Mutual of Omaha Life Insurance

Most Mutual of Omaha reviews read exactly the same — company history, product list, ratings table, generic pros and cons. You can find that anywhere. This isn’t that review.

We’ve placed policies with Mutual of Omaha for years, and we know exactly where they excel and where they don’t. The short version: if you’re shopping for indexed universal life insurance, MOO belongs on your short list — their Income Advantage IUL has one of the cleanest chassis designs in the industry. If you’re looking for dividend-paying whole life or infinite banking, they’re the wrong carrier — and we’ll explain why.

Below is our full breakdown: updated 2026 financials, a deep dive into their IUL products, an honest look at what MOO does and doesn’t do well, and how they compare to the competition on the metrics that actually matter for long-term policy performance.

Mutual of Omaha Company Snapshot

Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, Mutual of Omaha has been around since 1909 — making it one of the longest-standing life insurance companies in the U.S. It’s a Fortune 500 company (#299) and operates across all 50 states and D.C.

Life insurance is underwritten by United of Omaha Life Insurance Company in all states except New York, where coverage is underwritten by Companion Life Insurance Company.

One thing worth noting upfront: despite the name, Mutual of Omaha does not offer participating whole life insurance. That’s unusual for a mutual insurance company, since most mutual carriers build their reputation around dividend-paying whole life policies. MOO’s whole life products are non-participating — meaning no dividends.

This matters because if your goal is infinite banking or building a high-cash-value paid-up additions whole life policy, MOO isn’t the right carrier. Where they shine — and why they’re on our recommended list — is their indexed universal life products.

Financial Strength & Ratings (2026 Update)

Financial strength matters because it tells you whether a carrier can pay claims decades from now. Mutual of Omaha consistently earns top marks across all three major rating agencies.

Rating Agency	Rating	Meaning
A.M. Best	A+ (Superior)	2nd highest possible rating
S&P Global	A+ (Strong)	Stable outlook
Moody’s	A1	Stable outlook
J.D. Power (2025)	#1 of 22	Highest customer satisfaction in life insurance

Financial Metric	Value (as of Dec 31, 2024)
Total Admitted Assets	$11.86 billion (up from $10.98B in 2023)
Total Enterprise Assets	$55 billion
Statutory Surplus	$4.15 billion (up from $3.98B)
Fortune 500 Rank	#299 (2025)
3-Year Asset CAGR	10%
Benefits Paid (2024)	$8.1+ billion
Policies in Force	6.7+ million

For a deeper look at how MOO compares to other top-rated insurance companies, see our full rankings.

Mutual of Omaha IUL Review: Why We Recommend Them

Here’s where Mutual of Omaha separates itself from the pack.

If you’ve read our best IUL companies guide, you know we rank Mutual of Omaha as one of our top 3 IUL carriers alongside Securian Financial and Nationwide. The reason comes down to one thing: chassis design.

Most IUL carriers compete on illustrated rates — they show you impressive hypothetical numbers to win your business. The problem is that many of those illustrations are driven by high internal charges paired with complex crediting mechanisms that look great on paper but erode your cash value when the index hits 0%.

Mutual of Omaha takes the opposite approach. Their IUL products — particularly Income Advantage — are built with minimal internal charges and a straightforward crediting method. That means:

• In good years, you keep more of the index return because less is eaten by policy costs
• In 0% floor years, your cash value takes less damage because there are fewer charges draining the account
• Over a 20-30 year horizon, this low-friction approach compounds meaningfully compared to high-charge carriers that illustrate better but perform worse

This is the IUL equivalent of choosing a low-cost index fund over an actively managed fund with a 2% expense ratio. The math wins over time.

One more thing that matters: MOO treats existing policyholders the same as new ones. Their cap and participation rates apply equally to in-force and new business. Not every carrier does this — some offer attractive rates to win new policies while quietly reducing rates on existing ones. MOO publishes their IUL cap and participation rate history for full transparency.

Income Advantage IUL — Deep Dive

Income Advantage is MOO’s accumulation-focused indexed universal life policy, underwritten by United of Omaha. It’s designed for people whose primary goal is cash value growth and tax-advantaged retirement income — not just a death benefit.

