Top 10 insurance companies in Australia

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Russell Cain Updated: 12 September 2022

A life insurance policy may be one of the most important purchases you ever make. However, finding the best life insurance for your requirements often feels challenging. With 27 different insurers registered with APRA, you may want to familiarise yourself with the features and benefits offered by top Australian insurance companies so that you are equipped with the knowledge to make the best decision for your family.

Typically, there are several factors that you may want to consider when choosing a life insurance company. You may want to examine the likelihood of your claim being paid, the premiums you’ll pay or whether or not you’ll be eligible for a discount when you purchase a policy. Compare features and benefits from leading insurers to find an option that suits you and your family.

Key Facts

• 2022’s top 5 life insurance companies by market share are TAL Life Limited, AIA Australia Limited, Zurich, MLC Limited and the Resolution Group.
• Your premiums will generally vary depending on the type of policy, how much cover you require, your age, gender and several other factors.
• Currently, there are 27 registered life insurance companies to compare between when looking for cover.
• The company that is best for you is generally one that meets your personal requirements such as level of cover, benefits offered and budget.

Generally, examining a company’s market share is a good way to judge its worth. However, it shouldn’t be the main determining factor you look at when finding a company that suits your requirements. Market shares fluctuate yearly because of various mergers and acquisitions in the insurance industry.

Compare 2022’s best life insurance companies by market share:

1. TAL Life Limited: Ranks 1st, with a market share of 27.7%
2. AIA Australia Limited: 2nd, with a market share of 18.3%
3. Zurich: Ranks 3rd, with a market share of 13.8%
4. MLC Limited: Ranks 4th with a market share of 10.6%
5. Resolution Group: Ranks 5th, with a market share of  7.9%
6. BT/Westpac Financial Group: Ranks 6th, with a market share of 5.4%
7. Metlife Insurance: Ranks 7th, with a market share of 5.1%
8. QInsure: Ranks 8th, with a market share of 3.3%
9. Hannover: Ranks 9th, with a market share of 3.2%
10. ClearView: Ranks 10th, with a market share of 1.7%

Source: Plan For Life Actuaries & Researchers (August 2022)

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How to choose the best life insurance company in Australia

Top life insurance companies usually share a few common aspects. Most importantly, the best life insurance company usually meets your requirements and offers you adequate protection to ensure that your loved ones are taken care of should you pass away unexpectedly or are diagnosed with a critical illness and have a life expectancy of less than two years.

However, there are still several other factors that you should consider:

• Your requirements: Before you start comparing Australian life insurance companies, you may want to clarify your requirements first. Calculate how much money your family will need to maintain their current lifestyle by adding together outstanding debts, like your mortgage, your average monthly expenses and any other costs you may need to cover in the future. 
• Built-in benefits:  Typically, insurers offer several built-in benefits with their policies. Each insurer is different so it’s a good idea to refer to the company’s Product Disclosure Statements (PDS) to learn about the benefits they offer. However, some common built-in benefits include:
  • Terminal illness benefits
  • Funeral advancement benefit
  • Future insurability benefit
  • Financial advice benefit
  • Premium freeze option
  • Indexation
  • Interim cover
• Exclusions: Typically, your life cover is subject to certain exclusions. A standard exclusion is an event, condition, or circumstance your insurer doesn’t cover. For instance, life insurance companies typically won’t pay any benefits for suicide in the first 13 months after you’ve purchased your policy. To learn what you won’t be able to claim, it’s typically a good idea to read the company’s PDS.
• Premiums: Calculate whether you’ll be able to afford the policy premiums now and in the future. If you’re looking for short-term affordability, a stepped premium style might be best for you. On the other hand, if you’re able to start with higher premiums, which don’t increase every year due to your age, then a company offering level premiums might be better.
• Discounts and rewards: Life insurers in Australia often offer discounts to new customers and purchase multiple policies. Generally, you may even be able to find an insurer who’ll give you a discount if you pay your premiums in advance. It’s typically a good idea to compare discounts from several insurers when looking for cover.
• Financial strength ratings: Ratings are given by an independent entity such as Standard & Poors. While an evaluation from an independent source does not tell you how good a company is, it does help you to measure the insurers’ insurers’ creditworthiness, which further indicates whether a company will be able to pay claims now and in the future.
• Customer reviews: Read customer reviews and complaints about the various companies to learn more about the experiences of past and current members.

If you need assistance in finding a policy to meet your requirements, you may want to seek the services of a specialist. Please give us a call at 1300 743 254.

