Equitable life insurance

Overview

Equitable is one of the oldest U.S. life insurers, a New York company best known today for variable and indexed life insurance and for annuities sold through financial professionals. Its parent, Equitable Holdings, Inc., trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EQH and also controls the asset manager AllianceBernstein and the broker-dealer Equitable Advisors. The Equitable Holdings group ranked #18 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with about $2.78 billion in premiums and a 1.78% market share.

Policies are issued by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company, domiciled in New York, or by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America (Equitable America), an Arizona company administered from Charlotte, North Carolina, which issues policies everywhere except New York and Puerto Rico. Equitable Holdings reported $1.1 trillion in assets under management and administration and more than 5 million client relationships as of March 31, 2026.

The company is in the middle of a major change. On March 26, 2026, Equitable Holdings and Corebridge Financial agreed to combine in an all-stock merger; shareholders of both companies approved it on July 30, 2026, and it is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

History

Henry B. Hyde founded the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States in 1859. In 1927 Equitable managers helped found the American College of Life Underwriters, which created the CLU designation, and in the 1970s Equitable was an early seller of variable life insurance and variable annuities.

Equitable was a policyholder-owned mutual until its demutualization: when a mutual insurer goes public in 1992, when the French insurer AXA made its initial investment and became the controlling shareholder. Participating policies from the mutual era were placed in a Closed Block whose assets are reserved for those policyholders. As AXA Equitable, the company acquired the MONY Group in 2004 and in 2010 introduced the first buffered annuity, Structured Capital Strategies.

AXA sold Equitable Holdings shares to the public in an initial public offering on May 14, 2018, and through further offerings cut its stake to about 10% by November 2019. In January 2020 the company announced it would drop the AXA name and operate as Equitable.

Two recent transactions matter to life policyholders. Under an agreement signed February 23, 2025, Equitable ceded 75% of its in-force individual life insurance block and Closed Block to Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), effective April 1, 2025; reinsurance of this kind does not change the policy contracts, and Equitable remains the insurer named on them. Then came the Corebridge merger. Under its terms, Corebridge shareholders will own about 51% of the new company and Equitable shareholders about 49%; the combined company will keep the Equitable name and EQH ticker but be headquartered in Houston. Corebridge chief executive Marc Costantini is to become CEO, and Equitable's chief executive, Mark Pearson, executive chair. See when your life insurance policy is sold to another company for what such deals usually mean for existing policies.

Life insurance products

Equitable's emphasis is permanent coverage sold with the help of a financial professional:

• Term Series offers 10-, 15- and 20-year level-premium term policies plus an annual renewable term option whose premiums are guaranteed for the first three years. After the level period, premiums rise every year. Policies can be converted to certain permanent Equitable policies without new evidence of health, within the conversion period (converting term life to permanent: how the conversion option works).
• Term-in-10 is an all-digital term policy with the same 10-, 15- or 20-year choices, no medical exam and a 10-minute application. Applicants still have to qualify, and Equitable notes that a fully underwritten policy may cost less.
• Indexed universal life (BrightLife Grow) credits interest based partly on a market index.
• Variable universal life (VUL Incentive Life Protect and VUL Optimizer) invests cash value in subaccounts, with investment risk, including possible loss of principal, and a guaranteed minimum death benefit. These are sold by prospectus.
• Survivorship life covers two people and pays at the second death, and corporate-owned life insurance is offered to businesses.

Riders include the Long-Term Care Services Rider, which accelerates the death benefit to pay for qualified long-term care, along with children's term, disability waiver, return of premium, terminal illness living benefits, no-lapse guarantee and Charitable Legacy riders. Not every rider is available on every policy or in every state.

Other products

Equitable is a large annuity company, known for its Structured Capital Strategies buffered annuities (a type of registered index-linked annuity), along with Retirement Cornerstone, Investment Edge and EQUI-VEST annuities. It also sells workplace retirement plans and employee benefits such as dental, vision, disability and group life. AllianceBernstein runs its asset management business.

Buying and service

Equitable does not sell life insurance directly online without a financial professional. Policies are sold by Equitable Advisors, which had about 4,600 registered financial professionals in 2026, and through independent brokers, banks and broker-dealers. Existing customers can use the online client portal to see face amounts, cash values and loan values, move money among investment options and request loans. General customer service is 866-444-6001 (option 1 for an existing policy), and the life insurance service line is 800-777-6510.

Claims

Beneficiaries start by notifying Equitable online through the claims resource center or by calling the life claims line at 800-777-6510 (Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.). Equitable then sends a claim kit. Each beneficiary returns a completed death claim form along with a certified death certificate and the original policy if available; executors, trustees and guardians also send proof of their authority. If the death occurred within two years of issue, an authorization to release information is required (see the two-year contestability period). Claims of $10,000 or less may qualify for express processing with no additional forms.

Forms go to Equitable, PO Box 1047, Charlotte, NC 28201-1047, or by fax (forms only) to 855-268-6373. Equitable says a complete claim is reviewed and filed in about five business days, after which the claimant receives a claim ID to track status online. Proceeds can be taken as a lump sum, a special payment plan, or an Access Account, an interest-bearing checking account; compare retained asset accounts: the checkbook you didn't ask for before choosing.

Ratings and reputation

As of March 2026, Equitable Financial and Equitable America were rated A (Excellent) by AM Best, A+ by S&P and A1 by Moody's. After the Corebridge merger announcement, AM Best placed the ratings under review with developing implications, S&P placed them on CreditWatch negative and Moody's placed them under review for downgrade, according to the company's ratings page updated April 1, 2026.

Equitable tied with Brighthouse for 21st of 23 brands in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, released in October 2026, with 582 points against a study average of 649; it ranked last of 22 in 2025.

Equitable has faced cost-of-insurance litigation. In Brach Family Foundation v. AXA Equitable, owners of Athena Universal Life II policies challenged a cost of insurance rate increase announced in October 2015; the company agreed in May 2023 to a settlement fund of up to $307.5 million, which a federal court in New York approved on October 17, 2023.

Who it suits

Equitable suits buyers who already work with, or want, a financial professional and are interested in variable or indexed universal life, survivorship coverage or a policy with a long-term care rider. It suits less well people who want to buy simple term coverage on their own online, or who put service satisfaction first.

• Strengths: More than 165 years in business; a wide range of permanent and variable products; Long-Term Care Services Rider; a no-exam digital term option.
• Weaknesses: Tied for 21st of 23 in J.D. Power's 2026 life insurance satisfaction study; ratings under review since March 2026 because of the pending Corebridge merger; 75% of the in-force life block ceded to RGA in 2025; a $307.5 million settlement over a 2015 cost of insurance increase.

How to contact Equitable