Midland National IUL Review (2026)

Midland National at a glance: who stands behind the policy

Midland National Life Insurance Company started in 1906 as Dakota Mutual Life Insurance Company in Lead, South Dakota. It took its current name in 1925. In 1958 Reserve Life Insurance Company, owned by Charles Sammons, bought a majority of its stock, and in 1978 Sammons set up the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) that now owns the group. Midland sells its policies through independent agents.

Its policies name West Des Moines, Iowa as the company's location, and its life insurance service runs from One Sammons Plaza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Midland's 2025 statutory annual statement shows $88.2 billion in assets and $5.1 billion of capital and surplus at year end. On its website, Midland says it has more than 1 million life insurance and annuity policies in force, citing its 2022 annual statement. It sells term life, whole life, indexed universal life (IUL) and annuities. For the annuity side, see our Midland National annuity review.

How Midland National relates to North American

This is the question buyers ask most, so here is the short version. Midland National and North American are two separate life insurers with the same owner, Sammons Financial Group. Sammons describes its rated group as consisting of these two companies, and each files its own statutory financial statements. That means two balance sheets, not one. The company named on your policy is the one that owes you the benefits.

What they share:

• Ratings. AM Best and S&P rate both companies as members of the Sammons group, so the grades match: A+ from each, plus A+ from Fitch.
• Product design. Midland announced Strategic Accumulator IUL 3 in a release titled "Midland National and North American Announce New IULs," describing it as building on "the companies' flagship IUL products." The two flagships are close cousins. Strategic Accumulator IUL 3 and North American's Builder Plus IUL 4 are issued on the same policy form number (P100/ICC22P100) and list the same interest bonuses in their consumer brochures.
• Licensing. Each says on its website that it is licensed in every state except New York.

What can differ: the rates and the charges. Each company sets them for its own policies, so an illustration from one does not tell you what the other will show. If an agent offers you one of them, it is fair to ask for the sister product too.

How strong is Midland National?

Sammons Financial Group reports these ratings for Midland National:

Midland says AM Best has rated it A+ since 1980. Sammons does not list a Moody's rating for Midland, and we found none in Midland's materials.

One detail from the balance sheet is worth knowing. Of Midland's $5.1 billion in capital and surplus at the end of 2025, $1.24 billion was surplus notes. A surplus note is borrowed money that state regulators allow an insurer to count as capital because it is repaid only with regulatory approval. It is common in the industry and did not stop the rating agencies from giving A+ grades, but it means the capital figure is not all retained earnings.

A rating measures the company, not the policy. It tells you how likely Midland is to pay claims decades from now. It says nothing about whether a given IUL's caps and charges suit you.

For how we weigh ratings against other factors, see how we rate life insurance companies.

Midland National's IUL lineup

Midland currently sells three IULs, the three listed on its public IUL rate page. All three are issued on the same base policy form and use the same indexes, with different rates, charges and features.

Strategic Accumulator IUL 3 is the flagship accumulation policy, launched August 12, 2024. It is built to grow cash value over decades and then pay supplemental retirement income through policy loans. As of September 5, 2026 it had the highest caps of the three, including a 10.5% cap on the S&P 500 annual point-to-point account with a 0.25% current floor. It adds interest bonuses and three loan types, one of which earns a bonus.

Strategic Accelerator IUL 3 is built for earlier access to cash value. Midland's consumer brochure says it has no premium load, and an optional Waiver of Surrender Charge Option Rider, chosen at application for an extra monthly charge, waives surrender charges if you surrender early (not on an external 1035 exchange, except in Florida). It also has a no-lapse guarantee that lasts the lesser of 15 years or to age 75, but never less than 10 years, if you pay the required minimum premium. Its caps were lower than the Accumulator's: 8.5% on the S&P 500 annual point-to-point as of September 5, 2026.

Strategic Protector IUL 2 is built for a guaranteed death benefit, launched January 29, 2025. Midland says its Premium Guaranteed Rider, available at issue only, offers a guaranteed death benefit up to age 120. Without that rider, a no-lapse guarantee covers a set period. Its S&P 500 annual cap was 8.25% as of September 5, 2026.