About the best life insurance companies Australia  

TAL Life Limited: Accelerated Protection

Tal is one of the leading insurers in Australia, with over 150 years of experience in the insurance industry. Formerly known as Tower Life, it became a subsidiary of the Dai-Ichi Life Group, one of Japan’s largest insurers, in 2011. They then went on to acquire Suncorp’s Australian life insurance business in 2019. In 2020 alone, TAL paid out over $2.7 billion in claims.

• Monthly premium estimate: $38.03
• Discounts: 
  • Initial discount includes 10% discount in year 1 then a 5% discount in year 2
  • Health Sense includes a 7.5-15% ongoing discount depending on your BMI

• Financial strength: A+

Common Built-in Benefits – Accelerated Protection

• Entry ages: from 16 up to age 75 for stepped premiums and age 60 for level premiums.
• Free Interim cover benefit: TAL will generally pay you a specified lump sum benefit as per their terms and conditions should you pass away or become sick or injured before your application is accepted.
• Free Child Critical Illness benefit: Pays up to $10,000 if your child, aged 2 to 15, is diagnosed with a specified medical condition, terminal illness, or passes away.
• Financial planning benefit: You could receive a reimbursement of up to $5,000 for obtaining financial planning advice.

AIA Australia Limited: Priority Protection

AIA Australia is the second-largest life insurance company, with a 18.9% market share. The AIA Group is the largest Hong Kong-headquartered company on the Hong Kong stock exchange and has a presence in over 18 markets around the world. Currently, AIA offers protection to over 3.8 million Australians and has paid out more than $2.2billion dollars in claims in 2020

• Monthly premium estimate: $42.83
• Discounts: 
  • New customers get a 10% discount in year 1 and a 5% discount in year 2
  • Vitality members get a discount of up to 17.5% for maintaining a specific Vitality status
• Financial strength:A+

Common Built-in Benefits – Priority Protection

• Free interim accidental death cover: Your beneficiaries could receive a specified lump sum benefit if you pass away while your policy is being assessed up to 90 days from date of the signed application.
• Final expenses benefit: 10% advancement off sum insured, up to $25,000.
• Complimentary Family Final Expenses: Typically pays from 10% of sum insured, up to $20,000, if your child (age 2 to 17 years old) passes away or is diagnosed with a terminal illness.
• Financial planning reimbursement: Receive a lump sum payment of up to $3,000.

Zurich Australia Limited: Wealth Protection

Zurich Insurance is a Swiss-based global insurance company founded in 1872. They have been in operation in Australia since 1920. For over 135 years, they have offered high-quality life risk, general insurance, and investment products to personal and corporate customers.

• Monthly premium estimate: $35.36
• Discounts: Multi-policy and multi-lives discounts are generally available
• Financial strength: A+

Common Built-in Benefits – Wealth Protection

• Entry ages: Between 10 and 70 years old
• Free interim cover: Receive a benefit for accidental injury or accidental death while you’re waiting for your application to be assessed.
• Funeral expenses benefit: Advance payment of up to $15,000 for funeral costs.
• Accidental injury benefit: You could receive an advance payment of part of your death benefitIf you suffer a specified accidental injury, .
• Accommodation expenses benefit: If immediate family members have to travel more than 100km to be with the life insured, you could receive reimbursement for some travel and accommodation expenses.

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MLC Limited: MLC Insurance

MLC is owned by Nippon Life and the National Australia Bank (NAB) and are considered one of the largest life insurers in Australia. Currently, they protect more than 1.4 million lives and have paid out over $1.1 billion in claims to their customers in 2020.

• Monthly premium estimate: $43.12
• Financial strength: A+

Common built-in benefits – MLC Insurance

• Best Doctors Service: Provides you with access to some of the leading medical practitioners in the world.
• Accidental injury benefit: Receive a lump sum benefit if you are injured due to an accident, which results in the total and permanent loss of your hands, feet and eyes within 6 months of the accident.
• Advance Death Benefit: Typically, a benefit of $20,000 will be paid from your life cover lump sum to help your loved ones pay for your funeral.
• Financial planning benefit: If the lump sum benefit paid is $100,000 or more, MLC reimburses you for part of the costs charged by a qualified financial adviser for financial planning services.

BT Financial Group: Protection plan

BT Insurance was founded in 1969 and is owned by the BT Financial Group, part of the wealth management branch of the Westpac Group. According to the Standards & Poor’s Financial Strength report of December 2021, BT scored an A+ rating, which shows it as strong and stable.

