Horace Mann life insurance

Overview

Horace Mann sells insurance and retirement products mainly to teachers, school employees and others in public service. It calls itself the largest financial services company focused on America's educators. It is based in Springfield, Illinois, and its parent, Horace Mann Educators Corporation, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker HMN. Life insurance is issued by Horace Mann Life Insurance Company (NAIC code 64513). The group's other life companies are National Teachers Associates Life Insurance Company and its New York affiliate, NTA Life Insurance Company of New York, which sell supplemental coverage, and Madison National Life Insurance Company, which handles group benefits.

The Horace Mann group ranked #95 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with about $135.2 million in premiums and a 0.09% market share. Individual life is a small part of the business. The company also sells auto and homeowners insurance, 403(b) and other retirement annuities, supplemental cancer and heart coverage, and group life and disability plans for school districts. It advertises special life insurance rates for educators.

History

Two Illinois teachers, Leslie Nimmo and Carrol Hall, founded the business in Springfield in 1945 to sell auto insurance to Illinois teachers. It started as IEA Mutual, after the Illinois Education Association, and was later renamed for the 19th-century education reformer Horace Mann. It began selling outside Illinois in 1947. Horace Mann Life Insurance Company was founded in 1949.

Horace Mann Educators Corporation went public in November 1991 at $18 a share. Since 2019 it has grown by acquisition:

• 2019: On July 1, it completed its purchase of National Teachers Associates (NTA), a Dallas-based seller of supplemental cancer, heart, accident and limited disability coverage, mostly to school employees. The deal was announced at $405 million.
• 2022: Effective January 1, it completed its purchase of Madison National Life from Independence Holding Company for about $172 million. The deal added group life, group disability and worksite products sold through employers.
• 2026: On July 21, Horace Mann agreed to buy Employee Services, LLC, an employee assistance provider, and Reserve National Insurance Company, an individual supplemental insurer, from Medical Mutual of Ohio. It also agreed to reinsure MedMutual Life's group life and disability business. The combined net price is about $240 million. The Employee Services purchase closed on October 1, 2026; the Reserve National purchase and the group life and disability reinsurance are expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval.

Marita Zuraitis is president and CEO.

Life insurance products

Horace Mann Life Insurance Company sells four kinds of individual life insurance. All require proof of insurability, and not all products are sold in every state.

• Term life (Life by Design): level coverage for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. At the end of the term you can apply for a new policy or exchange the term policy for permanent whole life under its conversion benefit (see converting term life to permanent: how the conversion option works). The company publishes sample monthly premiums for 20-year term. For example, it lists $29.75 a month for a 35-year-old woman and $34.56 for a 35-year-old man buying $500,000 of coverage.
• Cash Value Term: term coverage with a cash value account that grows with each premium. You can take a "cash back" amount if you surrender the policy.
• Whole life (Life Select): a guaranteed death benefit and cash value, with four premium schedules. Life Select Whole Life is payable to age 120, Life Select 20 for 20 years and Life Select 65 to age 65. Life by Design Single Premium Whole Life is paid with one premium. See limited-pay whole life: 10-pay, 20-pay and paid-up at 65.
• Pathfinder Indexed Universal Life: permanent coverage with flexible premiums within a range and cash value growth linked partly to a market index (see Indexed universal life (IUL) explained). It includes chronic and terminal illness accelerated benefit riders, a charitable giving rider and an overloan protection rider.

Riders available across the line include accidental death, chronic and terminal illness accelerated death benefit riders, children's term, guaranteed insurability and waiver of premium. The Charitable Giving Benefit Rider pays an extra 1% of the death benefit, at no cost, to a nonprofit you choose. The company does not advertise no-exam or guaranteed-issue individual life.

Other products

Horace Mann's retirement business sells annuities, including 403(b) products for school employees. Annuity correspondence goes to Horace Mann Life Insurance Company. Through NTA it sells individual supplemental policies, with a separate service line at 888-671-6771. Through Madison National Life it offers school districts and other employers group life, group short- and long-term disability, and worksite accident, critical illness and fixed indemnity coverage. The property and casualty companies sell auto and homeowners insurance.

Buying and service

You can start a life insurance quote online by ZIP code, call 855-393-6467 or work with a local Horace Mann agent through the website's Find an Agent tool. Horace Mann also works with school districts, which offer its group and payroll-deducted products to employees.

Service for life, retirement, annuity and group products is at 800-999-1030, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Time and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Customers can manage accounts through the My Account portal and the Horace Mann Mobile app. Life insurance payments by mail go to P.O. Box 19220, Springfield, IL 62794-9220. Complaints can be sent to the company's Office of Consumer Affairs.

Claims

Horace Mann says the fastest way to file a life insurance or annuity death claim is online through its claims page. Beneficiaries can also call 800-999-1030. Waiver of premium and disability claims go to 800-356-9601. The company does not publish a life claim checklist or payout timeframe on its claims page. A certified death certificate and the policy number are the usual starting points; our claims guide explains the rest.

Ratings and reputation

Horace Mann's investor relations site lists these financial strength ratings for Horace Mann Life Insurance Company, all with stable outlooks: A from S&P (last updated January 22, 2026), A2 from Moody's (March 31, 2026), A from Fitch (August 15, 2025) and A (Excellent) from AM Best (September 12, 2025). Horace Mann Educators Corporation's own long-term issuer ratings are in the BBB range (BBB from S&P, Baa2 from Moody's, BBB+ from Fitch and bbb from AM Best). Horace Mann was not among the brands ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study.

Who it suits

Horace Mann suits teachers and other school employees who like working with an agent who knows school-district benefits and want life insurance, auto and home coverage and a 403(b) annuity from one company. Its lineup covers term, cash value term, whole life and IUL. It is less useful if you are not in education, want to buy entirely online or want a no-exam or guaranteed-issue policy.

• Strengths: A-range financial strength ratings from all four major agencies, updated in 2025 and 2026; publicly traded with SEC disclosure; a full lineup of term, cash value term, whole life and IUL; published sample term rates; charitable giving rider at no cost.
• Weaknesses: A small player in individual life; products built for educators, with special rates only for them; underwriting is required on all individual policies; supplemental and group coverage is serviced by separate subsidiaries with their own contacts; ongoing acquisitions mean more changes in who services some coverage.

How to contact Horace Mann