AuguStar Life (formerly Ohio National) life insurance

Overview

AuguStar Life is the new name of Ohio National. On October 2, 2023, The Ohio National Life Insurance Company of Cincinnati legally changed its name to AuguStar Life Insurance Company, and Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation became AuguStar Life Assurance Corporation. If you bought an Ohio National life insurance policy or annuity, it is now serviced by AuguStar from the same Cincinnati headquarters, and the old ohionational.com address now redirects to AuguStar. The company's annuity business operates as AuguStar Retirement, and both brands use the website augustarfinancial.com.

AuguStar is owned by Constellation Insurance, Inc., a Cincinnati-based insurance holding company. Constellation's founding investors and equal partners are two Canadian pension investors: La Caisse (formerly Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, or CDPQ) and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board. The NAIC files the business under the Constellation Insurance Holdings group, which ranked #48 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with about $692.6 million in premiums and a 0.44% market share.

Under Constellation, AuguStar Life has shifted its focus to indexed life insurance (Indexed universal life (IUL) explained and indexed whole life), sold through Ohio National's traditional agency force and through independent marketing organizations. It also sells term, universal and whole life, and bank-owned life insurance.

History

The Ohio National Life Insurance Company has operated in Cincinnati since 1909. For most of its history it was a mutual insurer, later organized under a mutual holding company (Ohio National Mutual Holdings). It sold whole life, term, universal life, disability income insurance and annuities through career agents, independent agents and broker-dealers.

In 2018 Ohio National pulled back from the annuity market. In September 2018 it notified broker-dealers that it would end their selling agreements and stop paying trail commissions on variable annuities with guaranteed minimum income benefit riders. Broker-dealers and advisors sued in federal courts in several states and filed arbitration claims, in what trade press described as the first move of its kind in the industry. Its New York subsidiary, National Security Life and Annuity Company, stopped issuing new individual variable annuities on March 16, 2018.

In March 2021, Constellation Insurance Holdings agreed to acquire Ohio National through a sponsored demutualization: when a mutual insurer goes public valued at $1 billion, including payments to the mutual's members and new capital for the business. Members approved the transaction on March 11, 2022, and it was completed on March 31, 2022. Ohio National became a stock company owned by Constellation. In July 2023 Constellation announced it would rebrand the life insurance business as AuguStar Life. It said the new name reflected a "substantially stronger capital position" under new ownership and a new focus on indexed products. The legal name changes took effect in October 2023. AuguStar Retirement has since resumed annuity sales with fixed indexed annuities, multi-year guaranteed annuities, immediate annuities and a new variable annuity.

For policyholders, the change in ownership did not change the terms of existing policies. Constellation is not a private equity firm, but its owners are institutional investors rather than policyholders; see private equity's push into life insurance and when your life insurance policy is sold to another company.

Life insurance products

AuguStar Life currently lists these products, all sold through financial professionals:

• Term life (FlexTerm) with level premiums for 10, 15 or 20 years. It can be converted to permanent coverage until the end of the level period or the policy anniversary nearest age 70, whichever comes first, even if your health has changed. See converting term life to permanent: how the conversion option works.
• Indexed universal life, in two versions: Virtus IUL III, aimed at building cash value for later income, and Protection IUL, aimed at the death benefit. Interest credits follow indexes such as the S&P 500, with a 0% floor and a cap that AuguStar says is typically between 7% and 12%. Policy charges can still reduce the account value when markets are poor. See IUL pros and cons: what the sales pitch leaves out.
• Indexed whole life, with guaranteed premiums, cash values and death benefit plus index-linked growth potential. It includes a 20-pay option.
• Whole life, including Prestige Protector (lower premiums, smaller potential cash values and dividends) and limited-pay versions. Some whole life policies may pay non-guaranteed dividends.
• Universal life and bank-owned life insurance.

The LiveNow Access accelerated benefit rider lets an insured with a qualifying chronic, terminal or critical illness use part of the death benefit while alive. AuguStar added the critical illness feature to the rider most recently. Product and rider availability varies by state. AuguStar Life is not licensed in New York.

Other products

AuguStar Retirement sells fixed indexed annuities, multi-year guaranteed annuities, single premium immediate annuities and variable annuities through broker-dealers, banks, independent marketing organizations and traditional salesforces. AuguStar also services existing Ohio National disability income policies and retirement plans.

Buying and service

AuguStar does not sell online. You buy through a financial professional: an AuguStar agent, an independent agent, or an advisor at a broker-dealer or bank. If you do not have one, AuguStar's contact page says to email customer service with your location and the type of product you want, and it will refer a representative.

Existing Ohio National and AuguStar customers can log in at augustarfinancial.com to view policies, download servicing forms, make payments and sign up for e-delivery. Life and disability income customer service is at 800-366-6654, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday. Annuity customer service is at 888-925-6446, and retirement plans at 877-777-1112.

Claims

Beneficiaries can begin a life or annuity death claim online at augustarfinancial.com or contact the life claims team. AuguStar's claims contacts page lists 877-665-2468 for life insurance claims; its general contact page lists 877-446-3010. You can also fax 513-794-4521, email [email protected], or write to AuguStar Financial, P.O. Box 237, Cincinnati, OH 45201-0237. Disability claims are at 844-290-1790. Annuity death claims are at 888-925-6446 or 513-794-4730.

Before calling, AuguStar suggests having the policy number, the insured's full name and date of birth, the last four digits of the policy owner's Social Security number, the date and manner of death, and the claimant's contact information. See how to file a life insurance claim.

Ratings and reputation

AuguStar lists these financial strength ratings for AuguStar Life Insurance Company, accurate as of July 15, 2026:

• AM Best: A (Excellent), stable outlook, affirmed in November 2025. AM Best rated its balance sheet strength very strong and its risk-adjusted capital at the strongest level.
• Fitch: A, upgraded in May 2025.
• S&P Global: A- (Strong), stable outlook, first assigned in July 2026.
• Moody's: Baa1.

The Moody's rating sits lower than many established life insurers'. AuguStar is not ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. Ohio National's 2018 decision to cut annuity trail commissions led to numerous lawsuits from broker-dealers and advisors. Those suits concerned payments to sellers, not policy benefits.

Who it suits

AuguStar Life suits buyers who work with an agent or advisor and want indexed universal life, indexed whole life or traditional whole life from a company with A ratings from AM Best and Fitch. It suits less well New York residents, people who want to buy online, or those who prefer a policyholder-owned mutual. Ohio National policyholders should know their coverage continues under the AuguStar name.

• Strengths: A (Excellent) from AM Best and A from Fitch, with Fitch upgrading in 2025; convertible term and a range of indexed and whole life products; living-benefit rider covering chronic, terminal and critical illness; long-established Cincinnati operation with more than a century of history.
• Weaknesses: No longer a mutual, so policyholders no longer own the company; Moody's Baa1 and S&P A- are lower than many peers; not sold in New York or online; a history of disputes with distributors over 2018 annuity commission cuts.

How to contact AuguStar Life