Knights of Columbus life insurance

Overview

The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic men's organization and one of the largest fraternal benefit societies in North America. It is a single legal entity, headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut, that combines a charitable and religious fraternity of more than 2.2 million members in about 17,000 local councils with a life insurance business. Its insurance is a membership benefit: policies are sold only to members and their families.

Knights of Columbus ranked #43 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with $868.4 million in premiums and a 0.56% share. The Order reports about $124 billion of life insurance in force, 1.6 million policies and more than 900 agents in the U.S. and Canada. Like other fraternals, it has no shareholders: surplus goes to members through policy dividends and to the Order's charities. It says it donated a record $197 million to charity in 2025, and that a portion of insurance earnings helps fund that work.

History

Father Michael J. McGivney, a 29-year-old parish priest in New Haven, gathered a group of Catholic men at St. Mary's Church in October 1881. Factory accidents and disease left many immigrant Catholic families without a breadwinner, and McGivney wanted a lay organization that would unite Catholic men and support the widows and children of members who died. The members chose Christopher Columbus as their patron on February 6, 1882, and the Order was incorporated in Connecticut on March 29, 1882. Life insurance for members was part of the plan from the start; in 1892 the Order began admitting associate members who did not carry insurance.

The Knights spread across the U.S. and into Canada (1897), the Philippines and Mexico (1905), and later Poland and other countries. Its headquarters moved to its current New Haven site in 1906. The insurance program grew alongside the fraternity and remains sold through member agents. Father McGivney was beatified in 2020 and is now known as Blessed Michael McGivney. Patrick E. Kelly has led the Order as Supreme Knight since 2021. The Knights also run an asset-management arm, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors, which manages about $2.4 billion for dioceses, religious orders and individuals, and a donor-advised fund.

Life insurance products

To buy Knights of Columbus insurance, you generally need to be a member, or the wife or child of one. Membership is open to practicing Catholic men 18 and older, including through online membership in the U.S. and Canada. Widows of members keep access to the insurance products.

• Term life: level-premium terms of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, or annual renewable term. Term policies can be converted to whole life, subject to policy terms.
• Whole life: participating whole life with level premiums guaranteed not to increase; eligible policies can earn dividends, which are not guaranteed, used to buy paid-up additions. Options include limited pay whole life and single premium whole life.
• Graded death benefit whole life: a guaranteed-acceptance policy with no underwriting in the U.S. As with any graded policy, the full death benefit applies only after an initial period.
• Universal life: no-lapse guarantee universal life with a lapse protection rider, and survivorship universal life covering two people, often used for estate planning.
• Riders and benefits: waiver of premium and the Chronic Illness Armor rider, which accelerates part of the death benefit after a qualifying chronic illness diagnosis.

Membership itself carries some coverage. Members and spouses in the U.S. and Canada get a free accidental death benefit of $1,500 to $5,000, depending on age, membership length and whether they have a policy. Insured members also get a Family Fraternal Benefit, which pays after a miscarriage, stillbirth or newborn death and offers guaranteed-issue coverage for members' children under 18, and an Orphan Benefit of $500 a month for orphaned children of insured members plus college scholarship money.

The Order does not publish rates, face amount limits or no-exam options online; quotes come from an agent.

Other products

The Knights sell fixed retirement annuities in the U.S. as non-qualified annuities, traditional and Roth IRAs, tax-sheltered annuities and SEP plans: single premium deferred, flexible premium and single premium immediate annuities. The Order says its annuities guarantee principal and a minimum interest rate and charge no maintenance, management or transaction fees. It also offers long-term care insurance and disability income insurance; AM Best has noted that the disability and long-term care risks are reinsured with third parties.

Buying and service

There is no online application. You buy through a Knights of Columbus field agent, who is also a member; the website's "Find an Agent" tool connects you with the agent assigned to your area or council. This captive agent model means you see only K of C products. For policy questions, your servicing agent is the first contact; if the agent can't resolve it, customer service is at 800-380-9995, by fax at 855-988-7525, by email at [email protected], or by mail to Customer Service at the New Haven headquarters. The Order says it aims to resolve questions within 30 days. Members can sign in online to the Knights' member portal.

Claims

The Knights do not publish a separate death claims phone number or online claim form. Beneficiaries can contact the member's agent, call customer service at 800-380-9995, or use the website's contact form and select "Help Filing a Claim." Expect to provide a certified death certificate, the policy number and a claimant's statement. The claims guide explains the general process.

Ratings and reputation

On November 14, 2025, AM Best affirmed the Knights of Columbus's financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) and long-term issuer credit rating of "aa", with a stable outlook. In earlier affirmations AM Best has cited the Order's strongest-level risk-adjusted capitalization, low use of reinsurance, favorable mortality and the loyalty of its membership, while noting large dividend payments that reduce reported returns and a sizable allocation to alternative assets and private placements. The Order reports an AA+ (Very Strong) rating from S&P, and its 2025 Supreme Knight's report says both AM Best and S&P reaffirmed superior ratings the previous year. These are among the highest financial strength ratings held by any fraternal.

The Knights of Columbus was not ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study.

Who it suits

Knights of Columbus insurance suits Catholic families who are, or are willing to become, members and who value buying from an organization whose earnings support Catholic charities. Its participating whole life and long dividend history appeal to buyers who want guarantees and a local agent. It does not suit non-Catholics, people who want to compare quotes online or buy without an agent, or those looking for indexed or variable products.

• Strengths: A+ (Superior) from AM Best, affirmed November 2025, and a reported AA+ from S&P; participating whole life with dividend increases in 2025 and 2026; free accidental death, orphan and family fraternal benefits for members; guaranteed-acceptance graded whole life for people who can't qualify elsewhere.
• Weaknesses: open only to Catholic men and their families; sold only through the Order's own agents, with no online quotes; no published rates, coverage limits or accelerated underwriting details; no indexed or variable life products.

How to contact Knights of Columbus