American National Insurance - Pros, Cons, Policies & Cost

Written by
Lindsey Crossmier
Lindsey Crossmier
Financial Writer
Lindsey Crossmier is an accomplished writer with experience working for The Florida Review and Bookstar PR. As a financial writer, she covers Medicare, life insurance and dental insurance topics for RetireGuide. Research-based data drives her work.
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Edited By
Lamia Chowdhury
Lamia Chowdhury
Financial Editor
Lamia Chowdhury is a financial content editor for RetireGuide and has over three years of marketing experience in the finance industry. She has written copy for both digital and print pieces ranging from blogs, radio scripts and search ads to billboards, brochures, mailers and more.
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Reviewed By
Eric Estevez
Eric Estevez
Owner of HLC Insurance Broker, LLC
Eric Estevez is a duly licensed independent insurance broker and a former financial institution auditor with more than a decade of professional experience. He has specialized in federal, state and local compliance for both large and small businesses.
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Published: November 17, 2022
Updated: December 18, 2024
6 min read time
This page features 8 Cited Research Articles

About American National

American National was founded in 1905 and operates in all 50 states, currently providing life insurance policies for over five million individuals.

In the first quarter of 2022, American National had a net income of $108.8 million. As of March 2022, American National had $30.9 billion in assets.

In addition to life insurance, American National offers a wide range of financial products and policies, such as annuities, business insurance, health insurance, auto insurance and homeowners’ insurance.

American National is a well known insurance company. All of their ratings suggest they are a trustworthy company to buy life insurance from.

Eric Estevez Licensed Independent Insurance Broker

Average Rating of American National

American National has steady financial ratings from several leading credit rating agencies. Fitch Ratings, S&P Global and AM Best all rated American National with a stable financial strength outlook. Having a high financial strength rating means the company is likely to meet its financial obligations and pay claims.

2022 American National Average Rating

Fitch Ratings	S&P Global	AM Best
A (Stable)	A (Stable)	A (Excellent)

Life Insurance Coverage You Can Count On*.

You may qualify for up to $2M in coverage with no medical exams required. Policies are issued by highly rated insurers, and, like us, they’re not going anywhere.
*We may be compensated if you click this ad.

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Life Insurance Options from American National

American National has 11 life insurance policies available, ranging from term, whole and universal. Each policy has different features — such as customizable riders — and coverage limits.

When considering an American National life insurance policy, you should always determine how much coverage you need before browsing policies. Confirm if one of American National’s policies fits your financial needs.

American National’s Life Insurance Policies

Term: Signature Term
5-Year Renewable Convertible Term to Age 70
Whole: Signature Whole Life

Graded Benefit Life 20-Pay Life

Life Paid-Up at 90

Life Paid-Up at 95
Universal: Executive Universal Life
Indexed Universal: Signature Performance Indexed Universal Life
Signature Protection Indexed Universal Life
Guaranteed Universal: Signature Guaranteed Universal Life

Term Life Insurance

American National offers two term life policies — Signature Term and 5-Year Renewable Convertible Term to Age 70. Both offer fixed premiums while the policy is active and can be converted into a permanent policy.

You can also customize your coverage with an accelerated death benefit rider. With this rider, you can access your death benefit while you’re still alive if you are diagnosed with a serious illness.

American National’s Term Policies

Signature Term: Offers term lengths of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years

Level premiums throughout specified term length
Five-Year Renewable Convertible Term to Age 70: Premiums only remain level during the first five years, then renew every five years until you’re 65.

After you’re 65, the policy renews for a level premium until expiring when you’re 70 years old.

Whole Life Insurance

American National offers five whole life policies that all offer lifelong coverage with a fixed premium and death benefit. There is a cash value component with each policy, which accumulates tax-deferred over time. In specific instances, you can borrow against your cash value.

American National Whole Life Policies

Signature Whole Life: Guaranteed fixed premiums and death benefit

You can potentially receive dividends

Policy is customizable with the Paid-Up Additions Rider
Graded Benefit Life: Guaranteed fixed premiums and death benefit

Only available for those 45 to 80 years old

No underwriting required

Within first two years, death benefit is equal to 110% of the premium

Full benefits for death by accident within first two years of the active policy
20-Pay Life: Guaranteed fixed premiums and death benefit

Provides lifelong protection, but premiums must be paid up after 20 years
Life Paid-Up at 90: Guaranteed fixed premiums and death benefit

Policy coverage ends once you turn 90
Life Paid-Up at 95: Guaranteed fixed premiums and death benefit

Policy coverage ends once you turn 95

Universal Life Insurance

American National offers one universal life insurance policy that provides lifelong coverage — the Executive Universal Life policy. This policy has a flexible death benefit and premiums, meaning, you can adjust the amounts in most circumstances. You can also typically adjust the frequency of your payments.

Similar to American National’s whole life policies, there is also a cash value component that grows tax deferred. You can access some of your policy’s cash value while still alive if needed.

American National’s Universal Policy

Executive Universal Life: Flexible premiums and death benefit

Accessible cash value

Customizable riders available

Indexed Universal Life Insurance

American National offers two indexed universal life insurance policies — Signature Performance Indexed Universal Life and Signature Protection Indexed Universal Life. Both offer lifelong coverage with a flexible death benefit and premiums. There is also a cash value component that you can borrow from.

The difference between an indexed universal and standard universal policy is that there is a component that is tied to the stock market, providing more opportunity for building wealth.