Feature	Income Advantage IUL
Issue Ages	0–85
Minimum Face Amount	$25,000+
Index Floor	0% (you never lose cash value to market declines)
Fixed Account Option	Yes — guaranteed 2% minimum
Crediting Method	Annual point-to-point
Underwriting	Fully underwritten (accelerated/no-exam available for qualified applicants)
Death Benefit Options	Level or increasing — switch between them at any time
Premium Flexibility	Flexible — pay more or less as your situation changes
Guaranteed Refund Option	Included at no additional cost (see details below)

How Do MOO’s IUL Crediting Strategies Work?

Income Advantage uses an annual point-to-point crediting method — one of the most transparent and easily understood approaches in the IUL market. It compares the index value on the date a segment is created to the value one year later to determine your credited interest.

You get four crediting strategies to choose from, and you can allocate across multiple strategies simultaneously:

Strategy	Participation Rate	Cap Rate	Best For
S&P 500 — 100% Participation	100%	10%	Clients expecting average-to-strong index performance
S&P 500 — High Participation	140%	7%	Clients expecting moderate performance or wanting amplified returns in lower-return years
S&P 500 — Uncapped	60%	None	Clients who want unlimited upside in strong bull markets
BofA U.S. Agility Index — Uncapped	185%	None	Diversification beyond S&P 500 with high participation

New index segments are created on the 10th of each month, and a policy can hold up to 12 segments per strategy at any given time. Once a segment is created, the participation rate, cap rate, and floor are locked for that segment’s one-year term.

A practical example: if the S&P 500 returns 15% in a given year and you’re in the 100% participation / 10% cap strategy, you’d be credited 10% (the cap). In the 140% participation / 7% cap strategy, a 5% S&P return would credit you 7% (5% × 140% = 7%, right at the cap). In the uncapped strategy, that same 15% S&P return credits you 9% (15% × 60%).

The key insight is that no single strategy is “best” — the right allocation depends on your market outlook and time horizon. Most of our clients use a blended approach.

The Guaranteed Refund Option (GRO): MOO’s Unique Safety Net

This is one of the most underappreciated features in the IUL market, and it’s unique to Mutual of Omaha.

The Guaranteed Refund Option rider is included at no additional cost on qualifying Income Advantage policies. Here’s what it does: if you decide to surrender your policy, you can get your premiums back — up to 50% at year 15 and up to 100% between years 20 and 25.

Specifically, the GRO provides seven 60-day surrender windows:

Policy Year	Premium Refund
Year 15	Up to 50% of premiums paid
Years 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25	Up to 100% of premiums paid

Why does this matter? Because the biggest fear people have with any permanent life insurance policy is: “What if I need to get out?” The GRO answers that question. If a string of poor market years leads to 0% credited interest and policy charges erode your cash value, you still have a backstop to recover your premiums.

No other major IUL carrier offers anything like this. It’s a genuine differentiator, especially for clients who are new to IUL and want a safety net while the policy builds long-term value.

How Does Mutual of Omaha’s IUL Compare to the Competition?

We run IUL illustrations across carriers regularly. Here’s how MOO’s Income Advantage stacks up against other popular IUL products on the metrics that actually matter for long-term performance:

Feature	Mutual of Omaha	National Life Group	Pacific Life
S&P 500 Cap Rate	10%	Varies by product	Varies by product
Internal Policy Charges	Industry-leading low	Higher	Higher
Uncapped Strategy	✓ (60% participation)	✓	✓
Guaranteed Refund Option	✓ (unique to MOO)	✗	✗
Equal Treatment (New vs. Existing)	✓	Varies	Varies
0% Floor Year Drag	Minimal	Moderate to High	Moderate
AG 49 Compliance History	No product changes required	Adjustments required	Adjustments required

Cap and participation rates current as of February 2026. Rates are subject to change. Always request a current illustration for accurate comparisons. National Life Group and Pacific Life are included as they lead in IUL market share by premium volume.

