Neither one is the better company, and for most readers this question sorts itself out on fit rather than on quality. Securian Financial writes individual life through Minnesota Life Insurance Company and will sell it to anyone who qualifies, whether the coverage reaches you through a financial professional, an employer, a financial institution or an association. Principal narrowed its individual life business to the business market in 2021, and its annual report states that it no longer markets those products to retail customers, so the life insurance it writes today is designed around owners, executives and key employees of small and medium sized businesses. If you want a policy in your own name with nothing else attached, Securian is built for that, and if a business sits behind your reason for coverage, Principal is built for that.
At a glance
| Securian Financial | Principal | |
|---|---|---|
| Company structure | A stock insurer under a mutual insurance holding company | Publicly traded. Principal Financial Group, Inc. trades on Nasdaq as PFG |
| Who issues the policy | Minnesota Life Insurance Company, or Securian Life Insurance Company in New York | Principal National Life (except New York) and Principal Life Insurance Company |
| Home office | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Who its individual life is built for | Anyone who qualifies, including a straightforward household purchase | Owners, executives and key employees of small and medium sized businesses |
| Individual life shelf | Term, whole life, universal life, indexed universal life, variable universal life, survivorship | Term, universal life, indexed universal life, variable universal life |
| How individual coverage is bought | A financial professional, or through an employer, financial institution or association | Through affiliated financial representatives and independent brokers, in all fifty states |
| Group life at work | Group term, group universal life and accidental death and dismemberment | Traditional annually renewable group term, the kind without cash value |
| What each publishes about scale | Seventh largest US life insurer by life insurance in force | Top ranked group life insurer by contracts in force in 2024 |
| Also sells | Annuities, retirement solutions, supplemental health, and property coverage through Securian Casualty | Retirement plans, asset management, individual disability income, dental and vision |
One writes for households. The other writes into businesses.
Both names turn up on benefits paperwork more often than on a policy anyone went looking for, and that shared trait hides the difference that actually decides this pair. Securian Financial writes individual life for anyone who qualifies. Minnesota Life was organized in 1880 as The Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company and reorganized effective October 1, 1998, so a mutual insurance holding company named Minnesota Mutual Companies, Inc. now sits at the top of the group. Principal picked a different lane for the same product. Its annual report says that in 2021 it narrowed its focus to the business market and ceased sales to the retail consumer market, and that it no longer markets its products to retail customers. For 2025, small and medium sized business sales accounted for all of its individual life sales. Both are large, active life insurers, and neither lane is the better one. The useful question is not which company is stronger. It is whether a business sits behind your reason for buying, because that is the door Principal opens and the one Securian does not ask you to walk through.
Who each one actually suits
Securian Financial
A Saint Paul group sitting under a mutual holding company, issuing through Minnesota Life
- You want an individual policy in your own name with no business attached to the reason you are buying it.
- You want a fixed premium permanent policy, since Securian offers whole life alongside universal life, indexed universal life and variable universal life.
- Coverage already reached you through an employer, a financial institution or an association, and you would rather build on it with the same insurer than start somewhere new.
- You prefer the ownership shape, where a mutual insurance holding company sits at the top of the group rather than a publicly traded parent, knowing structure alone does not decide what a policy pays.
- You want workplace coverage that can follow you, since Securian describes its group universal life as portable when employees change jobs or retire.
Principal
A publicly traded Des Moines company whose individual life now serves the business market
- You own a business and the policy has a job to do there, such as funding a buy sell arrangement, covering the loss of a key person, or supporting a succession plan.
- You are an executive or key employee and the coverage is part of a nonqualified deferred compensation or executive benefit package, which is the market Principal built its life business around.
- Your retirement plan, dental, vision or disability coverage already sits with Principal, and you want the life piece handled by the same company and the same representative.
- You want indexed universal life or variable universal life designed inside a business or executive planning case rather than bought off the shelf.
- Your employer offers Principal group term life, which Principal reports LIMRA ranked the top group life business in the country by contracts in force in 2024.
If you already hold one of them
If one of these names is already on your paperwork, the first job is working out what you actually hold. A Securian certificate that arrived through an employer, a financial institution or an association is a different animal from an individual Minnesota Life policy, and that difference decides whether the coverage follows you when the job or the account ends. A Principal individual life policy issued before 2021 stays in force and stays serviced, because the change that year was about new sales and not about existing contracts, so nothing you own quietly expired. Bring us either one and we will read the contract page with you, including the times the honest answer is that it is already doing its job and should be left alone.
Common questions
Does Principal still sell life insurance to individuals?
It does, but in a narrower lane than most people assume. Principal reports that in 2021 it narrowed its focus to the business market and ceased sales to the retail consumer market, and it states that it no longer markets its products to retail customers. Its life insurance sales effort now centers on nonqualified deferred compensation and business owner solutions, aimed at owners, executives and key employees of small and medium sized businesses. For the year ended December 31, 2025, small and medium sized business sales accounted for all of its individual life sales. So a policy on an individual life is still very much available. The route to it runs through a business need rather than a general consumer application.
