Penn Mutual

• Industry Experience
• Favorable Company Structure
• High Financial Strength Ratings
• Variety of Insurance Product Options
• Detailed Website

Industry Experience

The company has been around since 1847, so it has a long, stable history. In fact, it's one of the oldest mutual insurance companies in the nation. Knowing that Penn Mutual has weathered many storms over the years and continued to grow should give customers peace of mind that they are not buying a product from a fly-by-night operation.

Clearly, Penn Mutual has established a reputation for being reliable. It has also grown and expanded quite a bit over its long history, so Penn Mutual is one of the few insurance companies that offers life insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This widespread availability alone makes them a good choice. If anything, it demonstrates ongoing, consistent growth and expansion.

Penn Mutual has also received high financial strength ratings from major ratings agencies. A high financial strength rating indicates reliability and financial stability.

Favorable Company Structure

Penn Mutual is a mutual company, which means that it only answers to policyholders, not shareholders. Since the insurer only answers to its policyholders, it only makes decisions based on the best interests of its policyholders.

Insurers that answer to shareholders have to consider those interests in addition to policyholder interests when making decisions. It's beneficial to work with an insurance carrier that has a structure that makes it focus primarily on your interests as a policyholder.

High Financial Strength Ratings

Penn Mutual has earned high financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's, Kroll Bond Rating Agency, and a high Comdex composite index rating. These high ratings are a good sign because they indicate Penn Mutual's fiscal responsibility and ability to meet its claims obligations.

With such high ratings combined with years of experience and a positive company structure, you can rely on Penn Mutual to keep your best interests at heart when you purchase a life insurance policy.

Variety of Insurance Product Options

Penn Mutual has an impressive array of life policy options, including term, permanent, whole, universal, variable and survivorship insurance policies. This variety of life insurance products means that potential clients can find life insurance coverage that meets their needs.

Term insurance policies only offer coverage for a set period of time. If you only need coverage for a specific number of years, a term life policy is a good option. Term life policies also tend to be cheaper than permanent life insurance policies because the coverage is limited to a certain period of time. Term life insurance premiums typically remain the same for the duration of the term, which makes it easy for policyholders to plan their budget each month.

Permanent life insurance includes whole life insurance and universal life insurance. Both kinds of policies accrue cash value, which can make these policies an asset. Whole life insurance generally comes with a guaranteed rate of cash value growth. Universal policies have some investment options depending on the kind of universal life insurance policy you choose.

Whole life insurance has a fixed premium that policyholders pay monthly. Universal life policies offer more flexibility with premium payments for policyholders. Policyholders can increase or reduce monthly payments within reason based on their investment and growth goals for the policy.

Survivorship policies, in particular, are something not every life insurance company offers. These policies are designed to provide coverage for two individuals, such as spouses, life partners, or parents.

Detailed Website

The website gives a good, simplified overview of each policy type with basic information that quickly gives potential customers a way to understand what needs are met by each policy and who they might be best suited for. It's basic information presented in bullet points, so people can readily understand the major benefits of each policy type. The information helps potential Penn Mutual policyholders determine what type of insurance coverage is best for them: a permanent life insurance policy or a term life insurance policy.

For example, permanent life insurance allows people to take a loan from the cash value when necessary. The website makes this clear. This kind of basic, bulleted information can be helpful in getting people started in the right direction.

• No Payment Estimator

No Payment Estimator

It can be frustrating when an insurance company doesn't offer a way to obtain concrete financial numbers about an insurance policy on its website. While the website offers a way to estimate how much life insurance you need to cover expenses, but it does not offer a calculator or a way to estimate what monthly payments might be.

Life insurance quotes are valuable information for potential policyholders to have. However, premium payments vary depending on the kind of policy purchased, the insured's health history, the insured's occupation, and other factors.

Some companies that offer life insurance quotes online base those quotes on standardized charts. However, because so many factors go into determining the real rate, some insurers do not offer quotes online.

Those interested in a Penn Mutual life insurance policy should work with a local agent to get more specific information about the premium cost, benefit, policy riders (like an accelerated death benefit, accidental death benefit, or disability waiver of premium), and the underwriting process. 

The underwriting process is how the insurance company seeks evidence of insurability. It often includes a medical exam to determine if the applicant will qualify at a certain monthly premium rate.