Is Bankers Life a good annuity company?
It is a financially solid company built around a service model that will not fit every buyer. Bankers Life and Casualty carries an A (Excellent) rating from AM Best, backed by a large publicly traded parent in CNO Financial Group, and it reaches buyers through thousands of local career agents rather than the independent channel. That accessibility comes at the cost of rate competitiveness: you cannot shop Bankers Life's annuity rates against other carriers online, and you need a local agent to see a quote at all. The company also has a real regulatory history from more than a decade ago worth knowing about. If in-person service from a familiar local office matters more to you than getting the very best rate, Bankers Life is worth a look. If you want to rate-shop independently, it is a harder fit.
Bankers Life at a glance
| Legal name | Bankers Life and Casualty Company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1932, Chicago, Illinois |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Parent company | CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) |
| AM Best rating | A (Excellent) |
| Distribution | Exclusive career agents only, not sold through independent agents |
| Agent network | Thousands of career agents across hundreds of branch offices nationwide |
| What it sells | Fixed index annuities, traditional fixed annuities, and single premium immediate annuities |
Where Bankers Life sits on the AM Best scale
A is grade 3 of 13. Most buyers look for A- or better for a long-term contract.
- A++
- A+
- ABankers Life
- A-
- B++
- B+
- B
- B-
- C++
- C+
- C
- C-
- D
Today's rates for Bankers Life
Rates change often and vary by state, term and deposit size. Get today's numbers for your state, side by side with other top-rated carriers. Free, with no obligation.
Who is Bankers Life and Casualty Company?
Bankers Life and Casualty Company has sold insurance out of Chicago since 1932 and has been part of CNO Financial Group, a publicly traded holding company on the New York Stock Exchange, since the early 1990s. Rather than competing on rate through independent agents, Bankers Life built its business around a large network of its own career agents working out of local branch offices, aimed squarely at middle-income Americans in their retirement years who want to sit down with someone local rather than shop online.
That distribution model is the whole point of the company. Career agents represent Bankers Life exclusively, which means they can walk you through Bankers Life products in person but cannot show you a competing carrier's rate for comparison. New York residents are served through a licensed affiliate so the company can offer a compliant option in that state.
Buyers should also know Bankers Life carries some real regulatory history. Roughly two decades ago, state insurance regulators found problems with how claims were being handled and required the company to pay penalties and invest in improving its claims practices. Separately, state securities regulators found the company had run unregistered broker-dealer operations for several years, leading to a multi-state settlement. Both matters are now well in the past and do not by themselves indicate current financial risk, but an informed buyer should know the history exists. Verify Bankers Life's current AM Best rating directly at ambest.com before purchasing.
Bankers Life financial strength ratings
| Rating agency | Rating | What it means | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| AM Best | A | Excellent | Stable |
| S&P Global | A- | Stable | |
| Moody's | A3 | Stable | |
| Fitch | A | Stable |
An A from AM Best puts Bankers Life in the Excellent tier, the same broad category as many well-known national carriers, and it carries an A- from S&P, A3 from Moody's, and A from Fitch, all with stable outlooks. That combination is a genuinely strong financial picture. The company's rating measures its ability to pay claims; it says nothing about how competitive its specific annuity rates are, which is a separate question covered below. Learn more about what makes an AM Best rating good, and check your state's guaranty association coverage as an added layer of protection.
What annuity products does Bankers Life offer?
Bankers Life's shelf is built for its career agent channel and its typical retirement-age customer:
- A fixed index annuity that credits interest linked to a market index, with caps and participation rates that limit both the upside and the downside, and full principal protection from market losses.
- A flexible premium indexed annuity, an unusual design in the FIA market that lets you add money over time instead of funding the contract with a single deposit, with a bonus credited at issue.
- Guaranteed lifetime income products, built to provide income you cannot outlive, with an enhanced death benefit option added in recent years and a maximum premium in the low seven figures.
- Traditional fixed deferred annuities, offering a guaranteed rate for a set term, marketed primarily to the company's core retirement-age customer base.
- Single premium immediate annuities, aimed at retirees who want pension-style income to start right away.
None of these products appear on independent rate comparison tools. You can only see current terms by contacting a Bankers Life career agent directly, which is a meaningful difference from carriers sold through the independent channel.
