Minnesota Life Whole Life Insurance Review (2026)
2026 verdict: Minnesota Life Insurance Company is the life insurer inside Securian Financial Group. It was organized in 1880. A.M. Best affirmed a Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “aa” (Superior) on December 4, 2025, with a stable outlook, for Minnesota Life and its subsidiary Securian Life Insurance Company. The same letter and date are on A.M. Best’s disclosure for Minnesota Life.
Whole life exists on the shelf. It is a small participating block next to group, term, and universal life. A search for a generic “best company” list belongs on the best whole life insurance roundup. This page is the Minnesota Life review.
Get a whole life quote. Indexed universal life questions go to the Securian IUL review.
Ratings and product facts as of October 17, 2026
| Item | Sourced fact | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Minnesota Life Insurance Company, a stock life insurer and subsidiary of Securian Financial Group, Inc. The predecessor mutual, Minnesota Mutual Life, was organized in 1880. It moved to a mutual holding-company structure effective October 1, 1998, and took the Minnesota Life name. | Securian history page and Minnesota Life’s 2016 SEC Form 40-APP, which states the 1880 organization and the 1998 reorganization |
| Headquarters | St. Paul, Minnesota, for the Securian insurance companies named in the rating action, except where that release says otherwise | A.M. Best, December 4, 2025. Securian’s ratings page covers the same two life companies and does not restate the city, so the city is cited from A.M. Best. |
| A.M. Best | FSR A+ (Superior), Long-Term ICR “aa” (Superior), stable outlook, affirmed December 4, 2025 | A.M. Best press release and A.M. Best disclosure, both for Minnesota Life |
| Other agency letters on Securian’s page | Securian’s ratings page says its life-company ratings information is as of December 2025 and shows rank labels rather than a second copy of the A+ letter. A Comdex figure on that page was left out of this review because a second source was not in hand. | Securian ratings page, as of December 2025, with the Comdex date on that page listed as June 1, 2026 |
| Individual products the company says it offers | Fixed, indexed, and variable universal life, term life, and whole life, sold to individuals through independent partners | Minnesota Life statutory statement for the year ended December 31, 2025 |
| Participating life in force | 0.2% of total life insurance in force at both December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024. Dividends on participating policies are declared by the board. | The same statutory statement. This percentage is that one audited filing, stated for two year-ends. Dollar in-force amounts in the filing are omitted here because the units are not labeled in the note. |
No sample whole life premium is published here.
Who it fits
People who already have Minnesota Life or Securian through work, a credit union, or an illustration, and who want the parent company named plainly.
Skip it when the only goal is dividend whole life. Use MassMutual or the top whole life companies for cash value. The 0.2% participating share, as of year-end 2025, is the reason.
Pros
- A+ (Superior) from A.M. Best, affirmed December 4, 2025, with a stable outlook, on two A.M. Best documents.
- The company is old and still the issuer behind the Securian name. The 1880 date is in Securian’s history and in the 2016 SEC filing.
- Group and individual universal life are real lines in the company’s own 2025 statutory description. The Securian IUL review is the indexed-product page.
Cons
- Participating life was 0.2% of life insurance in force at December 31, 2025, in the statutory statement. That is a thin base for a cash-value whole life search.
- “Affordable Minnesota Life” in older articles usually pointed at term or group. This refresh does not repeat a premium.
- A high financial-strength letter does not make the illustration the one to buy. Compare it with a mutual on the same death benefit.
What is Minnesota Life?
Minnesota Life Insurance Company is Securian Financial’s principal life insurer. It began in 1880, reorganized into a stock life company under a mutual holding company in 1998, and kept the Minnesota Life name. As of December 4, 2025, A.M. Best rated it A+ (Superior), stable. Its own year-end 2025 statutory statement says it sells individual term, whole life, and universal life, and that participating business was 0.2% of life insurance in force.
Is Minnesota Life the same company as Securian?
Securian is the group name. Minnesota Life Insurance Company is the life insurer in that group, and Securian Life Insurance Company is the New York insurer A.M. Best included in the same December 4, 2025 rating. The certificate names which one issues the contract.
Bottom line
Respect Minnesota Life on group and on universal life, and read the A+ letter as of December 4, 2025. Buy participating whole life from a mutual when cash value is the job. Get a whole life quote.
Sources
Checked October 17, 2026.
- A.M. Best affirms Securian ratings, December 4, 2025: news.ambest.com, ref. 36817
- A.M. Best disclosure, Minnesota Life Insurance Company, FSR A+ affirmed December 4, 2025: Disclosure PDF, AMB 6724
- Securian history, founding in 1880 and the 1998 Minnesota Life name: our history
- SEC Form 40-APP describing Minnesota Life’s 1880 organization and October 1, 1998 reorganization: SEC filing
- Minnesota Life statutory financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, including the 0.2% participating share and the product list: Securian PDF
- Securian ratings page, ratings information as of December 2025: securian.com/about-us/ratings
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