The AG 49 compliance point deserves special attention. Over the last several rounds of IUL regulations designed to prevent misleading illustrations, Mutual of Omaha has not had to make any changes to their products. Their simple, sustainable design was already compliant. Many competitors had to restructure their products, adjust rates, or rework crediting mechanisms — which tells you something about how those products were designed in the first place.

Mutual of Omaha’s Other IUL Products

Income Advantage gets the most attention from us because it’s built for accumulation. But MOO offers two other IUL options depending on your goals:

Life Protection Advantage IUL — This is MOO’s protection-focused IUL. It offers coverage projected to age 120 with an option to guarantee coverage to age 90. It uses the same crediting strategies and 0% floor as Income Advantage, but the policy design prioritizes long-term death benefit stability over cash value growth. If your primary goal is lifetime protection at an affordable cost rather than accumulation, this is the better fit. The Guaranteed Refund Option is also available on qualifying policies, though with stricter age limits (not available over age 60).

Indexed Universal Life Express — This is MOO’s simplified-issue IUL. No medical exam required, with coverage ranging from $25,000 to $300,000 depending on age. It includes no-lapse protection for 20 years or until age 80, whichever comes first. The trade-off for simplified underwriting is higher costs and lower coverage limits, but it’s a solid option for people who want permanent coverage with growth potential and can’t or don’t want to go through full underwriting.

Other Mutual of Omaha Life Insurance Products

While IUL is where Mutual of Omaha earns our strongest recommendation, they offer a full product line. Here’s a quick overview — with links to our deeper guides if you want the details.

Term Life Insurance

MOO offers term life insurance through two products: Term Life Answers (fully underwritten) and Term Life Express (simplified issue, no exam). Terms of 10, 15, 20, and 30 years are available for ages 18–80. Both products are convertible to permanent coverage without evidence of insurability — a valuable feature if you want to start with affordable protection and upgrade later. MOO’s term rates are competitive though not always the cheapest; always compare quotes across carriers.

Whole Life Insurance (Final Expense)

Mutual of Omaha’s whole life products are designed for final expense coverage, not high-cash-value accumulation. Their Living Promise policy is one of the most popular final expense products on the market, offering $2,000 to $40,000 in coverage with simplified underwriting and no medical exam. They also offer a guaranteed issue Whole Life Guaranteed policy for ages 45–85 with $2,000 to $25,000 in coverage. Remember: these are non-participating — no dividends. If you need dividend-paying whole life for infinite banking, see our best infinite banking companies guide.

Traditional Universal Life

MOO’s AccumUL Answers policy is a traditional universal life product with flexible premiums and a declared interest rate (2% guaranteed minimum). It includes a free chronic illness rider and is available for ages 0–85. For most clients considering universal life, we’d steer you toward the IUL options unless you specifically want the predictability of a fixed-rate product. For a deeper comparison of these structures, see our guide on whole life vs. universal life.

Children’s Whole Life Insurance

Available for children ages 14 days to 17 years, with face amounts from $5,000 to $50,000. No medical exam required (just three health questions). The policy builds cash value and is guaranteed to age 100 with level premiums. It also includes a Guaranteed Insurability Rider, allowing your child to purchase additional coverage later without proving insurability. For a full breakdown of why this matters, see our guide on life insurance for children.

Key Riders Worth Knowing

Not all riders are available on every MOO product. Here are the ones that matter most for IUL and permanent coverage buyers:

Rider	What It Does	Cost
Guaranteed Refund Option	Surrender policy and receive up to 100% of premiums back (see GRO section above)	Included
Accelerated Death Benefit — Terminal Illness	Access a portion of the death benefit if diagnosed with a life expectancy of 12 months or less	Included
Accelerated Death Benefit — Chronic Illness	Access a portion of the death benefit for qualifying chronic illness	Included
Lapse Guard Rider	Prevents policy from lapsing when taking distributions in retirement over an extended period	Additional
Disability Waiver of Premium	Waives premiums if you become disabled before age 60 (two versions available)	Additional
Guaranteed Insurability Rider	Purchase additional coverage without proving insurability — especially valuable on children’s policies	Additional

The living benefits riders (terminal and chronic illness) are particularly noteworthy because they’re included at no additional cost. This essentially gives you chronic illness protection built into your life insurance policy — a hybrid approach that’s increasingly important as long-term care costs continue to rise. For a deeper look at dedicated long-term care options from MOO, see our best long-term care insurance companies guide.