Who is Bankers Life best for?
Bankers Life fits a buyer with a moderate amount of assets, roughly $50,000 to $150,000, who values sitting down in person with a local agent over comparing rates independently online. Its large branch network makes that kind of face-to-face relationship realistic in most parts of the country, which is genuinely rare among annuity carriers today.
It is also a reasonable fit for someone who wants to consolidate several senior insurance needs, Medicare supplement, Medicare Advantage, long-term care and an annuity, with a single company and a single point of contact, rather than coordinating multiple carriers and agents.
Bankers Life is a weaker match for a buyer who wants to compare rates across carriers before deciding, since its career agents cannot show you competing products and its rates are not posted anywhere you can check yourself. It is also worth pairing any Bankers Life illustration with a quote from an A-rated independent-channel carrier so you know what you might be leaving on the table in exchange for the in-person relationship.
How to buy a Bankers Life annuity
Bankers Life sells exclusively through its own career agents. You can find a local office through the company's website, and an agent will walk you through the available annuity products, current terms and application paperwork in person. There is no independent-agent or direct online purchase path for this carrier.
If you would rather see how Bankers Life stacks up against other options first, a licensed strategist can show you current rates from top-rated independent-channel carriers as a benchmark, which you can then compare against whatever a local Bankers Life agent quotes you.
Other annuity companies to consider
- Mutual of Omaha: another familiar name serving middle-income retirees, sold through a broader distribution mix
- Protective Life: an A+ rated carrier available through independent agents
- Nationwide: a large, broadly distributed carrier with a wide annuity product shelf
Pros and cons
Pros
- A (Excellent) rating from AM Best, backed by a large, publicly traded parent company
- A large career agent network puts a local, in-person office within reach of most buyers
- One insurer can cover several senior insurance needs at once, including Medicare supplement and long-term care products
- A flexible premium indexed annuity option accepts ongoing contributions rather than a single lump sum
- New York buyers have a full solution available through a licensed affiliate
Cons
- Annuity rates are not published or listed on independent rate comparison platforms
- You can only see a quote or buy a policy through a Bankers Life career agent
- A career agent cannot show you competing carriers, so shopping independently is not possible through this channel
- The company has a notable regulatory history, including a multi-state claims-handling settlement and a securities regulator settlement over unregistered broker-dealer activity
- Career agent compensation structures can create incentives that differ from an independent agent's
Frequently asked questions
Can you compare Bankers Life annuity rates online?
No. Bankers Life sells exclusively through its own career agents, and its rates do not appear on independent comparison tools. To see an actual quote, you need to contact a local branch directly. If you want a benchmark first, a licensed strategist can show you current rates from A-rated independent-channel carriers, then you can request a Bankers Life illustration separately to compare the two side by side.
Is Bankers Life and Casualty the same company as other insurers with a similar name?
Not necessarily. Several unrelated companies use some version of the name 'Bankers Life' in the insurance industry, and confusing them is a real risk. The company covered here is Bankers Life and Casualty Company, a subsidiary of CNO Financial Group headquartered in Chicago and traded as NYSE: CNO. Before assuming you are dealing with this carrier, confirm the Chicago address and the CNO parent relationship on any paperwork you receive.
How do you purchase a Bankers Life annuity?
Only through a Bankers Life career agent; there is no independent-agent or online purchase path. If you would rather compare options before committing, a licensed strategist can show you current terms from other A-rated carriers first, then you can weigh a Bankers Life illustration from a local office against that benchmark.
Written and reviewed by
James Forren Warren
Licensed Retirement Income Strategist · License #20551202
James Forren Warren is a licensed Retirement Income Strategist with Tax Free Wealth Plan. For the past five years he has helped individuals and families turn their savings into retirement income they can count on. He writes and reviews the annuity research on this site and keeps it plain: what a product does, what it costs you, and who it actually fits.
Sources
Educational only, not investment, tax or legal advice. Tax Free Wealth Plan LLC is a licensed insurance agency, not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer. Annuities are not bank deposits, are not FDIC insured and are not guaranteed by any government agency. Guarantees are backed solely by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Features, rates and availability vary by state and change over time; the contract and disclosure documents govern.
