Best Life Insurance for Nurses (2026)

The best life insurance for a nurse is usually a policy you own, because it stays with you when you change hospitals, go per diem or take travel contracts. Banner Life fits nurses who want to layer extra term coverage over a base policy. Ladder fits nurses who want to apply online, on their own schedule, with no exam up to $3 million. Mutual of Omaha fits nurses weighing indexed universal life with built-in living benefits, and Northwestern Mutual fits nurses who want whole life that can pay dividends.

This guide applies to RNs, LPNs, nurse practitioners, CNAs and travel nurses alike. We're a matching service, not an insurer; licensed agents we connect you with may offer policies from some of these companies. See how we review companies.

How did we choose these companies?

We compared six insurers that sell individual life policies nationally, using only what each company, its rating agencies and the NAIC publish. For each one we looked at:

• Portability: whether the coverage is yours, separate from any employer or staffing agency.
• Fit for shift work: online or phone applications, no-exam options and service hours.
• Policy options: term lengths, coverage amounts, conversion to permanent coverage, and riders such as an accelerated death benefit.
• Financial strength: AM Best, S&P, Moody's or Fitch ratings, with dates.
• Complaints: the 2025 individual life complaint index from the NAIC Consumer Insurance Search, data as of September 29, 2026.

We don't give star ratings or scores, and no company paid to be included. The "best for" labels describe one published strength, not an overall ranking. The full criteria are on our methodology page.

How do the six companies compare?

Ratings are financial strength opinions, not reviews of customer service. Complaint indexes are for individual life insurance in 2025, where 1.00 is the national baseline.

Banner Life: best for layering coverage

Banner Life fits nurses whose biggest debts shrink at different speeds, such as a 30-year mortgage and student loans that will be paid off in 10. Its term life page lists terms of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years, coverage starting at $100,000, and issue ages 20 to 75.

What sets it apart is the term rider. You can add one or more 10-, 15- or 20-year riders on top of a base policy, so extra coverage drops off when the shorter need ends and the base policy stays in place. Banner also offers a children's rider that covers kids to age 25, and an accelerated death benefit on term policies effective 2011 or later that lets you draw part of the benefit early if you're diagnosed with a qualifying terminal illness.

Banner's ratings page lists AM Best A (updated March 13, 2026), Fitch A+ and S&P A. Caution: Banner is rated a step below Protective and Northwestern Mutual by AM Best, and rider availability can vary, so confirm which riders your state allows.

Protective: best for long terms with a conversion path

Protective fits nurses who want one term policy to run a long time and keep the option to switch to permanent coverage. Its Classic Choice term comes in 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, 30-, 35- and 40-year terms, for $100,000 to $5 million, with riders that allow conversion to a permanent policy. Protective says you can apply online or by phone, which helps if you can only deal with paperwork on your days off.

Protective's ratings page lists Protective Life Insurance Company at AM Best A+, S&P AA-, Fitch AA- and Moody's Aa3, current as of June 30, 2026. Caution: In New York, the product is issued by a different company, Protective Life and Annuity, so check the issuer named on your offer.

Ladder: best for applying on your own schedule

Ladder fits nurses who work nights or rotating shifts and would rather apply online between shifts than book a weekday exam. Ladder says its application is 100% digital, with health questions and no medical exam, for $3 million of coverage or less; above that, it may ask for an at-home health check. You can also lower your coverage later, which Ladder calls "laddering," as your mortgage or loans shrink. If you cancel in the first 30 days, you get a full refund.

Ladder is an agency, not the insurer. Its site says policies are issued by Amica Life Insurance Company and Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company in D.C. and every state except New York, and by S.USA Life Insurance Company in D.C. and every state except Connecticut and New York. Caution: Ladder doesn't publish issuer ratings on its site, so ask which company will issue your policy and look that company up on the NAIC Consumer Insurance Search before you buy. For the trade-offs of skipping the exam, see our guide to no medical exam life insurance.

