16 tracked life insurance carriers ranked by NAIC complaint index (higher = more regulator-confirmed complaints relative to premium volume). Median for this line: 0.57.
Life Insurance · NAIC MCAS 2026
Life Insurance: 16 tracked carriers, median complaint index 0.57; Globe Life leads the high end at 1.87, Northwestern Mutual Life the low end at 0.23.
Registry facts from retained NAIC extracts, not a buy/sell recommendation.
Spread: index 0.23–1.87 · IQR 0.51 · 3/16 above 1.0.
Complaint-index span
Among 16 life insurance carriers with a reported NAIC complaint index, the observed range is 0.23 to 1.87 (span 1.64). The highest index sits about 3.3× the line median of 0.57. That gap is a property of this line's reported set, not a cross-line comparison.
Named endpoints
Among 16 life insurance carriers with a ratio, Globe Life posts the highest NAIC complaint index (1.87, ~3.3× the line median of 0.57). Northwestern Mutual Life posts the lowest (0.23, about 60% below the median). Endpoints identify the range of the retained MCAS set; they are not purchase recommendations.
Reputation-grade mix
8 of 16 life insurance carriers (50%) sit in the A tier, with 0 F grades. That mix is uncommon among the four coverage lines PlainInsurer ranks and describes the tracked peer set only.
Life-line reporting shape
Life complaint indexes in the retained MCAS extract sit lower at the median than auto/home/health individual in the same portal build, and the A-grade share is higher. That describes this tracked peer set's reported complaint pressure, not policy value, contestability outcomes, or agent conduct - none of which appear in the complaint-index numerator.
The ten largest life groups hold 45.8% cumulative written premium in the retained release. 8 tracked carriers carry an A reputation grade in the complaint-index set.
Group written-premium ranks from the retained NAIC market-share release: size context separate from the company complaint-index table. Top five groups: 29.1%. Full market-share research →
| # | Group | Market share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwestern Mutual Group | 8.66% |
| 2 | New York Life Group | 5.76% |
| 3 | Mass Mutual Life Insurance Group | 5.52% |
| 4 | Prudential of American Group | 5.08% |
| 5 | Lincoln National Group | 4.08% |
| 6 | State Farm Group | 3.73% |
| 7 | Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc. Group | 3.49% |
| 8 | Pacific Life Group | 3.28% |
| # | Insurer | Grade | Complaint index | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Globe Life Globe Life | D | 1.87 +87% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 2 | Primerica Life Insurance Primerica | D | 1.67 +67% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 3 | Transamerica Life Aegon | C | 1.12 +12% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 4 | Unum Life Unum | C | 0.93 -7% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 5 | MetLife MetLife | C | 0.89 -11% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 6 | John Hancock Life Manulife | B | 0.74 -26% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 7 | Prudential Financial Prudential | B | 0.67 -33% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 8 | Nationwide Life Nationwide | B | 0.58 -42% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 9 | Lincoln National Life Lincoln National | A | 0.56 -44% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 10 | Principal Financial Principal | A | 0.48 -52% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 11 | TIAA Life TIAA | A | 0.43 -57% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 12 | Mutual of Omaha Mutual of Omaha | A | 0.42 -58% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 13 | New York Life New York Life | A | 0.31 -69% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 14 | Guardian Life Guardian | A | 0.29 -71% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 15 | MassMutual MassMutual | A | 0.28 -72% vs. avg
| 50 |
| 16 | Northwestern Mutual Life Northwestern Mutual | A | 0.23 -77% vs. avg
| 50 |
Data: NAIC MCAS 2026. Sorted by average complaint ratio (highest first).
Among the 16 life insurance carriers PlainInsurer tracks with a ratio, Globe Life posts the highest index (1.87; line median 0.57). The index normalizes complaints by premium share; it is not a claim-denial rate.
Northwestern Mutual Life posts the lowest index among tracked life insurance carriers (0.23 vs median 0.57). A low index means fewer regulator-confirmed complaints relative to premium volume in the MCAS extract, not a price or coverage rating.
In the 2024 market-share release, the five largest groups account for 29.1% of written premium; the largest named group is Northwestern Mutual Group at 8.7%. Group premium share and company complaint index use different NAIC extracts.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.