North American Company IUL Review (2026)

North American at a glance: who stands behind the policy

North American Company for Life and Health Insurance started in 1886 as the North American Accident Association. By its own account it was the first company to offer a disability policy for women, in 1918, and it entered the brokerage market in 1981. It sells through independent agents, not directly to consumers.

Today it is one of two life insurers in Sammons Financial Group. The other is Midland National. Sammons Financial belongs to Sammons Enterprises, which is owned by an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). That means no public shareholders and no quarterly earnings calls. North American says the group passed $100 billion in assets in 2019 and built a new corporate headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa, in 2021. Life policy service runs from its administrative office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

North American reports more than 463,000 life insurance policies and more than 234,000 annuity contracts in force as of December 31, 2024. It sells term life, indexed universal life and annuities. For its annuity lineup, see our North American annuity review.

How strong is North American?

AM Best affirmed North American's financial strength rating at A+ (Superior) on August 13, 2025, with a stable outlook. A+ is the second-highest grade on AM Best's scale. AM Best rated the group's balance sheet very strong and its operating performance strong. It also pointed to one weakness: Sammons uses surplus notes, captive financing and a Bermuda-based reinsurance affiliate, which AM Best says "reduces the overall quality of capital." That is worth knowing, though it did not stop the agency from affirming the rating.

Sammons Financial Group reports that S&P affirmed North American's A+ (Strong) rating on June 10, 2026, and that Fitch's A+ (Stable) rating is dated the same day. We found no Moody's rating.

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

North American's IUL lineup

North American currently sells three indexed universal life (IUL) policies. All three are issued on the same base policy form and share the same menu of nine index selections. They differ in charges, caps and what they are built to do.

Builder Plus IUL 4 is the flagship accumulation policy, launched in mid-2024. It is built to grow cash value over decades and then pay supplemental retirement income through policy loans. On North American's March 2026 consumer rate sheet it had the highest caps of the three. The price for that is a load taken from every premium and surrender charges in the early years. It also adds interest bonuses and a fixed participating loan that earns a bonus.

Smart Builder IUL 3 is designed for earlier access to cash value. An optional rider, chosen at application for an extra cost, waives surrender charges so the cash value is reachable sooner. Ask for its charges and current rates on an illustration.

Protection Builder IUL 2 is built for a guaranteed death benefit rather than cash value. North American says its optional Premium Guarantee Rider, chosen at issue, can guarantee the death benefit up to age 120 if you meet the premium requirements. If you skip that rider, a no-lapse guarantee can cover a specified period instead.

North American no longer sells Builder IUL, Rapid Builder IUL, Guarantee Builder IUL, the earlier Builder Plus IUL versions, Smart Builder IUL 1 and 2, or the original Protection Builder IUL. Its ADDvantage Term policy is term insurance, not IUL.

Index options and how interest is credited

Each IUL offers the same nine index selections, plus a fixed account with a guaranteed minimum rate (1.5% on Builder Plus IUL 4). 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%. Index credits reset each year, so a bad year does not have to be earned back before the next credit counts.

The nine selections use 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). The Fidelity index mixes selected U.S. stocks with U.S. Treasuries, which its licensor says may reduce volatility over time. A calmer index generally costs less to hedge, which is how it can carry a participation rate above 100% with no cap. North American announced in 2021 that it had licensed this index for exclusive use on its IULs. For how these designs behave, see our guide to volatility-controlled indexes.

Current caps and participation rates for all three policies are available on request. They are current rates, not guarantees: North American can change them for new index periods, down to each contract's minimums. A cap is only part of the value. A policy with a lower cap and lower charges can leave you with more cash value than one with a higher cap and higher charges. Our guide to IUL cap rates explains how to weigh the two.

How North American 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 three things: caps on older policies, cost of insurance charges, and lawsuits or regulatory actions.

