Sectors & IndustriesFinancial ServicesInsurance - Life

Best Life Insurance Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top life insurance stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best life insurance stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best life insurance stocks to buy right now are:

Metlife (NYSE:MET) is the #1 top life insurance stock out of 18 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Metlife (NYSE:MET) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Metlife (NYSE:MET) has a Due Diligence Score of 52, which is 12 points higher than the life insurance industry average of 40.

MET passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Metlife has seen its stock return 31.73% over the past year, overperforming other life insurance stocks by 17 percentage points.

Metlife has an average 1 year price target of $106.62, an upside of 4.86% from Metlife's current stock price of $101.67.

Metlife stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Metlife, 69.23% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 15.38% have issued a Buy, 15.38% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Jackson Financial (NYSE:JXN) is the #2 top life insurance stock out of 18 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Jackson Financial (NYSE:JXN) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Jackson Financial (NYSE:JXN) has a Due Diligence Score of 58, which is 18 points higher than the life insurance industry average of 40.

JXN passed 21 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Jackson Financial has seen its stock return 45.57% over the past year, overperforming other life insurance stocks by 31 percentage points.

Jackson Financial has an average 1 year price target of $142.50, an upside of 5.16% from Jackson Financial's current stock price of $135.51.

Jackson Financial stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Jackson Financial, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Cno Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) is the #3 top life insurance stock out of 18 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Cno Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) is: Value: C, Growth: D, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Cno Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) has a Due Diligence Score of 39, which is -1 points lower than the life insurance industry average of 40.

CNO passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Cno Financial Group has seen its stock return 39.72% over the past year, overperforming other life insurance stocks by 25 percentage points.

Cno Financial Group has an average 1 year price target of $55.33, a downside of -3.2% from Cno Financial Group's current stock price of $57.16.

Cno Financial Group stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Cno Financial Group, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 13 life insurance stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 life insurance stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) has an annual dividend yield of 4.55%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the life insurance industry average of 2.48%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Prudential Financial's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio of 50.2% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) has an annual dividend yield of 4.19%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the life insurance industry average of 2.48%. Lincoln National's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Lincoln National's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio of 10.8% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG) has an annual dividend yield of 3.91%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the life insurance industry average of 2.48%.

F&G Annuities & Life's dividend payout ratio of 12.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Life insurance stocks were up 3.2% in the last day, and up 0.65% over the last week. Metlife was the among the top gainers in the insurance - life industry, gaining 3.46% yesterday.

MetLife shares are trading higher after Piper Sandler maintained its Overweight rating on the stock and raised its price target from $110 to $115.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued life insurance stocks right now are:

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG) is the most undervalued life insurance stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

F&G Annuities & Life has a valuation score of 43, which is 6 points higher than the life insurance industry average of 37. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

F&G Annuities & Life's stock has dropped -21.7% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the life insurance industry by -37 percentage points.

Jackson Financial (NYSE:JXN) is the second most undervalued life insurance stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Jackson Financial has a valuation score of 71, which is 34 points higher than the life insurance industry average of 37. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Jackson Financial's stock has gained 45.57% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the life insurance industry by 31 percentage points.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) is the third most undervalued life insurance stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Lincoln National has a valuation score of 43, which is 6 points higher than the life insurance industry average of 37. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Lincoln National's stock has gained 4.65% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the life insurance industry by -10 percentage points.

43.75% of life insurance stocks rated by analysts are a hold right now. On average, analysts expect life insurance stocks to rise by 8.2% over the next year.

0% of life insurance stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 5.88% of life insurance stocks are rated B (Buy), 76.47% are rated C (Hold), 11.76% are rated D (Sell), and 5.88% are rated F (Strong Sell).