Security Mutual Life is a top-tier life insurance company that provides participating life insurance policies throughout the United States. In this review, we’ll examine the company’s history, product range, and financial ratings to help you determine whether Security Mutual Life is the right insurer for your needs.
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About Security Mutual Life Insurance
Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (“Security Mutual”), headquartered in Binghamton, New York, is a mid-sized mutual insurer specializing in whole life insurance coverage. With a history dating back to 1886, the company was initially established as the Security Mutual Life Association and has retained its mutual insurer model ever since. Today, Security Mutual markets itself as “The Company that Cares.”
Mutual Insurance Company
Unlike a stockholder-owned corporation, a mutual company is owned by its policyholders and is not publicly traded. For most consumers, the most significant advantage of mutual companies is that participating life insurance policies are eligible for dividends. These are essentially a small portion of the company’s profits that are distributed to policyholders annually. While life insurance dividends are never guaranteed, Security Mutual Life has a well-established track record of consistently issuing dividends for more than 125 consecutive years.
Non-Direct Recognition
Security Mutual is considered a solid company within the insurance industry for policyholders interested in whole-life coverage for cash-value accumulation.
In addition to paying regular dividends, the company also uses non-direct recognition in its accounting of policy loans received from cash value.
That means if a policyholder accepts a loan against the policy, dividend payments, and policy growth are not reduced for the outstanding loan balance.
Many infinite banking practitioners prefer non-direct recognition. As a result, Security Mutual Life is considered one of the better choices for practicing IBC.
Total Abstinence
Throughout its history, Security Mutual has been ahead of the curve in providing premium discounts for healthy living. In the early 20th Century, the company offered “Total Abstinence” discounts for non-drinkers, and in the 1970s, It introduced non-smoker discounts.
Security Mutual’s charitable activity emphasizes the fight against cancer. The Sock Out Cancer initiative, with which Security Mutual is closely involved, provides financial assistance to needy cancer patients and their families.
Security Mutual sells life insurance and other financial products in all fifty states, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company markets its products through independent agents and company representatives available by phone or email.
Security Mutual Life Insurance Co. Financial Ratings
- A.M. Best: A-
- S&P: NR
- Moody’s: NR
- Fitch: NR
- Comdex Ranking: NR
Of the major financial ratings organizations, only A.M. Best ranks Security Mutual. The company’s A- score (the fourth highest available) is respectable, though not outstanding.
Security Mutual is comfortably rated within the top half of U.S. insurers but does not have the same financial heft as some of the bigger names in the industry.
Security Mutual reports over $2.7 billion in invested assets, predominately consisting of high-quality, fixed-maturity, investment-grade securities. The company’s conservative investment strategy is designed for long-term security and stability, minimizing policyholder risk while allowing enough growth potential to allow for policy growth and dividends.
Security Mutual Life Insurance Co. Consumer Ratings:
Unfortunately, there are very few consumer reviews available for Security Mutual. The Better Business Bureau gives the company an A+ grade, which means Security Mutual has a good record of responding to and resolving consumer complaints lodged with BBB. Security Mutual is not BBB accredited, and no consumer reviews are available for the company on BBB’s site.
With little publicly available information, gauging Security Mutual’s customer service is challenging. Generally, mutual companies do a little better than stockholder-owned companies, and smaller insurers do a little better than the industry behemoths. But these are only general trends, not hard-and-fast rules.
What Products Does Security Mutual Offer?
For individual consumers, Security Mutual sells term life, whole life, universal life, and survivorship life insurance coverage, along with several annuities.
The company also offers a variety of financial planning products and services for individuals and businesses, including retirement and estate planning, college savings plans, and key person coverage.
Security Mutual subsidiary Security Administrators, Inc. administers pension and profit-sharing benefits plans for small to medium-sized businesses: another subsidiary, SML Agency Services, Inc., markets disability and long-term care insurance products.
Life Insurance from Security Mutual
Whole Life from Security Mutual:
Security Mutual focuses on whole life and offers several variations on the classic theme.
Whole life insurance policies provide a permanent death benefit with level premiums and cash value accumulation.
Cash value earns guaranteed interest, and most Security Mutual whole-life policies are also eligible for dividends.
Coverage is generally available for applicants between ages 18 and 80, with a minimum coverage amount of $100,000. However, certain policy types allow for lower coverage or modify the application age range (including by allowing coverage for minor insureds).
Security Mutual’s whole-life policies differ primarily in the emphasis placed on cash value versus death benefit, with premiums generally lower for policies more focused on the death benefit.
Riders
A host of rider options are offered with whole-life policies, including
- Terminal illness and chronic illness (accelerating policy proceeds if an insured is diagnosed with a terminal or chronic illness, respectively);
- Disability (waiving premiums if the insured becomes disabled);
- Accidental Death (providing a supplemental death benefit if the insured’s death results from a qualifying “accident”);
- Level Term (providing supplemental term coverage for years); and,
- Paid-up Additions (giving the right to purchase paid-in-full policy additions that increase cash value and death benefit).
Term Life from Security Mutual:
Security Mutual’s standard-term life insurance policy is available with initial term lengths of 10, 15, 20, and 30 years, in coverage amounts starting at $100,000.
The 20- and 30-year terms are unavailable for applicants aged 65 and 50, respectively.
Upon conclusion of a policy’s initial term, it can be renewed annually through age 90, and all policies include a conversion option, which lets the policyholder swap term coverage for a permanent policy.
Terminal illness, accidental death, and disability riders are available with Security Mutual’s level-term policy.
Security Mutual also offers an Annual Renewable Term (ART) policy for applicants ages 18—79. Death benefits range from $100,000 to $500,000, and coverage can be renewed annually (for an increased premium) for up to ten years or through age 80.
Another term variation pays the death benefit as a regular monthly payment rather than a lump sum.
Universal Life from Security Mutual:
Security Mutual Universal Life Insurance policies allow for flexibility in the timing and amounts of premium payments and the death benefit provided. Security Mutual offers several different UL policies, though some are marketed to businesses for use in employee compensation and benefits plans.
Security Mutual’s standard UL policy for individual consumers is available for new insureds up to age 85 in minimum face value amounts starting at $25,000 or $50,000 (depending on the rating class).
The Universal Life policy is designed to provide guaranteed extended coverage with long-term cash-value accumulation.
Interest rates credited to cash value depend on prevailing rates, subject to a guaranteed minimum.
A UL policy’s death benefit can remain at a level throughout life or gradually increase as cash value accumulates.
Available riders include terminal illness, chronic illness, disability, and accidental death.
Survivorship UL
Security Mutual also offers a survivorship version of its UL coverage. The survivorship policy, which covers the lives of two insureds and pays out upon the death of the second, is designed for use in estate planning.