Who actually issues a Securian policy?
Securian Financial is the brand for the group. The insurance is issued by Minnesota Life Insurance Company, or by Securian Life Insurance Company for New York residents, since Minnesota Life is not authorized to do insurance business in New York. Property and casualty products come from Securian Casualty Company. Minnesota Life has a long history behind that name: it was organized in Minnesota in 1880 as The Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company, and in 1998 the organization reorganized into its current shape. Whichever company is printed on your own contract is the one that governs the coverage, so find that page and keep it with your records.
Why is one of these names on my benefits statement when I never bought a policy?
Because both companies are large in group life, which is coverage an employer arranges rather than something you shopped for. Securian says it has been in the group life market for more than a hundred years and offers group term, group universal life and accidental death and dismemberment through employers, and Principal reports that LIMRA ranked it the top group life insurer in the United States in 2024 by the number of group life contracts in force. What you hold in that case is usually a certificate under a group policy issued to your employer, not an individual policy in your name. Two things are worth checking on it: whether the employer pays for it or you elected and pay for it yourself, and what the certificate says happens if you leave. Those two answers tell you whether it is coverage you can count on long term or a benefit tied to the job.
Is Securian a mutual company?
Not in the classic sense, and the distinction is worth getting right. Minnesota Life is a Minnesota stock life insurance company, but the shares are not sold to the public. They are owned by Securian Financial Group, Inc., which sits under an intermediate holding company, which in turn sits under a mutual insurance holding company named Minnesota Mutual Companies, Inc. In practice that means the top of the group is not publicly traded. That is one ordinary way to organize a life insurer, and a publicly traded parent is another equally ordinary one, so the structure by itself is not a verdict on either company. It also does not mean your policy earns a dividend, since that depends on the specific contract you own, so read the policy rather than the org chart.
Can I keep the coverage if I leave the job it came through?
That is a certificate question, not a company question, and it is one worth asking before your last day rather than after. Securian describes its employer offered group universal life as portable coverage that lets employees continue it when they change jobs or retire, and that plan can also build a cash value account funded by additional contributions through payroll deduction. Principal describes its group life business as focused on traditional annually renewable group term, the kind that does not accumulate cash value, and it says it no longer markets group universal life to new employer groups. Either way, the terms that bind you are in your own certificate. Ask your benefits contact or the insurer directly what continuation or conversion is available to you, and ask for the answer in writing.
Which one is cheaper?
There is no honest answer without your details, and the deeper problem is that the two are often not quoting the same thing. Price on any life policy turns on age, health at underwriting, tobacco use, the coverage amount, the state and, on permanent coverage, how the contract is designed. On top of that, a Securian quote is likely to be a straightforward individual policy while a Principal quote is likely to be part of a business or executive planning case, and comparing a monthly figure across those two situations can mislead you badly. Neither company posts permanent life pricing online. The useful step is to see real numbers built on your own information and read what each one actually pays and when.
How do I check the financial strength of either company?
Start by getting the name of the actual issuing insurer off your contract, because strength ratings attach to the insurance company rather than to the brand on the envelope. For Securian that is Minnesota Life Insurance Company, or Securian Life Insurance Company in New York. For Principal it is Principal Life Insurance Company, or Principal National Life Insurance Company outside New York. Then look each one up directly at ambest.com, which publishes current ratings and updates them as they change, and check what your own state insurance department publishes as well. Every licensed life insurer in the country is also backed by a state guaranty association up to limits set by state law, which is worth knowing about but is not a substitute for reading the ratings yourself.
If I already have one of these, should I switch to the other?
Not automatically, and often not at all. Coverage you already own was priced on the health you had when it was issued, so if your health has changed since, replacing it can cost more or may not be available on the same terms. Any honest comparison starts by valuing what you already hold, and a review that ends in keep what you have is a perfectly good result.
Can I hold policies from both companies at once?
Yes. There is no rule against owning coverage from more than one insurer, and plenty of households do, often because policies were bought at different life stages for different reasons. What matters is that the total coverage matches what your family would actually need, and that you are not paying twice for the same job.
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Rates for Securian Financial and Principal both depend on your age and health, which means the better buy for your neighbour may be the worse buy for you. A licensed professional will price both against what you already have and tell you which is genuinely better, including when the honest answer is to keep what you have.
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This comparison is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Product availability, pricing and underwriting differ by state, age and health, and change over time. Policy Review Center is a free comparison and referral service, not an insurance agency, insurer, or producer, and it connects you with independent licensed agents. Carrier names are used for reference only and do not imply any endorsement or affiliation.