Mutual Trust Life Solutions Review

Mutual Trust, AKA MTL Insurance Company, is one of the top whole life insurance companies in the U.S. and the subject of this review article. In the following Mutual Trust Life Solutions (formerly Mutual Trust Life Insurance Company) review we will cover the history of the company, its financial ratings, the products offered by the company, as well as the specific policy benefits, in an effort to help you determine if it is the right company for you.

About Mutual Trust

Mutual Trust Life Insurance, aka MTL Insurance Company, aka Mutual Trust Financial Group, aka “The Whole Life Company”®, was founded in 1904 as a mutual insurance company. In 2015, Mutual Trust became part of Pan American Life Insurance Group, which deals in insurance and financial services. In a significant development, Mutual Trust was fully integrated as Mutual Trust Life Solutions following a completed merger with Pan-American Life Insurance Company (PALIC) effective December 31, 2022.

Despite this integration, Mutual Trust continues to operate from its Oak Brook, Illinois office with no changes to its product portfolio or distribution channels. The parent company, Pan-American Life Insurance Group (PALIG), is a leading life, accident, and health insurer with a strong presence throughout the Americas.

What is a mutual holding company?

A mutual holding company is somewhere between a pure mutual insurance company and a stock insurance company. While Mutual Trust has now been fully merged into PALIC, it still maintains features of a mutual company in its operations.

This structure means that as a policyholder of a participating product with Mutual Trust, you may receive dividends. However, the company is not required to offer you dividends, nor are the dividends guaranteed.

Infinite Banking

Mutual Trust is a popular company for those who understand the pros and cons of infinite banking.

If you are searching for the best cash value life insurance companies it pays to know who the various players are. At I&E, we create various life insurance reviews that highlight the best whole life insurance and indexed universal life insurance in the industry. We do this to equip our readers and clients with the insight and knowledge needed to help you make the right decision on the company that fits your specific needs, goals and objectives.

Financial Ratings & Strength

Mutual Trust maintains strong financial ratings from independent rating agencies, which reflect the company’s financial stability and ability to meet policyholder obligations.

Mutual Trust’s current financial ratings:

• A.M. Best rating: A (Excellent)
• Fitch rating: A (Stable)
• BBB rating: A+ (highest grade, not accredited)
• Comdex Ranking: 78

Mutual Trust is a top rated life insurance company with a long record of financial stability. The company has very few customer complaints—only one in the past three years—demonstrating its commitment to policyholder satisfaction and service quality.

The merger with Pan-American Life Insurance Company has further strengthened the financial position and scale of Mutual Trust, providing additional resources and stability for policyholders.

Products Overview

Mutual Trust Life Insurance Company’s products and services feature:

Life Insurance including

• Term life insurance
• Whole life insurance

Annuities including

• Immediate Annuities: Guaranteed income for a set period or for life, with flexible payout options and no annual contract fees
• IntegrityPlus Single III & IV: Single premium deferred annuities with minimum guaranteed interest rates (1%+), flexible payout options, and standard death benefits. Minimum premiums range from $5,000 to $10,000, with issue ages up to 95

Mutual Trust Life Insurance Policies

Mutual Trust provides both term life and whole life insurance. Often, financial pundits will pit term life vs whole life insurance. However, a benefit of Mutual Trust is that you can get a policy that blends both term and whole life insurance.

There are two primary types of life insurance: term and permanent. MTL offers both term life and whole life insurance.

SelectTerm – Term Life Insurance

Mutual Trust offers term life policies with the following features:

• Level premiums for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years
• Guaranteed renewable to age 98
• Convertible to any Mutual Trust whole life policy without proof of insurability
• After the initial term, policies can be renewed annually with increasing premiums

A guaranteed renewable term policy’s premium rate increases annually. The policy is convertible term life insurance, which allows the owner of the policy to convert all or a portion of the coverage to whole life insurance coverage before the term policy expires or age 65.

A waiver of premium rider is available. In the event of a total disability, the rider will allow all premiums due to be waived. In addition, the rider allows the policy to be converted to whole life, with the whole life insurance rates continued to be waived.

Whole Life Insurance

MTL Insurance Company offers different whole life policies, each designed to fill a specific niche in the permanent insurance marketplace.

Horizon Value

Horizon Value is participating whole life insurance designed for strong cash value growth. Key features include:

• Available for ages 0-75
• Paid-up at age 90, with endowment at age 121
• Minimum face amounts vary by age
• Ages 0-39 can get a minimum of $25,000 participating whole life insurance
• $10,000 participating whole life is available for ages 40-75
• Access to cash via loans
• Accelerated death benefit for chronic/terminal illness included

Horizon Guarantee

Horizon Guarantee focuses more on permanent death benefit protection, rather than early cash value growth. Features include:

• Lower premium option
• Guaranteed death benefit
• Accelerated death benefit rider included

Horizon Blend

Horizon Blend (formerly EconoMax) is a blended policy, providing both participating whole life and term life. The amount of term life you initially choose can provide a lot of cost savings but the whole life will provide permanent coverage, so that you get the best of both worlds. Features include:

• 50/50 blend of whole life and term insurance
• More affordable than traditional whole life
• Flexibility to convert term portion to permanent coverage

Legacy One

Legacy One is a single premium whole life insurance policy that is eligible for dividends. Features include:

• Designed for wealth transfer
• Guaranteed 4% interest rate
• No surrender charges
• Immediate full coverage

Covenant II

Covenant II is MTL’s premier dividend paying whole life insurance policy, designed for permanent coverage with maximum cash value accumulation and growth.