American National’s Indexed Universal Policies

Signature Performance Indexed Universal Life: Flexible premiums and death benefit

Options for fixed and indexed crediting

Optional riders available
Signature Protection Indexed Universal Life: Flexible premiums and death benefit

Multiple indexed strategies available

Optional riders available

Guaranteed death benefit option between ages 80 to 121

Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance

American National offers one guaranteed universal policy — the Signature Guaranteed Universal Life. This policy offers lifelong coverage with a flexible death benefit and premiums. You can also access your policy’s cash value in specific circumstances.

With American National’s guaranteed universal policy, you choose a guaranteed period from age 95 to 105. Your death benefit is guaranteed until the age you select, as long as you haven’t lapsed on your premiums.

American National’s Guaranteed Universal Life

Signature Guaranteed Universal Life: Three guaranteed periods to cash-out the policy

Guaranteed period to age 95 or 105

Guaranteed cash-out rider available on most policies

Average Cost of American National Life Insurance

American National doesn’t list estimated life insurance costs on their website. There are claims that pricing is affordable, but no quotes to confirm or make comparisons to other insurers.

American National provides a product comparison chart where term policies are marked as being affordable; all other policy types are not marked as affordable. If you are looking into a permanent policy from American National, it will likely be costly compared to a term policy.

While there is a quote tool on the website, it does not include life insurance quotes, so you should contact an agent for further information on pricing and ensure their quotes are of similar pricing to other providers.

Pros and Cons of American National

While American National does offer a wide range of life insurance policies, they don’t offer quotes online and you need to contact an agent for information. Their website can also be difficult to navigate, and information about policies isn’t easily accessible.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Offers wide range of policies
Customizable riders available
Stable financial outlook

Cons

Can’t purchase a policy online
No quotes available online
Difficult website to navigate

Last Modified: December 18, 2024

Lindsey Crossmier Financial Writer

Lindsey Crossmier joined the RetireGuide team in 2022 as a writer to promote long-lasting financial literacy. She leverages her creative writing background, editorial experience and financial education from Yale to write retirement-focused financial content for those ready to prepare for their futures. Making complex information simple and accessible for all is her specialty.

Special focus on content about life insurance, Social Security, Medicare and certificates of deposits (CDs)
Research-based data drives her work
Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Central Florida

Edited By

Lamia Chowdhury Financial Editor

Reviewed By

Eric Estevez Owner of HLC Insurance Broker, LLC

8 Cited Research Articles

AM Best. (2022, September 16). American National Group. Retrieved from https://www.americannational.com/wps/wcm/connect/americannational/82b574e1-5325-4e6b-b41e-014dc14946f7/AMB_American+National+Group_70166_2022+Rating+Report.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=odsbutP
Fitch Ratings. (2022, August 23). American National Group, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.americannational.com/wps/wcm/connect/americannational/2964ba19-e6b8-40e0-a7ca-29b17183a8f5/American+National_Full+Report_FITCH+FINAL_08232022.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
S&P 500. (2022, July 14). American National Group Inc. Retrieved from https://www.americannational.com/wps/wcm/connect/americannational/1fe81a4c-24a6-4c17-8bae-067c7de3c719/S-PPress+Release07-14-2022.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=o82hBed
American National. (2022, May 3). American National Announces First Quarter 2022 Results. Retrieved from https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/03/2434921/12861/en/American-National-Announces-First-Quarter-2022-Results.html
American National. (n.d.). American National Direct. Retrieved from https://www.americannational.com/wps/portal/an/home/info/AnicoDirect
American National. (n.d.). Term Life. Retrieved from https://cssd.americannational.com/wps/portal/cssd1/home/products/lifeinsurance/termlife/!ut/p/z1/jZDNDoIwEISfhSfoLg3QHlswxPqz_ASBXgwn00TRg_H5RWI4GEX2tsk3k5lhljXM9t3Dnbq7u_bdefhbGx73IvBRAm5T0jGoLM51bojDDlk9AiKXIYoBgKT0QWFBsuIJpwMwu0QPP04t1M8Adt6-ZnZEpgYipejVQJcKjU-bYB4AHb2BKQNgNgDSrCIyBU_j8NPhy0j_Yt4uVdWAWzvleU-no_vS/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/
American National. (n.d.). Universal Life. Retrieved from https://cssd.americannational.com/wps/portal/cssd1/home/products/lifeinsurance/Universal%20Life/!ut/p/z1/jZDNDoIwEISfhSfobgnQHlsxjZVQhZSfXkxPpomiB-PzC4kXjCJ72-Sb2Z0hjnTEDf4Zzv4RboO_jHvv0hM78hQZYKGk4SCwAc2woFAiaecA5DUdgcpwG-exaYC4NXr4MWKlfgFwy_YtcfMTTJlsSiBrgZqafbIMgMzeQMkSinzqAA8jwPU2M7qK1Sb9dPhS0r8371drOwi7IKLoBU-feec!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/
American National. (n.d.). Whole Life. Retrieved from https://cssd.americannational.com/wps/portal/cssd1/home/products/lifeinsurance/wholelife/!ut/p/z1/jZDNDoIwEISfhSfoLg3QHlswhGpcfoJAL4aTaaLowfj8IjEcjCJ72-Sbycwwy1pmh_7hTv3dXYf-PP6dDY97EfgoAXcp6RhUHhe6MMQhQ9ZMgChkiGIEIKl8UFiSrHnC6QDMrtHDj1Mr9QuAXbZvmJ2QuYFIKXo10JVC49M2WAZAR29gzgCYj4A0m4hMydM4_HT4MtK_mLdLXbfgMqc87wnivvG3/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/