Caps on policies it no longer sells

We could not find a consumer-facing North American document that lists today's caps on its closed IULs. Its consumer rate sheet covers only the three policies sold today. So we cannot show you how older policies are credited now, or how far their caps have moved since launch.

We found one public data point on launch terms. When Builder Plus IUL 3 launched in May 2021, North American announced a 125% participation rate with no cap on its Fidelity index account, plus a non-guaranteed bonus, with rates subject to change. The lesson applies to every carrier: the cap or participation rate you are shown at the sale is a current rate, not a promise for the life of the policy. If you own a North American IUL, your annual statement shows your current rates. Compare them with the rates in your original illustration.

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 any universal life policy. We found no public record of North American raising cost of insurance rates on its IUL policies. We could not verify that from company filings, so treat it as unconfirmed rather than a clean record.

North American's best-known case on this subject ran in the opposite direction. In PHT Holding II LLC v. North American (Southern District of Iowa, case 4:18-cv-00368), a policy owner sued on behalf of 18,585 owners of two older universal life products, Classic Term UL I and II, issued from 1989 to 2001. The claim was that North American should have lowered cost of insurance rates as expected mortality improved. The court noted it was undisputed that North American had not changed the rate scales on those products since they were introduced. In May 2023 the court denied North American's motion for summary judgment, and the parties then agreed to settle for $59 million in cash payments and account value credits. North American denied any wrongdoing. The court granted final approval of the settlement on November 30, 2023. None of the policies involved were IULs.

Lawsuits and regulatory actions on its IULs

In our search of public court records, we found no certified class action over North American's IUL products as of September 2026. Some plaintiff law firms advertise that they are investigating IUL sales by many carriers, including North American. An advertisement is not a lawsuit, and we did not treat it as one. 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

North American's IULs include accelerated death benefits at no added premium. If the insured has a qualifying illness, the owner can take part of the death benefit early and use it for any purpose. Three details matter. The payout is discounted, so you receive less than the amount of death benefit you give up. An administrative fee may apply when you elect it. And it is not long-term care insurance. Our guide to IUL living benefits compares these designs.

Two built-in features protect people who use the policy for retirement income:

• Overloan protection. Once set conditions on policy age, the insured's age and the size of the loan are met, the owner can elect it to keep a heavily borrowed policy from lapsing. That matters because a lapse with a loan outstanding can create a large tax bill. Other riders end when it is elected. See overloan protection.
• Protected Death Benefit. Under set conditions, the owner can choose a minimum death benefit to guarantee while still taking loans from the rest of the cash value.

Ask for the eligibility conditions of both in writing. Optional riders at an extra charge are also available and vary by policy and state. The Premium Guarantee Rider is sold only on Protection Builder IUL 2.

Underwriting and service

North American offers full underwriting and an accelerated process called WriteAway. North American says WriteAway uses a short phone interview and publicly available data, and can skip lab tests and a paramedical exam for healthy applicants who qualify. Applicants who do not qualify may be asked for lab work. For what the process looks like, see IUL underwriting.

For life policy service, North American lists this contact information:

Who North American fits, and who should look elsewhere

North American is a strong candidate if you:

• Want an accumulation IUL from an A+ carrier and can fund it steadily for many years.
• Plan to draw retirement income through loans and value overloan protection and the Protected Death Benefit.
• Want accelerated death benefits for a qualifying illness built in at no added premium.
• Qualify for accelerated underwriting and would rather skip the exam.

Look elsewhere if you:

• Live in New York, where North American is not licensed.
• Might need to surrender in the early years. Builder Plus IUL 4's surrender charges and premium load make early exits expensive.
• Want your caps to hold for decades. No carrier promises that, and North American can lower caps for future index periods down to the contract minimums.
• Want the charge amounts in writing before you talk to anyone. North American's consumer materials do not publish them; you will need an illustration.
• Mainly want the cheapest permanent death benefit. A guaranteed universal life policy 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 North American with other carriers, start with our list of the best IUL companies.