• Monthly premium estimate: $41.85
• Discounts: 
  • You may be eligible for a discount when applying for multiple policies
  • Receive up to 10% discount on your life insurance premiums with BT My Wellbeing Rewards benefit
• Financial strength:A+

Common built-in benefits – Protection Plans

• Counselling benefit: After a death benefit has been paid, BT typically reimburses your loved ones up to $5,000 or up to 10 counselling sessions.
• Loyalty benefit: If you hold your life insurance policy for more than 3 consecutive years, your sum insured will generally increase by 5% without your premiums rising.
• Financial Planning Benefit: You could be reimbursed up to $5,000 for receiving advice from a qualified financial advisor after a lump sum death benefit has been paid.

MetLife Insurance Limited: Protect life cover

MetLife Australia is owned by MetLife Incorporated, the holding company for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC) and its associates. The company has grown to the third-largest group insurer in Australia and paid out more than $504.1million in claims in 2020.

• Monthly premium estimate: $38.90
• Discounts: 
  • New customers may be eligible for a 10% discount in year 1 and a 5% discount in year 2
  • You may qualify for a discount when applying for multiple policies at once
• Financial strength:A+

Common built-in benefits – Life Care

• Terminal illness Benefit: Should you be confirmed that you have less than 24 months to live they will pay the benefit in advance
• Immediate Expenses benefit: MetLife typically advances up to $30,000 from your death benefit upon receipt of a valid death certificate for final expenses.
• Advance Payment benefit: Should you pass away, your beneficiaries will receive an up to $30,000 for funeral expenses.
• Benefit Indexation: Increases your benefit each year by cpi without the need for any additional medical disclosures, keeping your level of cover in line with indexation.
• Accommodation benefit: This insurer typically helps pay for the accommodation costs of an immediate family member who needs to travel to care for you if you are terminally ill and confined to a bed.

Compare the leading life insurers in Australia

Company name	Claims accepted rate	Monthly premium*	Market share
	97.5%	$38.03	27%
	97%	$42.83	18.9%
	97.7%	$35.36	14.1%
	96%	$43.12	10.9%
	96.5%	$41.85	5.6%
	‡	$38.90	4.8%
	98.1%	$33.20	N/A
	‡	$44.80	N/A
Other life Insurance Companies	N/A	N/A	10.3%

‡ The number of finalised claims is too small to provide a reliable result.

Source: Moneysmart.gov.au (This table shows claims information for death cover purchased through a financial adviser Period 01/07/2020 -30/06/2021), Plan For Life Actuaries & Researchers, Life Insurance Direct Comparison Engine (December 2021; Premium estimates for $1million of death cover with stepped premiums for a 35-year-old non-smoking male living in NSW)

How many life insurance companies are there in Australia?

There are 27 life companies in Australia (as of October 2019). Below is the complete list of registered companies in Australia:

• AIA Australia Limited
• Allianz Australia Life Insurance Limited
• AMP Life Limited
• Asteron Life & Superannuation Limited
• Challenger Life Company Limited
• ClearView Life Assurance Limited
• Combined Life Insurance Company of Australia Ltd
• General Reinsurance Life Australia Ltd
• Hallmark Life Insurance Company Ltd.
• Hannover Life Re of Australasia Ltd
• H C F Life Insurance Company Pty Limited
• Integrity Life Australia Limited
• Macquarie Life Limited
• MetLife Insurance Limited
• MLC Limited
• Munich Reinsurance Company of Australasia Limited
• OnePath Life Limited
• Pacific Life Re (Australia) Pty Limited
• QInsure Limited
• RGA Reinsurance Company of Australia Limited
• RLNM Limited
• SCOR Global Life Australia Pty Limited
• St Andrew’s Life Insurance Pty Ltd
• Swiss Re Life & Health Australia Limited
• TAL Life Limited
• Westpac Life Insurance Services Limited
• Zurich Australia Limited

Sources: Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)

When to review your life insurance policy provider

There are several instances when you may want to consider reviewing your life insurance policy. Your personal circumstances typically change throughout your life, which will impact the kind of life insurance you may require. The following instances are examples of times when you may want to review Australian life insurance companies to find the right insurer for you and your family.

