Pros Explained

• Affordable premiums for term life: Based on a review of 32 term life insurers, Midland National has very affordable premiums for term life insurance.
• Many riders available: If you want to customize your life insurance policy, Midland National offers lots of optional riders, some of which are available at no added cost.
• Offers no-medical-exam policies: Midland National uses an accelerated underwriting process, called WriteAway, to waive the medical exam on term and permanent life insurance policies for some customers.
• Multiple policy types available: Midland National offers an array of policy types, including term, whole, universal, and indexed universal. If you’re not sure which policy you want, there’s a good chance you’ll find it here.

Cons Explained

• Can’t apply online: If you want to apply for a life insurance policy from Midland National, you will have to work with an agent over the phone or in-person.
• Policy types and details are not clearly presented on the website: Midland National's website doesn't clearly outline all of their life insurance policy types and product details.

Complaint Index

Midland National has fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size, based on data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). 

The NAIC Complaint Index measures the number of customer complaints an insurance company receives, relative to its size. If a company receives an expected number of complaints for its size, its complaint index is 1.0. Companies with fewer complaints than expected have an index below 1.0, and companies with more complaints than expected have an index above 1.0.

Midland National’s complaint index scores over the last three years were all low at 0.11, 0.13, and 0.16 in 2021, 2020, and 2019 respectively. This means the company received far fewer complaints than expected during all three years. 

Third-Party Ratings

Midland National has an A+ (Superior) rating from AM Best, which indicates that the company has a superior ability to pay claims and meet other insurance obligations. AM Best is a credit ratings agency that assigns letter grades to companies based on their balance sheet, company performance, and debt. Midland National received the second-highest rating possible, with A++ being the highest letter grade.

Policies Available 

All of Midland National’s life insurance policies must be purchased through an agent, but you can get a quote for term life online. Here are the types of life insurance you can purchase from Midland National.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance offers coverage over a fixed period of time, usually between 10 and 30 years. The premiums are level over the duration of the term and if you pass away before the policy expires, your beneficiary receives a tax-free death benefit that can be used for any purpose. Unlike permanent life insurance policies, term policies usually do not include a cash value component. 

Universal Life Insurance

Universal life (UL) insurance provides coverage for your entire lifetime. Midland National offers guaranteed UL insurance, which has a guaranteed death benefit. This benefit will pass tax-free to your beneficiaries. Unlike typical universal life coverage, Midland National says this policy is not designed to build much cash value.

Indexed Universal Life Insurance

Indexed universal life (IUL) has a cash value that is credited interest according to the performance of a stock market index, such as the S&P 500. You can’t lose money due to market downturns, but gains are also limited subject to caps, participation rates, and spreads. 

This type of insurance is less risky than a VUL policy, because your money is not directly invested in any equity positions. But if the index doesn’t perform as anticipated, you may need to increase the premium to keep the policy in force. Like UL and VUL policies, IUL policies have a flexible death benefit and adjustable premiums. 

Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance as the name suggests provides coverage for the entire life of the insured. The death benefit is fixed and guaranteed. Premiums are fixed as well. The policy builds cash value that can be accessed while you are still living. The policy also has living benefits that allow the insured to receive part of the death benefit while living if certain health conditions are met.

Available Riders

Life insurance riders are options that you can add to your life insurance for extra protection. Midland National offers a wide array of riders which can help you tailor your coverage to fit your needs. Here are the riders available:

Child’s Term Rider

A child’s term rider provides a small amount of life insurance coverage for your child, for an added fee on top of your monthly premium. When your child reaches adulthood, they have the option to convert their coverage into a permanent life insurance policy of their own. 

Option to Purchase Additional Insurance

This rider allows you to purchase additional permanent life insurance coverage at certain option ages in the future, without taking a medical exam. You can only add this rider if you're 39 or younger. The final option year to purchase coverage is at age 43 and the rider expires after that.

Waiver of Premium 

A waiver of premium rider will temporarily pause your life insurance premiums if you become totally disabled. You can purchase this policy for an additional monthly fee until age 55. The coverage ends when you turn 65.

Terminal Illness Rider

A terminal illness rider is a type of accelerated benefit rider. It allows you to use money from the death benefit while you are still living if you get diagnosed with a qualifying terminal illness and are expected to live for 24 months or less. The maximum amount of money you can withdraw is either 90% of the policy’s face value or $1 million, whichever is less. This rider is free to add, but there is an administrative fee.

Chronic Illness Rider

A chronic illness rider enables you to use money from your life insurance policy while you are still living if you get diagnosed with a qualifying chronic illness. To use this rider, a doctor must certify that you can’t perform at least two activities of daily living (ADLs) for at least 90 days without substantial assistance, or have a severe cognitive impairment. The maximum amount of money you can collect is 24% of the policy’s face value or $480,000, whichever is less. Like the terminal illness rider, the chronic illness rider has no charge, except for an administrative fee.

Critical Illness Rider

A critical illness rider allows you to withdraw money from your life insurance policy after getting diagnosed with a qualifying critical illness or experiencing a serious medical emergency, such as a heart attack, cancer, stroke, or major organ transplant. To use this rider, you must file a claim within 12 months of the diagnosis. The maximum amount of money you can collect is 25% of the death benefit or $50,000, whichever is less. There is an administrative fee if you use this rider. 

Customer Service

Midland National has standard customer service. You can get in touch with the company by calling the toll-free number 800-923-3223. The main email address is LifeCorrespondence@SFGmembers.com. Midland National’s business hours are Monday through Thursday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST.

Methodology

We designed a comprehensive ranking methodology based on consumer priorities and life insurance company fundamentals to rank more than 90 insurers across five general categories: financial stability, customer satisfaction, product and feature variety, the overall buying experience, and cost. In order to do this, we collected over 5,000 data points and scored each company based on 55 metrics. We grouped metrics by category to see how insurers performed in each; we then weighted category scores to determine how companies performed overall.