Corebridge Direct: best for seeing sample prices first

Corebridge Direct fits nurses who want a price range before talking to anyone. Its term life page describes level terms of 10 to 30 years and posts sample monthly rates for policies issued by American General Life. As the company's own example, $250,000 of 20-year term at its Preferred Plus class is listed at $19.68 a month for a 40-year-old woman and $20.64 for a 40-year-old man (checked September 2026). These are Preferred Plus rates, and your own class and price depend on your application. You can buy by phone, and the quote line opens at 6 a.m. Pacific on weekdays and 7 a.m. on Saturdays.

Corebridge's ratings page, last updated April 8, 2026, lists American General Life at S&P A+, Moody's A2, AM Best A and Fitch A+, with AM Best's rating under review and S&P's on CreditWatch Negative. Caution: American General Life's 2025 individual life complaint index was 2.84, with 148 confirmed complaints, well above the 1.00 baseline.

Mutual of Omaha: best for IUL with living benefits

Mutual of Omaha fits nurses who already save in a 403(b) or 457(b) and want permanent coverage with cash value. Its universal life page, underwritten by United of Omaha, describes two indexed universal life (IUL) products. Life Protection Advantage can guarantee the death benefit through age 90 if you pay the no-lapse premium or more, and it includes accelerated death benefit and guaranteed refund option riders. Income Advantage leans more toward cash value growth. Both guarantee you won't be credited less than 0 percent when the index falls. The company also says its universal life coverage offers early access to part of the death benefit for a terminal or chronic illness.

Mutual of Omaha's ratings page lists United of Omaha at AM Best A+, S&P A+ and Moody's A1, all with a stable outlook. Caution: IUL has caps, fees and lapse risk that term doesn't. Read IUL for nurses before you compare one with a retirement plan.

Northwestern Mutual: best for whole life with dividends

Northwestern Mutual fits nurses who want lifelong coverage with fixed premiums and are comfortable working with an advisor. Its whole life page says cash value is guaranteed to grow and that policies can earn dividends, which you can take as cash, use toward premiums, or use to buy more coverage. The same page notes dividends are reviewed every year and are not guaranteed. Its term life page says the coverage isn't tied to a workplace plan and that you can convert some or all of a term policy to whole life.

Northwestern Mutual's financial information page lists AM Best A++ (November 2025), Fitch AAA (June 2026), Moody's Aa1 (August 2026) and S&P AA+ (May 2026). Its 2025 individual life complaint index was 0.07. Caution: Whole life costs much more than term for the same death benefit, and you buy through a Northwestern Mutual financial advisor rather than online. Compare the two in term vs. whole life insurance.

How should nurses compare life insurance quotes?

Start with what you already have at work, then compare quotes for the same coverage amount and term length. A few steps are specific to nursing:

1. Write down your group coverage. Note the basic and supplemental amounts and whether they can be ported or converted if you leave. Our guide to whether hospital life insurance is enough explains what usually ends with the job.
2. Describe your role precisely. Say whether you work in an ICU, ER, home health, travel or school setting. None of these insurers publish how they rate specific nursing roles, so underwriting varies and is decided when you apply. Ask the agent before you submit.
3. Plan around your shifts. Ask whether a policy needs an exam, and if it does, whether it can be done at home and at what hours. Tell the agent your sleep window.
4. Match the term to your debts. Count your mortgage, car loans and any private student loans or cosigned debt. Our guide to nursing student loans and life insurance covers which loans are discharged at death and which are not.
5. Plan for gaps if you travel. Agency benefits can stop between contracts. See life insurance for travel nurses for how to cover those weeks.
6. Check the issuer. Search the exact company name on your offer in the NAIC Consumer Insurance Search for current complaint data.

To size your coverage, try our life insurance calculator or read the full life insurance for nurses guide. More guides are on our nurses hub.