Thrivent life insurance

Overview

Thrivent is a fraternal benefit society: a member-owned organization whose members share what it calls a Christian common bond, and which sells insurance and annuities only to its members. Its legal name is still Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, though it now uses the shorter Thrivent brand and is open to Christians of any denomination. It is a Fortune 500 company with a corporate center in Minneapolis and an operations center in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Thrivent ranked #28 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with $1.52 billion in premiums and a 0.97% share. Unlike most companies on that list it files as a single company, not a group. Thrivent says it served more than 2.4 million clients at the end of 2025, had $212 billion in assets under management or advisement, $18.2 billion in total adjusted surplus, and paid $2.0 billion in life and health insurance claims that year. It sells mainly through its own network of more than 3,300 financial professionals, and its fraternal side runs volunteer and charitable programs such as Thrivent Action Teams and Thrivent Choice.

History

Thrivent traces its start to 1902, when 500 founding members each put in $5 to support one another and formed Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) in Appleton, Wisconsin. AAL opened membership to women in 1905. A second fraternal, the Minneapolis-based Lutheran Brotherhood, was founded in 1917. The two combined operations in 2002 to create Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which is why policies issued decades ago under the AAL or Lutheran Brotherhood names are serviced by Thrivent today.

In 2013 members voted to widen the common bond from Lutherans to all Christians. The organization later dropped "for Lutherans" from its marketing name, added Thrivent Bank to its offerings and began offering investment products such as mutual funds and, more recently, exchange-traded funds to the public. Teresa (Terry) Rasmussen is president and CEO and was elected chair of the American Council of Life Insurers for 2026. In September 2026 Thrivent broke ground on a new building in Appleton.

Life insurance products

Thrivent sells four kinds of individual life insurance, and as a fraternal it sells them only to members:

• Term life: level coverage for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. Applicants aged 18 to 60 who want $100,000 to $3 million may not need a medical exam; they complete a Declaration of Insurability, and some are asked for a paramedical exam. You can start a quote online, but the application is completed with a Thrivent financial professional, and the term product is not available in every state.
• Whole life: level premiums that never increase and guaranteed cash value growth. Thrivent notes that dividends and policy enhancements are not guaranteed.
• Universal life: lifetime coverage with flexible premiums and a guaranteed minimum interest rate, provided the policy keeps enough value.
• Variable universal life: cash value invested in subaccounts the owner chooses, with the market risk that comes with it (see Variable universal life (VUL) insurance).

Thrivent's public website does not list individual riders, maximum issue ages or a guaranteed-issue final expense policy; details of each contract come from the advisor and the policy illustration.

Other products

Thrivent sells annuities, disability income insurance and long-term care planning through its advisors; its claims page also lists separate lines for long-term care, Medicare supplement and disability claims. Non-insurance offerings include Thrivent Bank deposit accounts and church loans, mutual funds and ETFs, managed accounts, trust services and free money coaching. People who do not qualify for membership can still buy non-insurance investments and financial planning.

Buying and service

To buy insurance or an annuity you must be a member. Anyone who is a Christian, or the spouse of a Christian, and agrees to support Thrivent's shared purpose can join. Owners of a Thrivent life, health or annuity product hold a benefit membership with no annual fee; others can hold an associate membership for $19.95 a year.

Almost all sales go through Thrivent's own financial advisors, who are captive agents who sell Thrivent's products; you can find one through local.thrivent.com. Members manage accounts online, and the Client Care Center answers at 800-847-4836, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central time. Disputes with members are handled through Thrivent's Member Dispute Resolution Program, which requires individual rather than class claims; in November 2017 a federal court in Minnesota sided with Thrivent in a challenge to a Labor Department rule that would have barred that approach for retirement accounts (see The DOL fiduciary rule and annuity sales: where it stands in 2026).

Claims

Anyone can report a death, not only the beneficiary, online at thrivent.com/claims or by calling the claims line at 920-628-6312. Thrivent says it contacts the beneficiaries of record within 10 days of being notified. The process then runs in four steps: notification, proof of loss (typically a certified death certificate and claim forms), Thrivent's review, and payment if the claim is approved. Mail goes to Thrivent, P.O. Box 8075, Appleton, WI 54912-8075, and a settlement options brochure explains payout choices. For the general process, see the claims guide.

Ratings and reputation

Thrivent holds some of the highest financial strength ratings in the industry. AM Best affirmed its A++ (Superior) rating, its highest category, with a stable outlook on September 30, 2026. S&P Global Ratings kept it at AA+ (Very Strong) with a stable outlook on May 6, 2026, citing its distribution force, better-than-peer persistency, competitive position and capital. Moody's rates it Aa2 (Excellent), the third-highest of 21 categories, last affirmed in July 2025 according to Thrivent. Thrivent does not publish a Fitch rating.

Thrivent was not among the insurers ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. Recent regulatory actions have involved its broker-dealer, Thrivent Investment Management, rather than its insurance contracts. In May 2024 it accepted a FINRA censure and a $325,000 fine for failing to supervise for forged or falsified signatures on forms (FINRA found no customer harm), and in October 2024 it paid a $25,000 SEC penalty over self-reported recommendations of Class A rather than Class C mutual fund shares in certain 529 plans. Thrivent neither admitted nor denied the findings in either case.

Who it suits

Thrivent fits Christian households that want one advisor for insurance, investments and planning, value a member-owned organization with charitable programs, and put weight on top-tier financial strength. It suits people less well if they are not Christian, want to compare several insurers through an independent broker, or want to buy a policy entirely online.

• Strengths: A++ from AM Best (September 2026) and AA+ from S&P (May 2026); member ownership, with no outside shareholders; a full lineup of term, whole, universal and variable universal life; no-exam term underwriting up to $3 million for applicants up to age 60.
• Weaknesses: insurance is sold only to members, and membership is limited to Christians and their spouses; sales go through Thrivent's own advisors, so you see only Thrivent products; little product detail (riders, issue ages) is published online; member disputes go through an individual dispute resolution program rather than class actions.

How to contact Thrivent