Tennessee Farmers Life life insurance

Overview

Tennessee Farmers Life Insurance Company is the life insurer of Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee, the trade name of the Tennessee Farmers Insurance Companies in Columbia, Tennessee. It sells only in Tennessee and only to members of the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, which says it is the nation's largest single-state Farm Bureau with more than 690,000 member families. Even so, it ranked #82 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with about $199.9 million in premiums and a 0.13% market share. The company describes itself as Tennessee's largest writer of individual life insurance.

It is a stock insurance company, not publicly traded, within a group headed by Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, the property and casualty mutual founded in 1948. The same local agents sell auto, home, farm and business coverage from the mutual and its affiliate Tennessee Farmers Assurance Company, along with life policies and annuities from Tennessee Farmers Life. The group says it has more than 500 agents, more than 200 offices and 16 regional claims centers in the state.

Tennessee Farmers Life passed $50 billion of life insurance in force in November 2024, up $10 billion since 2020. AM Best's July 2026 rating announcement says about 80% of that face amount is term and 20% permanent, while permanent plans bring in about 60% of annualized premium.

History

The Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation's insurance operation began in 1948, when local farmers formed Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company to insure farm structures. The life company followed in 1973. According to the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance's examination report as of December 31, 2015, on April 6, 1973, Tennessee Farmers Mutual subscribed for 950,000 shares and the Federation for 150,000 shares of the new company's stock, and the state issued its certificate of authority on April 30, 1973.

The company has stayed a single-state insurer licensed only in Tennessee. In 2007 it merged its subsidiary Tennessee Farmers Life Reassurance Company into itself, and in 2012 it and Tennessee Farmers Assurance Company bought Generation Life Insurance Company (51% and 49%). Its board is the same as that of the other Tennessee Farmers companies; the examination report notes that each director must be a member in good standing of the Federation and of a county Farm Bureau, and most are farmers. The group celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2023.

Tennessee Farmers Life is separate from the regional Southern Farm Bureau Life, which serves Farm Bureau members in 11 other southern states, and from other state Farm Bureau insurers such as Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance and Farm Bureau Financial Services.

Life insurance products

The company's current product pages list:

• Term life: level-premium plans with 10, 20 or 30-year level periods, after which the premium increases each year, and an annual renewable term plan whose premium rises every year. Term coverage can be converted to one of the company's permanent policies (see converting term life to permanent: how the conversion option works).
• Whole life, with level premiums, a guaranteed death benefit and cash value that grows each year; the company says its whole life has the potential to earn dividends, which are not guaranteed.
• Universal life, a flexible-premium universal life policy whose cash value earns interest on a tax-deferred basis and whose death benefit can be adjusted.
• Business life insurance: coverage for key persons and to fund buy-sell agreements.

The examination report notes that policies are issued either with medical exams or on a non-medical basis, depending on the amount and applicant. The website does not publish riders, maximum issue ages or no-exam limits, so ask an agent for those details.

Other products

Tennessee Farmers Life offers fixed annuities: a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA (with interest rates reviewed quarterly and a guaranteed rate), a single premium deferred annuity, a flexible premium deferred annuity and a single premium immediate annuity that can pay for life or a set number of years. The affiliated companies sell auto, home, farm and business property insurance, and Tennessee Farm Bureau members can also buy Farm Bureau Health Plans.

Buying and service

You buy through a local Farm Bureau Insurance agent, who works as an independent contractor for the Tennessee Farmers companies from a county Farm Bureau office. The website has a "Get a Quote" form and agent finder, but no online application. Farm Bureau membership is required: AM Best notes that the company markets exclusively to Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation members.

Customer service is at 877-876-2222. Policyholders can create a My Account login to pay bills and manage policies online, and local agents handle changes such as beneficiary updates.

Claims

The group's claims page directs customers to start a claim through their local agent, by calling 877-876-2222 (24 hours a day for claims reporting) or through the online account. The website does not publish a separate life claims line, online death-claim form or document list. Expect to provide a certified death certificate, the policy number and a claim form; our claims guide explains the usual steps. Mail goes to P.O. Box 307, Columbia, TN 38402-0307.

Ratings and reputation

On July 28, 2026, AM Best affirmed Tennessee Farmers Life's A+ (Superior) financial strength rating and its "aa-" long-term issuer credit rating, with a stable outlook. AM Best also affirmed the A+ ratings of Tennessee Farmers Mutual and Tennessee Farmers Assurance and revised their outlook to stable from negative; it had turned negative in July 2024 after heavy weather-related property claims. For the life company, AM Best pointed to a strong market position and a 20-year record of pre-tax profits. The company does not publish ratings from S&P, Moody's or Fitch.

AM Best's August 2026 Best's Review listed Tennessee Farmers Mutual among insurers rated A or higher for at least 50 years. Tennessee Farmers Life was not ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study.

Who it suits

Tennessee Farmers Life suits Tennessee residents who belong to, or are willing to join, the Tennessee Farm Bureau and who want a local agent handling life insurance alongside home and auto coverage. Its lineup covers the basics: level and annual renewable term, whole life, universal life and fixed annuities. It does not fit anyone outside Tennessee, anyone who wants to apply online, or buyers looking for indexed or variable life, final expense or guaranteed-issue policies, none of which it advertises.

• Strengths: A+ (Superior) from AM Best, affirmed in July 2026; Tennessee's largest individual life writer with a long record of profitability; 10, 20 and 30-year term that converts to permanent coverage; agents in county Farm Bureau offices statewide.
• Weaknesses: Sold only in Tennessee and only to Farm Bureau members; no online application or published rates; no separate life claims line, rider list or underwriting limits on its site; no ratings from S&P, Moody's or Fitch.

How to contact Tennessee Farmers Life