1. When your financial situation changes: If you get a new job or become financially independent, it may be a good idea to compare policies from leading life insurers.
2. If you’ve recently bought a home: When you buy a home, your personal circumstances typically change dramatically. You’ll be responsible for repaying your mortgage, so a life insurance policy could help your family cover these costs should you pass away unexpectedly.
3. You’re thinking about starting a family: If you decide to expand your family, it may be a good time to review your term life insurance. By adding members to your family, you’ll have more financial responsibilities, and it’s important that you ensure that you’ll be able to continue paying for your child’s ongoing costs, for instance, school fees.
4. You have financial dependants: Investing in a term life insurance policy is generally a good idea if you have family members who are financially dependent on you. 

Final questions to ask before choosing a life insurance company

Once you’ve compared the top life insurers, you may want to ask yourself the following questions before you make a final decision on the life insurance that suits your requirements.

• What’s covered under your policy?
• Are there any exclusions on your life insurance policy?
• Will you get a discount for combining insurance products like life insurance, income protection insurance, total and permanent disability or a trauma insurance policy?
• How does the life insurance provider’s application process work?
• Have you looked at the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS)?
• Will your life insurance premiums change over time?
• What are the waiting periods on your policy?
• How do you make a claim?
• Have you read customer reviews for this insurer?

Frequently asked questions and answers

• Who has the best life insurance in Australia?

  Generally, the best life insurance company in Australia is the company that best suits your requirements. To find an insurer that offers features and benefits suited to your needs, it’s usually a good idea to compare all of the options available. If you’d like to discuss your requirements and find the best life insurance policy for you, please give us a call on 1300 743 254 and a specialist will get back to you. Alternatively, you could fill in the quote form above to get life insurance quotes.

• How much does life insurance cost?

  Generally, there are several different factors that influence the cost of your life insurance premium. You’ll find that you are often able to find affordable life cover by avoiding lazy tax and comparing life insurance products regularly. The cost of life insurance coverage is also impacted by the type and level of life insurance coverage you have, how frequently you pay as well as your participation in your providers healthy lifestyle programs.

• How much cover do you need?

  The amount of life cover you need is typically influenced by several factors. Your financial situation, your debts, whether you have a mortgage and the general cost of living for your family all impact the amount of coverage you may require. Please give us a call on 1300 743 254 to discuss your life insurance requirements.

• How long does life insurance take to pay in Australia?

  Typically, this depends on your insurer as well as your personal requirements. If you’re making a claim on death cover, you should generally expect to learn about the outcome of your claim between a month to three months after you inform your insurer of the claim.

• Is it better to buy life insurance directly from the company?

  If you decide to purchase insurance directly, you are limited to the policies offered by the company, which might be more expensive than competing insurers in Australia. Different life insurance companies offer different rates because each company has its own underwriting guidelines and might view your lifestyle and health risks differently.

• Who is the best life insurance provider?

  There is no one’leading life insurereach is different. A company that’s well suited to a family with dependent children might not be the best option for a single, career driven, 20-something young professional. Life insurance companies in Australia offer competitive premiums and benefits to suit people at different stages of their lives. However, some might provide you with cheaper premiums and better coverage depending on your specific requirements.

• Which are the top 5 life insurance companies in Australia

  The best life insurance companies generally vary each year due to changes in market share, customer satisfaction and claims accepted rates. Given this, the top ranking insurers for 2022, according to market share are TAL, AIA, Zurich, MLC and the BT group.

• Who regulates life insurance companies?

  The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) regulates life insurance companies registered under the Life Insurance Act in Australia. The regulator is responsible for the management of life insurers to ensure that they continue to meet their financial obligations under all circumstances.

• Which company offers the best income protection insurance?

  Income protection typically provides you with cover if you are unable to work due to an illness or accident. The company which offers the best income protection is one that offers you features and benefits suited to your personal situation. Compare policies from leading insurers to find an option which protects your ability to earn an income and take care of your loved ones.

• Does your medical history affect the insurer you choose?

  Having pre existing medical conditions may have an impact on the life insurer you choose. Generally, insurance companies have different underwriting guidelines and will thus assess your medical history differently. It is generally a good idea to get a pre assessment from several insurance companies if you suffer from any pre existing medical conditions.

• Can you buy policies from different life insurance companies?

  Yes, generally you will be able to purchase life insurance from multiple insurers. Most insurers offer you the opportunity to mix and match life insurance from several different insurers. However, to maintain your cover, you’ll need to ensure that all policies held in your name are kept up to date. Additionally, you may find that it is more beneficial to bundle your cover with one insurer as most leading life insurers will offer you a discount when you buy more than one policy.

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