Customer satisfaction with individual life insurance providers in 2025 remains generally steady, but underlying results show notable swings among brands. According to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, the gap between the highest- and lowest-rated insurers reached 118 points on a 1,000-point scale. Additionally, 70% of insurers saw double-digit increases or decreases in satisfaction scores compared to the previous year — variability largely tied to how customer relationships are managed and how policies are purchased.
Craig Martin, executive director of global insurance intelligence at J.D. Power, stated that customer experience plays as significant a role as the product itself. He noted that satisfaction levels vary widely depending on whether policies are bought and serviced through agents, advisors, or direct-to-customer channels. While centralized, direct-to-consumer approaches tend to offer more consistent experiences, opportunities remain for all insurers to strengthen trust and engagement.
Key Findings
- • Higher satisfaction for direct buyers: Customers who buy life insurance policies directly from carriers report an average satisfaction score of 696 — 57 points higher than those who purchase through agents, brokers, or financial advisors. Direct-to-carrier channels, including call centers, websites, and apps, outperform traditional methods in areas such as digital experience, problem resolution, and value for price paid.
- • Agent and advisor engagement declines: Fifty-eight percent of policyholders describe their relationship with their agent or advisor as disengaged (43%) or transactional (15%). Only 19% classify it as trusted — marked by consistent communication and best practices. When these best practices are met, satisfaction rises significantly to 795 — 253 points higher than for less-engaged relationships.
- • Communication improves satisfaction: Customers who received communication from their insurer within the past 12 months report satisfaction scores 50 points higher than those who did not. Personalized communication — demonstrating awareness of the customer’s relationship — has a greater positive effect than general or account-based messages.
Study Rankings
Mutual of Omaha ranked highest in overall individual life insurance customer satisfaction with a score of 707. State Farm followed with 697, and Nationwide ranked third with 695.
The study evaluated customer experiences across eight key dimensions: trust, value for price, ease of doing business, people, product offerings, ability to get service, problem resolution, and digital channels. Findings are based on responses from 5,065 individual life insurance customers collected between August 2024 and July 2025.
More information about the study is available at J.D. Power’s website.
About J.D. Power
J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services, and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 55 years. The world’s leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.