Who Is Mutual of Omaha Best For?

Based on our experience placing policies across dozens of carriers, here’s our honest breakdown:

If Your Goal Is…	MOO Is a Fit?	Notes
IUL for cash value accumulation	✓ Top recommendation	Income Advantage is among the best IUL products available
IUL for lifetime protection	✓ Strong option	Life Protection Advantage with guaranteed coverage to age 90
Final expense / burial insurance	✓ Very competitive	Living Promise is among the lowest-cost FE products with no waiting period
Quick approval / no exam	✓ Good option	IUL Express and Living Promise both available without medical exam
Life insurance for children	✓ Solid choice	Ages 14 days–17 years, includes Guaranteed Insurability Rider
Dividend-paying whole life / IBC	✗ Not recommended	Non-participating. See our IBC companies guide
High-cash-value whole life	✗ Not recommended	MOO’s whole life is for final expense, not accumulation. See our best dividend-paying WL companies
Cheapest term life possible	△ Compare quotes	Competitive but not always lowest. The conversion option adds value
Executive bonus / key person coverage	✓ Strong option	Income Advantage IUL works well for business-owned policies
LIRP / tax-advantaged retirement supplement	✓ Top recommendation	Low-charge IUL chassis is ideal for 7702 plan strategies

Frequently Asked Questions About Mutual of Omaha Life Insurance

Is Mutual of Omaha a good life insurance company?

Yes — but it depends on what you need. Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 company with A+ ratings from A.M. Best and S&P, $11.86 billion in total admitted assets, and the #1 customer satisfaction ranking in J.D. Power’s 2025 life insurance study. They’re one of our top 3 recommended carriers for indexed universal life due to their low-charge chassis design and unique Guaranteed Refund Option. However, they’re not the right choice for dividend-paying whole life or infinite banking strategies because their whole life products are non-participating.

What is Mutual of Omaha’s Income Advantage IUL?

Income Advantage is Mutual of Omaha’s accumulation-focused indexed universal life policy, underwritten by United of Omaha. It’s designed for cash value growth and tax-advantaged retirement income. Key features include a 0% floor (your cash value never decreases from market declines), four crediting strategies including an uncapped S&P 500 option, flexible premiums, and a Guaranteed Refund Option that returns up to 100% of your premiums if you surrender between years 20 and 25. Issue ages are 0–85 with a minimum face amount of $25,000.

What is Mutual of Omaha’s Guaranteed Refund Option?

The Guaranteed Refund Option (GRO) is a rider included at no additional cost on qualifying Income Advantage and Life Protection Advantage policies. It gives you seven 60-day windows to surrender your policy and receive your premiums back — up to 50% at year 15 and up to 100% between years 20 and 25. This is unique to Mutual of Omaha and effectively removes the worst-case scenario from an IUL purchase. The GRO has eligibility restrictions: it’s not available for substandard or tobacco cases under age 50, and on Life Protection Advantage it’s not available over age 60.

What are Mutual of Omaha’s current IUL cap and participation rates?

As of early 2026, Income Advantage offers four crediting strategies on the S&P 500 and BofA U.S. Agility Index: 100% participation with a 10% cap, 140% participation with a 7% cap, 60% participation uncapped (S&P 500), and 185% participation uncapped (BofA Agility). The maximum illustrated rates (per AG 49 guidelines) are approximately 6.33% for the 100%/10% cap strategy and 5.72% for the BofA Agility uncapped strategy. MOO publishes their full cap and participation rate history, and importantly, existing policyholders receive the same rates as new business.

Is Mutual of Omaha good for IUL?

