Nationwide IUL Review (2026)

Nationwide at a glance: who stands behind the policy

Nationwide began in 1926 as the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, an Ohio auto insurer owned by its policyholders. It added life insurance and annuities in 1935 by buying the Life Insurance Company of America, and took the Nationwide name in 1955. It spun its life and retirement business into a public company, Nationwide Financial Services, in 1997, then bought back all of the public shares. Nationwide dates that buyback to 2008 and says it brought the whole enterprise back under mutual ownership.

The result is a two-level structure worth understanding. The companies that issue the policies, Nationwide Life Insurance Company and Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company, are stock life insurers. They sit inside a group whose parent, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, is a mutual owned by its policyholders. There are no outside shareholders.

Nationwide is large. Its 2025 annual report shows $359.8 billion in total assets and $73.2 billion in revenue for 2025. By its own count, citing LIMRA data for the third quarter of 2025, it is the third-largest writer of life insurance in the country and the largest writer of fixed universal life insurance. It sells auto, home, pet and business insurance too, so life insurance is one part of a diversified company.

For its annuity lineup and annuity ratings, see our Nationwide annuity review.

How strong is Nationwide?

Nationwide's ratings page shows these grades for its two life insurers:

We found no Fitch rating. These are strong grades across three agencies, one step below the top tier some peers hold at AM Best.

A rating measures the company, not the policy. It tells you how likely Nationwide 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.

Nationwide's IUL lineup

Nationwide's indexed universal life (IUL) page lists three policies for most states and two separate versions for New York. A fourth policy, New Heights IUL II, has its own website.

IUL Accumulator III is the flagship accumulation policy, announced March 26, 2026. It is built to grow cash value for decades and pay supplemental retirement income through loans and withdrawals. It added Nasdaq-100 strategies, two-year segment options, six uncapped strategies, a Performance Lock that can lock in an index gain partway through a year, and an 8% enhanced dollar cost averaging rate in the first year. Surrender charges apply for 10 years.

IUL Protector II 2020 is built for death benefit protection at a lower cost, with some cash value potential. Its optional Extended No-Lapse Guarantee Rider can extend the death benefit guarantee up to the insured's lifetime if premiums are paid on time. Surrender charges apply for 15 years.

Survivorship Indexed UL 2020 covers two people and pays when the second one dies. It is an estate planning tool, with a policy split option and an estate protection rider. Surrender charges apply for 15 years.

New Heights IUL II is a separate accumulation policy issued by Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company. Its index menu differs from Accumulator III's and includes strategies tied to the Goldman Sachs New Horizons Index, the SG Macro Compass Index, the S&P 500 Distance Stabilizer Index and The Growth Fund of America, a mutual fund. It is not listed on Nationwide's main IUL page, so ask whether it is available where you live.

New York: residents get YourLife IUL Accumulator and YourLife IUL Protector, issued by Nationwide Life Insurance Company.

IUL Accumulator II 2020, the previous accumulation policy, was on Nationwide's IUL page in December 2025 and has since been replaced there by Accumulator III. Nationwide still posts a rate guide for it, which we use below to look at cap history.

Index options and how interest is credited

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 floor protects the index credit, not your cash value. Charges still come out in a 0% year.

On IUL Accumulator III, Nationwide's rate guide dated March 7, 2026 lists ten index strategies on four index choices:

• S&P 500: a one-year capped strategy, plus one-year and two-year uncapped strategies that subtract a spread.
• Multi-Index blend: tracks the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, averages each over the year, then weights the best at 50%, the second at 30% and the third at 20%. A standard and a high-cap version.
• Nasdaq-100: a capped monthly average strategy and one-year and two-year uncapped strategies.
• BNP Paribas Global H-Factor Index: two uncapped high participation strategies.

There is also a fixed account with a 1% guaranteed minimum rate.

The H-Factor index uses volatility control and is calculated on an excess return basis with an index deduction, which Nationwide's own disclosures say lowers its performance. That is how it can carry participation rates well above 100%. Its rate guide shows the raw index returning 4.17% a year over 10 years and minus 0.41% a year over 5 years, as of January 15, 2026, and notes the index was established April 8, 2022, so earlier figures are backtested with hindsight. See volatility-controlled indexes for how to read those numbers.

Current caps and participation rates are set by Nationwide and can change for new segments, down to each strategy's guaranteed minimums. Our IUL Accumulator III review shows the rates in the March 2026 guide. For how to weigh a cap against charges, see IUL cap rates.

How Nationwide treats existing policyholders

You will own an IUL for decades after the sale, so how a carrier treats older policies matters more than the launch rates. We looked at caps, cost of insurance charges, other charges it can change, and lawsuits and regulatory actions.