The policy provides guaranteed level premiums until age 90, when the policy is fully paid-up.

A non-forfeiture benefit option is provided, allowing you to continue your life insurance plan as either extended term insurance or reduced paid-up life insurance if you choose to no longer make premium payments.

The policy also includes a Maximum Accumulation Dividend® option. The Maximum Accumulation Dividend option works in tandem with the Flex Pay Paid-Up Additions Rider or Annual Premium Paid-Up Additional Insurance Rider, providing maximum cash value accumulation on a continual basis, while avoiding a modified endowment contract.

Whole Life Insurance Dividends

There are many option you can choose when it comes to whole life insurance dividends. For example, you can:

• Take the cash for whatever you want;
• Purchase one year term insurance;
• Leave with the insurance company to earn interest;
• Pay back a policy loan;
• Use for premium offsets, i.e. to pay your premium completely or for a period of time; or
• Purchase additional paid-up insurance, which increases your cash value and death benefit.

As a mutual structure, Mutual Trust operates for the benefit of policyholders, not shareholders. Policyholders may be eligible for dividends when declared, though dividends are not guaranteed and are determined based on the company’s financial performance.

Benefits of Whole Life Insurance

Tax free life insurance policy loans

Tax free life insurance loans* are available from the carrier by using your cash value as collateral. You loan will be charged either a fixed or variable interest rate. Any unpaid interest due will be applied to your principle.

*(In the event of policy lapse, any outstanding life insurance loan may be considered income and subject to taxation).

Tax deferred cash value growth

Whole life insurance cash value grows tax deferred. You can withdraw your cash value up to your basis without being taxed. In addition, borrowing against your cash value is a tax free benefit that allows you access up to 90% of your cash value.

Tax free death benefit

Your life insurance is not taxed as income to your beneficiary. Instead, your policy’s death benefit payout is distributed to your beneficiary tax free.

However, one way a death benefit may be taxed is if you name your estate as the beneficiary or the total value of your estate is above the federal estate tax exemption limit.

That is why for large estates, having a plan in place to protect your assets, such as utilizing an irrevocable life insurance trust, is a great way to protect your wealth transfer from Uncle Sam.

Policy Riders & Options

The following life insurance riders are available on select life insurance products available from Mutual Trust.

Accelerated Death Benefit Riders – Allows access to a percentage of your death benefit if you have an eligible terminal illness or chronic illness.

Flex Pay PUA Rider – Paid-up additions riders allow you to pay additional premium into your policy to purchase additional participating whole life insurance, which increases your death benefit and cash value.

Term Riders – A 7 and 15 year term insurance rider can be added to a whole life policy to increase the initial death benefit coverage.

Disability Waiver of Premium Rider – A waiver of premium rider allows all premiums to be waived if you become totally disabled. An option for 2-year or 5-year own occupation definition of total disability is available. It can also be applied to the Flex Pay PUA rider.

Guaranteed Purchase Option Rider – This is a great option for parents or grandparents considering whole life insurance for children because it guarantees the addition of more coverage at certain ages and life events with no evidence of insurability. You can choose to add more coverage on your 22nd, 25th, 28th, 31st, 34th, 37th, and 40th birthdays. Alternatively, you can add additional coverage for marriage, birth or adoption of a child, or college graduation.

Children Insurance Rider – You can add term life insurance for your kids under age 20 to your insurance coverage at one set price no matter how many eligible children you have.

Customer Service & Contact Information

Mutual Trust is highly rated for customer service responsiveness, with only one BBB complaint in the past three years. The company maintains dedicated customer service channels to assist policyholders with policy questions, claims, and service requests.

Mutual Trust Review Conclusion

Mutual Trust Life Solutions (formerly Mutual Trust Life Insurance Company) remains a strong, stable provider of whole life, term life, and annuity products, now backed by the scale and resources of Pan-American Life Insurance Group. Despite the merger completed in December 2022, the company continues to operate from its Oak Brook, Illinois headquarters with the same product lineup and distribution channels that have made it successful.

The company’s financial strength ratings from A.M. Best (A) and Fitch (A) reflect its solid financial foundation and ability to meet policyholder obligations. With only one BBB complaint in the past three years, Mutual Trust demonstrates an impressive commitment to customer satisfaction and service quality.

Mutual Trust excels in the whole life insurance space, offering a diverse portfolio of products designed for different needs and goals. From the cash value-focused Horizon Value to the more affordable Horizon Blend, there are options for individuals and families seeking different balances of protection and accumulation. The company’s flagship Covenant II policy, with its Maximum Accumulation Dividend option, is particularly attractive for those focused on cash value growth for infinite banking strategies.

The merger with Pan-American Life Insurance Company has strengthened Mutual Trust’s position in the market, providing additional resources and stability that benefit policyholders. While the company structure has changed from a pure mutual to a division of PALIC, participating policyholders still remain eligible for dividends when declared.

Is Mutual Trust the right company for you?

It may be. But without speaking to you and discovering your goals, needs and objectives we really have no idea what company is best suited to your unique circumstances.

If you have questions or would you like to see an illustration of Mutual Trust or any of the other top cash value life insurance companies we represent, please give us a call today for a complimentary life insurance consultation with an advanced markets professional.