We rank Mutual of Omaha as one of the top 3 IUL carriers alongside Securian Financial and Nationwide. The reason is their chassis design: Income Advantage has industry-leading low internal charges, which means less drag on your cash value — especially during 0% floor years when policy charges are the only thing reducing your account. Over a 20–30 year horizon, that low-friction design compounds meaningfully versus higher-charge competitors that may illustrate better but perform worse. Add in the unique Guaranteed Refund Option and transparent rate-setting practices, and MOO is hard to beat for accumulation-focused IUL.

Does Mutual of Omaha offer whole life insurance for infinite banking?

No. While Mutual of Omaha is technically a mutual company, they do not offer participating (dividend-paying) whole life insurance. Their whole life products — Living Promise and Whole Life Guaranteed — are designed for final expense coverage with face amounts up to $40,000 and $25,000 respectively. For infinite banking or high-cash-value whole life strategies using paid-up additions, you’ll want a carrier like Penn Mutual, Guardian, or MassMutual. See our best infinite banking companies guide for our full recommendations.

How much does Mutual of Omaha life insurance cost?

Costs vary significantly by product type, age, health, gender, and coverage amount. MOO’s term life rates are generally competitive with the market — a 35-year-old non-smoker might pay around $350/year for a 20-year, $500,000 term policy. IUL premiums are flexible and depend on your funding strategy and accumulation goals. Final expense (Living Promise) premiums typically range from $25–$250/month for $10,000–$25,000 in coverage depending on age and health. The best approach is to request an illustration comparing MOO against other carriers for your specific situation. For term rates by age, see our life insurance rates age chart.

Can you buy Mutual of Omaha life insurance online?

Partially. You can apply for and purchase Whole Life Guaranteed (guaranteed issue final expense) entirely online at MutualofOmaha.com. However, term life insurance requires calling an agent, and universal/IUL policies require working with a licensed financial representative. Living Promise final expense is only available through independent licensed agents — not directly through Mutual of Omaha’s website or call center. For IUL products especially, working with an independent agent who can run illustrations across multiple carriers is critical to getting the best policy design.

What’s the difference between Mutual of Omaha’s Income Advantage and Life Protection Advantage IUL?

Both use the same crediting strategies and 0% floor, but they’re optimized for different goals. Income Advantage is built for cash value accumulation — lower internal charges mean more of your premium dollar goes toward growth. Life Protection Advantage is built for lifetime death benefit protection — it offers guaranteed coverage to age 90 and is projected to age 120 at competitive premiums. If your goal is supplemental retirement income or using cash value as a financial tool, choose Income Advantage. If your primary concern is ensuring your beneficiaries receive a death benefit no matter when you pass, Life Protection Advantage is the better fit.

Is Mutual of Omaha available in all states?

Mutual of Omaha offers products in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. However, life insurance is underwritten by United of Omaha Life Insurance Company in all states except New York, where it’s underwritten by Companion Life Insurance Company. Product availability and specific features may vary by state. The graded benefit plan for Living Promise, for example, is not available in all states.

What happens if I stop paying my IUL premiums?

With an IUL policy, if you stop paying premiums, the policy doesn’t immediately lapse — monthly charges are deducted from your cash value instead. As long as your cash value can cover the cost of insurance and policy charges, the policy stays in force. If cash value runs out, the policy lapses. This is where MOO’s low-charge design helps: lower ongoing charges mean your cash value lasts longer if you need to pause premiums. The Lapse Guard Rider (available as an add-on) provides additional protection against lapse during extended distribution periods in retirement. For more on this topic, see our guide on what happens when you stop paying life insurance premiums.

Mutual of Omaha Life Insurance: Our Bottom Line

Mutual of Omaha is not the right carrier for every strategy — and that’s exactly why we recommend them. A company that tries to be everything to everyone usually ends up being mediocre at all of it. MOO knows where they’re strong and they execute.

For indexed universal life, particularly if your focus is cash value accumulation with minimal internal drag, Mutual of Omaha’s Income Advantage belongs on any serious short list. The combination of low charges, transparent crediting, equal treatment of policyholders, and the unique Guaranteed Refund Option makes it one of the most compelling IUL products on the market.

For final expense coverage, Living Promise is hard to beat on price and simplicity.

For dividend-paying whole life or infinite banking? Look elsewhere — and we’ll help you find the right carrier for that, too.