Foresters Whole Life Insurance Review (2026)
2026 verdict: Foresters Financial is the trade name of The Independent Order of Foresters, a fraternal benefit society based in Toronto. A.M. Best’s Financial Strength Rating is A (Excellent) with a stable outlook. Foresters’ U.S. financial-strength page and A.M. Best’s disclosure both date that action to October 10, 2025.
Buy a Foresters certificate when the participating whole life design and the non-medical path fit. A ranking of the whole market lives on the best whole life insurance page and on top whole life companies for cash value. This URL reviews Foresters.
Products and ratings as of October 17, 2026
| Item | Sourced fact | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Organization | The Independent Order of Foresters, a fraternal benefit society, 789 Don Mills Road, Toronto. Trade name Foresters Financial. The company dates itself to 1874. | Address: May 28, 2026 release and the Advantage Plus II producer guide. 1874: the May 28, 2026 release and Foresters’ May 1, 2025 release. |
| A.M. Best | FSR A (Excellent), stable outlook, action dated October 10, 2025. The U.S. financial-strength page says the A has stood for 25 years. | Foresters U.S. financial-strength page (form 412738 US 06/26) and A.M. Best disclosure for Foresters Life Insurance Company |
| U.S. risk-based capital | RBC ratio 623% | Foresters U.S. financial-strength page and Foresters’ 2025 financial highlights PDF. Both state 623%. As of Oct 17, 2026. |
| Total assets and surplus | 2025 financial highlights: total assets $19,597 million CAD and surplus $2,302 million CAD (the highlights round surplus to $2.3 billion CAD). U.S. financial-strength page: the same year-end results as total assets $14.3 billion USD and surplus $1.7 billion USD, converted at 1.3724. | Both documents, year ended December 31, 2025, checked Oct 17, 2026. |
| 2016 funds and assets | Total funds under management $44 billion (CDN) and total assets $13.4 billion (CDN) | Foresters’ statement as of December 31, 2016. As of Oct 17, 2026 that is the 2016 figure, not the year-end 2025 total above. |
| DBRS Morningstar | Issuer rating and financial strength rating of A, stable trends, confirmed July 3, 2025 | Foresters’ U.S. page cites the Morningstar DBRS release of that date |
| Advantage Plus II | Participating whole life with guaranteed cash value. Dividends are not guaranteed. Dividend options on both documents: paid-up additions, left on deposit, reduce the premium, or cash. Non-medical issue ages 0–75 and medical issue ages through 85. Premium period is 20-pay or level pay to age 100. The producer guide says 20-pay is not available at issue ages 76–85. The consumer page says face amounts start at $25,000. The producer guide uses age and underwriting bands, and some bands sit above $25,000, so the illustration sets the minimum. Not offered in every state. | Foresters’ U.S. Advantage Plus II page and the Advantage Plus II producer guide, checked October 17, 2026 |
| PlanRight | Named on Foresters’ U.S. whole life index as a separate lifetime whole life plan. Face amounts and underwriting rules are not repeated here. | That index page only |
| Canadian dividend scale interest rate | 6.25% for new participating certificates and for in-force participating certificates on anniversaries from May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027. Dividends are not guaranteed. Foresters’ May 1, 2025 release had set the Canadian scale at 6.25%. | Company release on PR Newswire, May 28, 2026, and Foresters’ May 1, 2025 release |
| U.S. dividend interest rate on this site | Our dividend rate history has no published Foresters U.S. DIR for 2021 through 2026. The last print in that series is 5.80% for 2020. The Canadian 6.25% scale is a different participating account. | This site’s dividend history, which follows the TWL dividend workbook |
Member benefits are non-contractual. Foresters’ May 28, 2026 release says they can be changed or cancelled and that they have eligibility rules. Do not buy the certificate for a brochure perk.
Who it fits
Working families who want participating whole life, can qualify for the non-medical Advantage Plus II path or will go through medical underwriting, and will compare the illustration with a mutual before they treat cash value as the reason to buy.
Skip it when the only goal is the strongest illustrated cash value. MassMutual, Penn Mutual, and New York Life are the comparisons. Then use the cash-value ranking linked above.
Pros
- A (Excellent), stable, dated October 10, 2025, on the company page and on A.M. Best’s disclosure.
- Advantage Plus II is a real participating whole life certificate with the features in the table, on two Foresters documents.
- The Canadian scale was reaffirmed at 6.25% on May 28, 2026, for certificate anniversaries through April 30, 2027. The company says dividends are not guaranteed.
Cons
- A is Excellent, which is below A+ and A++. Shoppers who only sort by the highest A.M. Best letter will look elsewhere.
- The U.S. dividend series we publish is blank after 2020. Using the Canadian 6.25% figure on a U.S. illustration is a category error.
- Living-benefit rider definitions change by certificate and state. This page does not restate ADL counts or a life-expectancy month count, because those details were not re-sourced to two current documents.
What is Foresters life insurance?
Foresters life insurance is a certificate of The Independent Order of Foresters, the Toronto fraternal society that uses the Foresters Financial name. In the United States the participating whole life plan documented on the company site and in the producer guide is Advantage Plus II, with the issue ages, dividend options, and face-amount caution in the table. The financial-strength letter, as of October 10, 2025, is A (Excellent), stable.
Is Foresters one of the top whole life insurance companies?
This page does not answer that with a rank. “Top whole life insurance companies” is the job of the best whole life insurance roundup and the cash-value ranking. Foresters can be the right certificate for the reasons in the table and the wrong one when the illustration loses on cash value. Read both pages, then compare contracts.
Bottom line
Foresters is a fraternal participating whole life option with an A (Excellent) rating as of October 10, 2025, a sourced Advantage Plus II design, and a Canadian 6.25% scale that must stay in Canada. If accumulation is the job, price a mutual beside it. Get a whole life quote.
Sources
Checked October 17, 2026.
- Foresters U.S. financial strength, A (Excellent), stable, October 10, 2025, RBC 623%, total assets $14.3 billion USD and surplus $1.7 billion USD: foresters.com/en/about-us/financial-strength
- A.M. Best disclosure, Foresters Life Insurance Company, FSR A affirmed October 10, 2025: Disclosure PDF, AMB 66847
- Foresters 2025 financial highlights, year ended December 31, 2025: total assets $19,597 million CAD, surplus $2,302 million CAD, RBC 623%: PDF
- Morningstar DBRS, July 3, 2025, A / stable, as cited by Foresters: dbrs.morningstar.com/research/457816
- Advantage Plus II: product page and producer guide
- U.S. whole life index, including PlanRight: foresters.com whole life
- Canadian DSIR held at 6.25% for May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027: PR Newswire, May 28, 2026
- Canadian scale set at 6.25% effective May 1, 2025: Foresters newsroom
- December 31, 2016: Foresters stated total funds under management of $44 billion (CDN) and total assets of $13.4 billion (CDN). That statement was quoted on this page before the 2026 refresh. The company URL in the old quote now returns a 404. It is not the 2025 total.
