 02,0004,0006,0008,000 60708090100 Total complaints → Composite score (higher = more friction) →
NAIC complaint counts with PlainInsurer composite scores (multi-vintage: NAIC MCAS + CMS TiC/MA when present), 72 rated insurers

Complaint record by line of business

Line Est. complaints Complaint index States active
Life Insurance ~3,010 0.48 50

Life insurance market share

National ranking by direct written premiums, NAIC 2024

#23
Market share
1.28%
Direct written premiums
$2,030M
See the full market-share ranking →

What the NAIC filing desk shows for Principal Financial

According to PlainInsurer's dataset, Principal Financial has a lower (better) NAIC complaint index than 86% of the 72 rated insurers it tracks and ranks #7 of 16 carriers by complaint ratio in Life Insurance.

Principal Financial is outside the CMS marketplace file, but the claim-denial rate ranking shows what that data reports for the carriers it does cover. How complaint indexes place Principal Financial.

Nationwide insurers with similar scores or complaint volume

Two corpus-wide peer sets for Principal Financial: nearest national-scale carriers by composite score and by NAIC complaint volume. These are cross-market neighborhoods, not the corporate-family list or same-grade chips above.

Similar composite score

Nearest carriers by composite score (80.8 here). Floored at 50+ complaints and 5+ states.

Erie Insurance 79.2 TIAA Life 82.8 Mutual of Omaha 83.2 Erie Homeowners 77.6

Similar complaint volume

Nearest carriers by NAIC complaint count (3,010 here). Deduped against the score peers so the two sets stay distinct.

Universal Property & Casualty 2,870 complaints Gainsco Insurance 3,344 complaints Lincoln National Life 3,496 complaints Mercury Insurance 2,471 complaints
Aggregates only, not advice. Full terms on the disclaimer.

Questions about Principal Financial

What does Principal Financial's grade mean?
Principal Financial received a grade of A, indicating far fewer consumer problems than peers of its size.
How many complaints does Principal Financial have?
PlainInsurer estimates Principal Financial's complaint volume at roughly 3,010 across 50 states, derived from its published NAIC complaint index and market footprint (NAIC does not release exact per-company complaint counts via public bulk data).
How do I file a complaint against Principal Financial?
File against Principal Financial through your state's Department of Insurance or the NAIC consumer portal at naic.org.
Is Principal Financial a good insurance company?
PlainInsurer's A grade for Principal Financial reflects far fewer consumer problems than peers of its size relative to peers on published complaint and denial data.
What types of insurance does Principal Financial offer?
Based on NAIC filing data, Principal Financial reports activity in 1 line of business: Life Insurance. Availability varies by state.

Verify Principal Financial

Principal Financial is filed with the NAIC under company number 61271. Search that number directly in the NAIC's own public consumer-information tool to cross-check this page against the primary source.

Verify on NAIC Consumer Information Source

Source: NAIC published complaint index data Complaint index, reputation grade for Principal Financial · 2024

Share, download, and related pages for Principal Financial

Download the data behind this page

The full PlainInsurer extract, covering every insurer including Principal Financial, is available as CSV and JSON. Underlying federal data is public domain; see our methodology for the compilation and grading method.

Complaint-index dataset Download CSV Download JSON Read the data documentation
Embed this widget

Paste to embed a live-linked card.

Data: NAIC published complaint index (2024). Not affiliated with NAIC or CMS.

Every figure on PlainInsurer comes directly from NAIC MCAS and CMS Transparency in Coverage data; no editor types in numbers. See our editorial standards or methodology, or report an error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Grades measure only the published complaint/denial data; we don't recommend any insurer or policy.