RiverSource life insurance

Overview

RiverSource Life Insurance Company is the insurance and annuity company of Ameriprise Financial, the Minneapolis wealth manager. Older policyholders may know it as IDS Life Insurance Company or from its years under the American Express brand. Its life policies are sold through Ameriprise's network of more than 10,000 financial advisors, usually as part of a broader financial plan. A sister company, RiverSource Life Insurance Co. of New York, issues policies in New York.

The Ameriprise group ranked #30 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with $1.18 billion in premiums and a 0.75% share. Its mix is unusual. According to Ameriprise's 2025 annual report, about 89% of RiverSource's 2025 individual life sales were variable universal life, 9% universal life and only 2% term, so RiverSource is primarily a seller of investment-linked permanent coverage. RiverSource Life is domiciled in Minnesota; the New York company is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services.

History

The organization traces back to 1894, when 24-year-old John Tappan founded Investors Syndicate in Minneapolis to sell face-amount certificates. It became Investors Diversified Services (IDS) in 1949 and in 1957 founded Investors Syndicate Life Insurance and Annuity Company, which was renamed IDS Life Insurance Company in 1973. American Express acquired IDS in 1984, and the business later operated as American Express Financial Advisors.

In 2005 American Express spun the unit off as Ameriprise Financial, an independent public company, and Ameriprise introduced the RiverSource brand for its insurance, annuity and investment products. IDS Life later took the name RiverSource Life Insurance Company. The company says that RiverSource Life and its New York affiliate were never downgraded during the 2008–2009 financial crisis, and that Ameriprise declined federal TARP funds.

RiverSource has also pulled back from several lines. It stopped selling stand-alone long-term care insurance as of December 31, 2002; that closed block remains, with 50% of the risk ceded to subsidiaries of Genworth Financial. It later stopped selling new fixed annuities and, after mid-2022, variable annuities with living benefits. About 89% of its remaining $5.2 billion of fixed annuity account value is reinsured with Commonwealth Annuity and Life Insurance Company, part of Global Atlantic, though RiverSource remains the insurer on those contracts.

Life insurance products

• Term life: RiverSource Term offers level premiums for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, renewable to age 95. The standard version can be converted to permanent coverage without new underwriting through the earlier of the fifth policy year or age 65. A version with the Extended Conversion Option allows conversion through the end of the term or age 65, whichever comes first, with a possible premium credit for converting in years two through five. An optional FutureCare Conversion rider locks in the right to add long-term care protection at conversion regardless of health; it is still pending approval in several states, including New York. See converting term life to permanent: how the conversion option works.
• Indexed universal life: RiverSource Multi-Index UL, Survivorship Multi-Index UL and Indexed UL 2. Interest is credited based on market indexes with protection from negative returns; Indexed UL 2 offers a no-lapse guarantee to age 90 or for 20 years if later. See Indexed universal life (IUL) explained.
• Variable universal life: single-life and survivorship VUL policies (with New York versions), whose cash value is invested in subaccounts and can lose value.
• Long-term care through life insurance: the AdvanceSource rider, added at application, lets the owner use some or all of the death benefit for qualified long-term care expenses (see hybrid life and long-term care policies).

Some guaranteed universal life designs on the website, including Foundations Protector, Succession Protector and the TrioSource universal life with long-term care benefits, are marked "currently unavailable." RiverSource does not sell whole life or final expense insurance and does not publish a no-exam or online application option.

Other products

RiverSource sells variable annuities (now without living benefit riders for new sales), structured variable annuities that credit returns based on an index subject to a cap or floor, income annuities, and disability income insurance. It also services the closed blocks of long-term care insurance and fixed annuities described above.

Buying and service

RiverSource policies are sold through Ameriprise financial advisors; the website directs prospective buyers to find an Ameriprise advisor, and there is no online quote. Because the products are complex, especially variable universal life, which is a registered security, expect an advisor-led sale with a prospectus and illustration (see variable life insurance and the securities rules that govern it).

Service depends on how the account is held. Clients whose policy is with an Ameriprise advisor call 800-862-7919, Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central time. Owners whose account is held elsewhere, and people who are not yet clients, call 800-333-3437. New York policyholders without an Ameriprise advisor call 800-504-0469.

Claims

Beneficiaries and executors call 800-862-7919. The steps are to notify RiverSource, either through the deceased's Ameriprise advisor or customer service; send a certified copy of the death certificate with the completed Death Claim Statement (forms are on the contact page); and submit them through the advisor or by mail to RiverSource Life Insurance Company, 70129 Ameriprise Financial Center, Minneapolis, MN 55474. Ameriprise says a settlement is usually processed within several business days once all paperwork is in good order, and requirements vary by product, ownership and state. Ameriprise's estate settlement guide lists 800-541-2251 for RiverSource Life of New York products. The claims guide covers the general process.

Ratings and reputation

RiverSource publishes the same ratings for both companies. AM Best rates them A+ (Superior), second-highest of its categories, as of November 19, 2025. S&P Global Ratings rates them A+ (Strong) as of December 18, 2025, and Moody's rates them A1 (Good), the fifth-highest of 21, as of March 19, 2026, all with stable outlooks. That gives a Comdex score of 90 out of 100 as of June 1, 2026. These are solid ratings, though below the AA-range ratings of the strongest mutual insurers. RiverSource was not among the insurers ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study.

Who it suits

RiverSource suits Ameriprise clients who want life insurance coordinated with their investments and retirement plan, and especially people who want variable universal life or survivorship coverage for estate planning and accept market risk inside the policy. It suits poorly anyone who wants inexpensive term coverage bought directly, wants whole life, or wants to compare many insurers, since the sale runs through Ameriprise advisors.

• Strengths: A+ ratings from AM Best and S&P and A1 from Moody's (2025–2026), with a parent that is a large public wealth manager; a broad permanent lineup (VUL, indexed UL, survivorship) with conversion-friendly term; a long-term care rider option; a separate New York company.
• Weaknesses: sold through Ameriprise advisors only, with no online quotes; term is a small part of its business; no whole life or final expense; several guaranteed and hybrid products currently unavailable; closed blocks of long-term care and fixed annuities still on its books.

How to contact RiverSource