COUNTRY Financial life insurance

Overview

COUNTRY Financial is the marketing name for a family of insurance and financial services companies based in Bloomington, Illinois, built by Illinois farmers a century ago. Its life insurance is issued by COUNTRY Life Insurance Company and, for some policies, COUNTRY Investors Life Assurance Company. The group's property and casualty side, led by COUNTRY Mutual Insurance Company, sells auto, home, farm and business coverage. COUNTRY was formed by the Illinois Agricultural Association, better known as the Illinois Farm Bureau, and the two still share board members.

The COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services group ranked #60 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with $445.5 million in premiums and a 0.29% share. Its NAIC group also includes Cotton States Life Insurance Company. COUNTRY says it serves more than one million families in 19 states through more than 2,000 licensed representatives, who sell its insurance, annuities and investment products. Its life products include term, participating whole life and indexed universal life.

History

In 1925 the Illinois Agricultural Association chartered Farmers Mutual Reinsurance Company to provide fire and lightning insurance for farm buildings, the start of what is now COUNTRY Mutual. Crop hail coverage followed in 1926 and auto insurance in 1927. COUNTRY Life Insurance Company was formed in 1929; to charter it, farmer members were asked to pledge $100 each. The companies were first marketed together as The Country Companies, later COUNTRY Companies and, from 2008, COUNTRY Financial. The home office moved from downtown Chicago to Bloomington in 1961, and in 1965 the group added COUNTRY Capital Management Company, a broker-dealer.

Growth outside Illinois came in steps. COUNTRY bought Mid-America Fire and Marine in 1964, adding Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mutual Service Insurance joined in 2001, adding four states, and in 2005 COUNTRY formed an alliance with the Atlanta-based Cotton States Insurance Group, which operated in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee; Cotton States Life Insurance Company remains part of the COUNTRY life group. COUNTRY launched a new indexed universal life program in 2023 and marked its 100th anniversary in 2025.

The Farm Bureau tie has recently been a source of conflict. In 2024 COUNTRY dropped its requirement that non-farm property and casualty policyholders in Illinois also join the Farm Bureau. The American Farm Bureau Federation responded by terminating the Illinois Farm Bureau's membership effective December 20, 2024, and the Illinois Farm Bureau sued it in McLean County. On September 29, 2026, COUNTRY filed its own lawsuit against the American Farm Bureau Federation, alleging breach of a 1990 agreement and anticompetitive conduct; it has asked that the case be combined with the earlier one. The dispute concerns Farm Bureau membership and the Farm Bureau name, not the terms of COUNTRY's insurance policies.

Life insurance products

All policies are issued by COUNTRY Life Insurance Company or COUNTRY Investors Life Assurance Company:

• Term life: level premiums for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, with death benefits from $50,000 to more than $1 million. Coverage can be extended past the initial term at annually rising premiums or, if eligible, converted to permanent coverage. A return of premium option on 20- and 30-year terms refunds the base premiums and the rider's cost if you outlive the term.
• Whole life: participating whole life that builds cash value and may earn non-guaranteed dividends. Payment options include 10-pay and 20-pay plans (forms of limited-pay whole life), an executive whole life plan with payments ending at age 95, and single premium whole life. An indexed dividend feature rider is also available.
• Indexed universal life: flexible premiums and coverage, with cash value that can earn index credits up to a cap and never below zero. It has a no-lapse guarantee period of 15 years for issue ages 0 to 65 (it varies for ages 66 to 75). See Indexed universal life (IUL) explained and IUL pros and cons: what the sales pitch leaves out.
• Variable products: COUNTRY Capital Management Company, the group's registered broker-dealer, offers variable life insurance and variable annuities, which are securities sold by prospectus.

Riders, sold at extra cost, include child term coverage of up to $50,000 per child ages 0 to 17, convertible to whole life at age 23 without a medical exam; disability waiver of premium for disabilities that begin before 65; accelerated death benefits for terminal illness and, on permanent policies, chronic illness; an accidental death benefit before age 70; a guaranteed insurance option to buy more coverage without an exam every three years between ages 22 and 43; and term riders covering the insured or a spouse. COUNTRY says some applicants can skip the medical exam through simplified or accelerated underwriting, depending on the coverage and policy.

Other products

COUNTRY Investors Life Assurance Company and COUNTRY Life sell flexible premium deferred, single premium deferred and single premium immediate annuities. The wider group offers auto, home, farm, business, crop and pet insurance, IRAs, 529 college savings plans, managed accounts and trust services through COUNTRY Trust Bank.

Buying and service

COUNTRY sells through its own local representatives, who mainly offer COUNTRY products; you can find one on the company's site or start a life insurance quote request online, and representatives also meet clients by video or phone. Because representatives are captive agents, shoppers who want quotes from many insurers will need to compare elsewhere (see captive vs independent life insurance agents).

Existing clients can register for an online account to see life, annuity and other policies, make payments and contact their representative, and the COUNTRY Financial Mobile app offers the same access. Customer service is at 866-268-6879 (866-COUNTRY), with chat available during service hours. Corporate correspondence goes to 1711 General Electric Road, P.O. Box 2020, Bloomington, IL 61702; COUNTRY asks that payments go to the separate payment addresses listed on its contact page.

Claims

COUNTRY's online claim reporting covers auto, home and renters losses. For a life insurance death claim, call 866-268-6879 or contact a COUNTRY representative; the company's Claims Support Center page has further help. Beneficiaries should be ready with the policy number if known and a certified death certificate. COUNTRY does not publish life claim payout times. The claims guide covers the general steps.

Ratings and reputation

AM Best affirmed the A+ (Superior) financial strength rating of COUNTRY Life Insurance Company, and of the COUNTRY property and casualty group, with stable outlooks, as announced by COUNTRY on August 12, 2026. COUNTRY says COUNTRY Life and COUNTRY Mutual have been rated A or higher by AM Best since 1933 and A+ or higher since 1976. COUNTRY Life was also named to the Ward's 50 list of top-performing life insurers for 2025, based on 2020–2024 results. COUNTRY does not publish S&P, Moody's or Fitch ratings for its life companies.

COUNTRY Financial was not among the brands ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. The main reputational issue in recent years is the dispute with the American Farm Bureau Federation described above, which is being fought in Illinois courts.

Who it suits

COUNTRY fits families in its 19 states who like working with a local representative and want participating whole life, term with a return of premium option, or IUL from a long-established company with a strong rating. It is a weaker fit for people outside those states, for buyers who want to compare many insurers at once, and for those who want to apply entirely online.

• Strengths: AM Best A+ (Superior) affirmed in August 2026 and rated A or better since 1933; participating whole life with dividends; wide rider menu, including guaranteed insurability and child term; IUL with a 15-year no-lapse guarantee for issue ages up to 65.
• Weaknesses: sold only through COUNTRY's own representatives; operates in 19 states; no published claims-speed data or ratings from agencies other than AM Best; whole life dividends are not guaranteed.

How to contact COUNTRY Financial