Caps on the previous accumulation policy

Nationwide is unusual in posting dated rate guides for its IULs where anyone can download them. Archived copies of the guide for IUL Accumulator II 2020 give a public record of its one-year S&P 500 point-to-point cap:

This cap rose over the period and did not fall. Not every rate moved the same way: the spread on the uncapped S&P 500 account widened from 7.5% (September 2022) to 10.0% (April 2023), a worse deal for owners, before narrowing to 5.75% by March 2026, and the High Cap S&P 500 cap slipped from 13.50% (July 2024) to 13.25% (March 2026). Two caveats keep this from being a clean bill of health. First, 2022 to 2024 was a period of rising interest rates, which lets carriers afford higher caps; the real test comes when rates fall. Second, the guides show "current" rates without saying whether renewing segments on existing policies get the same rates as new money. If you own a Nationwide IUL, your annual statement lists the rates credited to your strategies. Compare them with the guide for the same date.

Cost of insurance charges

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 universal life. Nationwide's current IUL client guides state: "We are proud of our long track record of never having increased the cost of insurance rates once a policy is put in force." We found no public record that contradicts it. We could not verify it from regulatory filings, so read it as Nationwide's own statement rather than an independent finding. It is a statement about the past, not a contractual promise about the future.

Charges Nationwide can change

Two charges on Accumulator III can move after you buy, within limits in your policy:

• Indexed strategy charges. Most strategies charge 0% today but allow up to 0.50%; the high-cap and high participation select strategies charge 0.55% and 0.75% today (as of March 2026) and allow up to 1.50%.
• Long-Term Care Rider II. Nationwide's disclosure says it can raise the current monthly charge rate up to the guaranteed maximum in your policy, applied uniformly to a class of insureds.

Lawsuits and regulatory actions

A search of published court opinions in the CourtListener database, in September 2026, turned up no reported decision involving a Nationwide IUL policy. That is not a complete review of every court. The older Nationwide life litigation we found was a class action over term life premiums paid in installments rather than annually, described in Nationwide Life's 2008 annual report to the SEC and settled in November 2008. It did not involve IUL. 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.

Riders and living benefits

Accumulator III includes three living access benefits with no initial cost or upfront monthly charge. A cost applies only if you use one.

• Chronic Illness Benefit: part of the death benefit early for a chronic illness expected to need substantial help for life.
• Critical Illness Benefit: a lump sum after a diagnosis such as cancer or stroke.
• Terminal Illness Benefit: part of the death benefit when life expectancy is 12 months or less.

Nationwide's disclosure is candid: using the chronic or critical illness benefit reduces the death benefit and cash surrender value by more than one dollar for every dollar paid.

Long-Term Care Rider II is optional and costs extra. It is a cash indemnity design: once a claim is approved, you get a monthly benefit and do not have to submit receipts each month, and care can come from family or friends. It accelerates the death benefit, so every dollar used reduces what your beneficiaries get. It is not available in every state. See IUL long-term care riders.

Overloan Lapse Protection Rider II is included with no monthly charge. If loans have nearly used up the net surrender value, it can be invoked to keep the policy from lapsing; loans and withdrawals then stop, and a charge applies at that point. Nationwide notes that the IRS and courts have not ruled on the tax result of invoking such a rider. See overloan protection.

Other options on Accumulator III include an Adjusted Premium Charge Rider, a Surrender Value Enhancement Rider, Waiver of Monthly Deductions, Waiver of Premium and a Change of Insured Rider for business owners. Availability varies by state.

Underwriting and service

Nationwide's consumer guide says approval is subject to underwriting and may require a medical exam. We did not find accelerated underwriting terms for its IULs in its consumer materials, so ask whether you qualify for a faster path. See IUL underwriting.

For service on an existing policy, Nationwide lists:

Who Nationwide fits, and who should look elsewhere

Nationwide is a strong candidate if you:

• Want an accumulation IUL from a very large carrier with A+ ratings from AM Best and S&P.
• Value a carrier that publishes dated rate guides and states it has never raised cost of insurance rates on in-force policies.
• Want long-term care coverage without receipts, or illness benefits that cost nothing until used.
• Can fund the policy steadily for at least 10 years, past the surrender period.

Look elsewhere if you:

• Might need to surrender in the early years. Surrender charges apply for 10 years on Accumulator III and 15 years on Protector II 2020 and Survivorship Indexed UL 2020.
• Want the charge amounts in writing before you talk to anyone. Nationwide's consumer materials do not publish them.
• Are drawn in mainly by the highest participation rates. Those sit on an index with a short live record and weak recent raw returns.
• Mainly want the cheapest permanent death benefit. Nationwide's Protector II, guaranteed universal life or term may fit better. See who should not buy IUL.

A word on taxes, since IUL is often sold on them. Income 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 Nationwide with other carriers, start with our list of the best IUL companies.