We found no survivorship (second-to-die) IUL in Midland's current consumer materials. Older names such as XL-CV IUL, the first versions of Strategic Accumulator and Strategic Accelerator, and the original Strategic Protector are not among the policies Midland lists with current rates.

Index options and how interest is credited

Midland's March 2026 index selection guide lists nine index selections built from four indexes: the S&P 500 (five ways to credit it), the S&P MidCap 400, the Russell 2000, and the Fidelity Multifactor Yield Index 5% ER (two ways). Each IUL also has a fixed account; on Strategic Accumulator IUL 3 and Strategic Accelerator IUL 3 its guaranteed minimum rate is 1.5%.

An index account does not buy stocks. It credits interest based on how much an index rose over a set period, limited by a cap, participation rate or spread, and never below a floor of 0%. The first policy year uses an 11-month index period. Midland notes that the S&P indexes do not include dividends.

The Fidelity index blends U.S. stocks with U.S. Treasuries and, in Midland's words, "seeks to reduce volatility." A calmer index costs less to hedge, which is how it can carry participation rates of 160% to 235% with no cap. It is calculated on an excess return basis, meaning a financing cost and a 0.50% annual fee are built into the index level before any credit is figured. Midland's own performance page showed the Fidelity index down 1.39% over the year ending August 31, 2026, which means a 0% credit at any participation rate. See our guide to volatility-controlled indexes.

Rates on Midland's public page as of September 5, 2026, for the S&P 500 annual point-to-point account:

These are current rates, not guarantees. Midland can change them for new index periods, down to each policy's minimums. A higher cap is only part of the value: a policy with a lower cap and lower charges can leave you with more cash value. Our guide to IUL cap rates explains how to weigh the two.

How Midland National treats existing policyholders

This is the section that matters most in an IUL, because you will own the policy for decades after the sale. We looked at caps on older policies, cost of insurance charges, and lawsuits.

Caps on a policy it sold 20 years ago

Midland publishes an unusual document here: an August 2025 flyer that charts the actual yearly index credits on an XL-CV IUL issued October 1, 2005, allocated to the S&P 500 annual point-to-point account. Midland says Strategic Accumulator IUL 3 was originally marketed as XL-CV IUL.

The chart shows credits of 14% in 2007 and in each year from 2012 to 2014. In later strong years the top credits were lower: about 13.5% in 2017, about 12.5% in 2018, 9.5% in 2020 and 2021, and about 7.5% in 2023 and 2024. The flyer does not list the caps, but a falling ceiling on credits in strong index years is what lowered caps look like. The 7.5% credits in 2023 and 2024 are below the 10.5% cap Midland offered new Strategic Accumulator IUL 3 buyers in September 2026.

The flyer also compares that policy's account value with an illustration at 8.2%, which Midland says was its default illustrated rate as of October 1, 2006. Midland says the policy "has performed as illustrated." By our reading of Midland's chart, the two lines tracked closely through about 2021 and then separated, ending near $96,000 actual against about $105,000 illustrated in the last year shown. That is a respectable result over nearly two decades, but it is not a policy that matched its illustration to the end.

If you own a Midland IUL, your annual report lists the current cap and participation rate on each index selection. Compare them with the rates in your original illustration.

Cost of insurance increases

The cost of insurance is the monthly charge for the death benefit itself. A carrier raising it on existing policies is one of the biggest risks in any universal life policy.

In Zimmerman v. Midland National Life Insurance Co. (Southern District of Iowa, case 4:23-cv-00345), filed September 8, 2023, an owner of a universal life policy issued in 1992 sued on behalf of a proposed class. The complaint says the policy was issued by TMG Life Insurance Company, which merged into Midland in 2004. The complaint alleges that Midland notified owners in August 2022 of cost of insurance increases on certain universal life policies, that her rates rose as much as 763.33% in a single year, and that Midland's regulatory filings show increases on at least seven other universal life products in the prior three years. It argues the increases broke the policy terms, which tie the rates to "an estimate of future mortality experience." These are allegations, not findings. The plaintiff moved for class certification in September 2025, and the docket showed the case still active in August 2026 with no ruling on that motion that we could find. The policies named are universal life, not IUL.

