Insurance companies at a glance

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, April-May, 2005 by Lara N. Santiago

Life and Health. They go hand in hand and together they are the most essential piece of human existence. At a time when insurance coverage is a highly debated issue in the United States and consumers are striving to find the best coverage, the key questions we asked ourselves were: who is out there? who is giving the best coverage? Who is giving the best service? In an effort to help you find those answers, we conducted a research to find some of the best insurance companies in the country, and we now bring that information to you. Here are some of the best providers in the U.S.

New York Life Insurance

Founded in 1845, New York Life is a mutual insurance company whose stocks are not publicly traded. This provides New York Life's policyholders a unique opportunity to share in the ownership of the corporation as a whole, while being independent from the fluctuations of the stock market. Policyholders benefit from surplus earnings--stable in the long term--but may be excluded from the benefits of a promising bull market. New York Life is #1 in sales of Life Insurance in the United States and has$144 billion in consolidated assets.

American Family Insurance

Based in Madison, Wisconsin, American Family Insurance is the third largest mutual property and casualty insurance provider and the sixteenth largest property and casualty insurance group. Spurred by a strong 2004 during which $600 million of policyholder equity was added, the company currently claims $12.2 billion in assets and $4.2 billion in policyholder equity. This large sum serves to ensure the protection for policyholders in the case of financial catastrophe. Founded in 1927, American Family provides services for the following 17 states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin. Policyholders should be aware that coverage differs between states.

Allstate Insurance Company

As a Fortune 500 company, Allstate offers $134 billion in assets and sells 13 major types of insurance. They were founded in 1931 and became publicly traded in 1993. Separating from its father company, Sears, in 1995, Allstate is now totally independent. 40,000 employees comprise the Allstate Corporation, of which 29% are minorities and 60% are women. Allstate has operations in 49 states and Canada and has ranks highly in Financial Strength on the A.M. Best, Moody's, and Standard and Poor's scales.

MetLife Insurance

Founded over 135 years ago, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (Met Life) is one of the largest life insurance and health insurance providers in the United States, the Americas and Asia. This international conglomerate contains many subsidiaries, including New England Financial, Paragon Life Insurance Company, MetLife Securities, and GenAmerica Financial. In addition to their health and life insurance industries, MetLife also has branches in Real Estate investments, Agricultural Investments, and even its own bank, MetLife bank, launched in 2001.

American International Group (AIG)

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is the world's leading international insurance and financial services organization, with operations in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions. AIG member companies serve commercial, institutional and individual customers through the most extensive worldwide property-casualty and life insurance networks of any insurer. In the United States, AIG companies are the largest underwriters of commercial and industrial insurance and AIG American General is a top-ranked life insurer. AIG insures through Matrix Direct, which was created in 1995 to provide convenient and simplified insurance services to the general public, mainly via phone services. AIG is based in Houston, TX. All coverage is not available in all states.

Life Insurance Coverage

New York Life

New York Life offers four types of Term Life Insurance: 5 year, 20 year, Increasing Premium, and Term to Age 90. For each of these insurances, one can convert all or part of the policy to a permanent, cash-value policy without providing evidence of insurability. Permanent Life Insurance from New York Life comes in 3 policies: Whole Life Insurance, and Modified Premium Whole Life Insurance. They differ in that Modified Premium Whole Life offers a lower premium for the first 5 years, and than is raised to a permanent level in year 6. These policies each have a guaranteed, tax-deferred cash value; policyholders are eligible to earn dividends as declared by the company.

To get a quote, please visit: www.newyorklife.com

American Family

10-year, 20-year, and 30-year Term Life Insurance is offered through American Family Insurance. in each of these policies, premiums are guaranteed to remain stable for the life of the policy. The policyholder may renew his/her policy until the age of 95. The optional benefits (riders) include: a Waiver of Premium, which waives premiums for up to six months in case of disability; a Children's Insurance Rider; Accidental Death Rider; and an Accelerated Death Rider, which would provide up to 75% of a premium in the case that the policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal disease. The Universal Life Insurance policy through American Family offers a more flexible plan for which premiums may be adjusted according to the standing and financial situation of the policyholder. American Family's Whole Life Insurance provides its policyholders with a level death benefit and dividends that increase policy values. The guaranteed level premium gives the policyholder long-term stability, while distribution options for their death benefit offers flexibility.