We found no public record of a cost of insurance increase on Midland's current IULs. Guaranteed maximum rates in every universal life policy allow increases up to a ceiling, so ask what the guaranteed maximums are on your illustration.

Lawsuits over its IULs

In Bader v. Midland National Life Insurance Co. (Southern District of Iowa, case 4:25-cv-00020), an IUL owner who used the Fidelity index account filed a proposed class action in January 2025. He alleged the index was sold with misleading representations, including back-tested history for an index that had existed only a few years. In November 2025 the court dismissed the breach of contract and racketeering claims without prejudice but let fraud and innocent misrepresentation claims go forward. The case ended by stipulated dismissal on July 22, 2026, before any class was certified. No finding was made against Midland.

We have not completed a state-by-state review of regulatory actions and market conduct exams, so we make no claim either way on that point. Our guide to IUL lawsuits covers the wider industry picture.

Riders and living benefits

Midland's IULs include accelerated death benefits at no added premium on eligible policies. Its October 2025 consumer brochure on the endorsement describes three triggers:

• Critical illness, such as a heart attack, cancer, stroke, major organ transplant or kidney failure: up to the lesser of 25% of the death benefit or $50,000 per occurrence, with no administrative fee.
• Chronic illness: up to the lesser of 24% of the death benefit or $480,000 per election, one election every 12 months, with an administrative fee.
• Terminal illness, a life expectancy of 24 months or less: up to the lesser of 90% of the death benefit or $1,000,000, once, with an administrative fee.

The lifetime maximum is $2,000,000 when the policy carries the critical, chronic and terminal illness endorsement. The payout is discounted, so you receive less than the death benefit you give up. It is not long-term care insurance, and terms differ in some states. Our guide to IUL living benefits compares these designs.

Other features vary by policy. Strategic Accumulator IUL 3 offers a protected death benefit feature that Midland says, to its knowledge, no company outside Sammons offers; ask for the conditions in writing. Strategic Accelerator IUL 3 has the optional surrender charge waiver rider. Strategic Protector IUL 2 has the Premium Guaranteed Rider. Ask whether an overloan protection rider is available on the policy you are shown; we did not find one described in Midland's consumer materials.

Underwriting and service

Midland offers full underwriting. In 2019 it announced that its Strategic Protector IUL was available with WriteAway, its accelerated underwriting process, which it said was not available in California. Ask whether you qualify today and what the process involves. For what to expect, see IUL underwriting.

For life policy service, Midland lists:

Who Midland National fits, and who should look elsewhere

Midland National is a strong candidate if you:

• Want an accumulation IUL from an A+ carrier and can fund it steadily for many years.
• Value a carrier that posts current caps publicly, so you can check them without asking.
• Want accelerated death benefits for critical, chronic and terminal illness built in.
• Want to compare two sister designs, Midland and North American, before you choose.

Look elsewhere if you:

• Live in New York, where Midland is not licensed.
• Want your caps to hold for decades. Midland's own flyer shows credits on a 2005 policy topping out lower in recent years.
• Are wary of any carrier that has raised cost of insurance rates on older universal life policies.
• Might need to surrender in the early years of an accumulation policy. Surrender charges apply.
• Mainly want the cheapest permanent death benefit. Guaranteed universal life or term insurance may cost less. See who should not buy IUL.

A word on taxes, since IUL is often sold on them. Income from an IUL usually comes from policy loans and from withdrawals up to your premiums paid. Both are tax-free only while the policy stays in force and is not a modified endowment contract. If the policy lapses or is surrendered with a loan outstanding, the gain can become taxable in a single year. Our IUL taxes guide walks through the rules.

To compare Midland with other carriers, start with our list of the best IUL companies.