Principal Financial Group Review 2025
Written by
Ann Herro has been writing about insurance and employee benefits for over 15 years. She covers topics ranging from car insurance to healthcare costs.
Reviewed by
Cara Carlone is a licensed P&C agent with 20 years of experience. She has her P&C license in RI and TX and holds CPCU, API, and AINS designations.
Our Principal Financial Group Score
3.5 Stars
Principal Financial Group was founded in 1879. It began offering insurance products before branching out to sell a range of investment and retirement planning products. Today, Principal is a Fortune 500 company with offices across the globe. It specializes in life and disability insurance for individuals and retiree and group benefits plans for employers.
Principal Financial Group has earned top-tier ratings from the four major agencies, including an "A+" (Superior) rating from AM Best. The AM Best rating points to the insurance company’s ability to pay claims, debts, and other financial obligations in a timely manner. Customers can expect that Principal has the necessary cash reserves to pay out claims, an essential factor in evaluating any insurance company before purchasing a policy.
We award Principal Financial Group a final rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. To begin with, Principal has a long history in the life insurance industry. Its high ratings from AM Best and the Better Business Bureau (A+) speak to its unquestionable financial strength, one of the most important factors in choosing a life insurance company.
The carrier provides a variety of life and disability insurance options for individuals and businesses. Principal reportedly offers competitive rates and favorable underwriting for people with common medical conditions — a huge positive for customers who may have trouble finding affordable coverage elsewhere. It offers extended customer service hours and promises prompt claims resolutions.
Customers report both positive and negative experiences with the carrier, calling into question if the company’s promises are kept in their real-world interaction with customers. What’s more, Principal does not work with independent insurance agents, which can make accessing its policies more difficult in some communities. We recommend finding out more about the carrier online or with the help of a qualified financial advisor.
Principal Pros and Cons
Consider the following pros and cons before choosing Principal for your life or disability insurance needs.
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To find the best insurance companies in your state, use our national insurance company directory to find the best company to meet your needs.
Principal Financial Group Products
Principal offers a variety of insurance policies, retirement plans, and employee benefits to individuals and employers, including the following:
| For individuals: |
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| Individual retirement plans |
| Estate planning and irrevocable life insurance trusts |
| Permanent life insurance |
| Term life insurance |
| Disability income insurance |
| For businesses: |
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| Employee retirement plans |
| Group benefits plans: group disability, group life, group dental, group vision, group accident and critical illness, key person insurance |
This list of insurance products available from Principal Financial Group is not exhaustive.
What Discounts Does Principal Financial Group Offer?
Principal does not make information about its specific discounts or reward programs readily available. Principal Financial Group representatives can help you learn about ways to save.
Principal Financial Group Customer Service
Individual insurance customers can contact Principal Financial Group in the following ways:
- Phone contact Monday–Friday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm CST
- Social media contact via Facebook or X
- Online contact via Contact Us form
- Claims can be initiated online, or with a downloadable form that can be mailed, emailed, or faxed
The general customer service department has the following hour restrictions:
| Days | Hours (CST) | ||
| Monday-Friday | 7:00 am - 7:00 pm |
You can also get help by contacting a Principal Financial Group representative or local office.
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Principal Financial Group FAQs
Principal has a separate claims process for its individual life insurance and disability insurance customers. For life insurance customers, the insurance carrier’s website promises a standard processing time of 7–10 business days after receiving all of the pertinent claims documents. For its disability insurance customers, Principal promises a response in seven business days once the insurance company has received all of the information it requires related to the claim.
There are varying claims processes and time frames for Principal's employee benefits plans. How you should file a claim is carefully explained on the website, and depends on the product.
Principal offers customer service by phone Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm CST. Customers can also reach the insurance company by phone, fax, email, and via Facebook and X. Life and disability insurance customers can initiate the claims process online or by phone, mail, email, or fax. Important claims forms and information are provided online for both life and disability insurance customers.
The carrier’s claims process is different for individual life insurance and disability insurance customers.
Life Insurance Claims Process:
Option 1: If you have group life insurance through work, complete and submit the online beneficiary group life insurance claim form. All other pertinent forms can be completed, signed, and submitted online.
If you wish to file a paper claim, you can download the appropriate form, print it, and submit the completed form via email or fax.
Option 2: If you have an individual life insurance policy, complete, electronically sign, and submit the Individual Life Insurance Claim form. If you wish to file a paper claim, you can download the appropriate form, print it, and submit the completed form via email or fax.
Disability Insurance Claims Process
Option 1: If you have short-term or long-term disability coverage through work and need to file a claim for sickness, injury, pregnancy, or mental health conditions, first sign in to your principal.com account, then complete and submit your online disability insurance claim form.
If you wish to file a paper claim, click download the appropriate form, print it, and submit the completed form via email or fax.
A doctor can complete his or her section of pertinent forms online or in print.
Option 2: If you purchased your own individual disability coverage, simply download and complete the form(s) you need. Complete the online submission of your disability claim, or if you prefer to send via fax, mail, or email, complete the applicable PDF forms.
Additional forms may be required for certain conditions. All forms can be mailed, emailed, or faxed.
Group Benefits Claims Process
Each type of group benefit (e.g., dental insurance, vision insurance, etc.) has a different claims process. Refer to the Principal network for specific instructions.
Principal’s official website offers a lot of information, but customer service and claims information is a little difficult to find after wading through multiple Help Topics. The carrier allows life insurance and disability insurance customers to initiate the process online or download all of the pertinent forms.
Customer service is available from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm CST, allowing for plenty of time for customers to get the answers they need. Customers can also message the company via Facebook and X. The company promises a 7- to 10-day turnaround for most claims once all of the information has been received.
Principal Financial Group offers individual and group life and disability insurance, as well as other group benefits for employers. Principal’s life insurance offerings include term life insurance, permanent life insurance (including universal life, indexed universal life, variable universal life, and survivorship life insurance). The company also offers temporary life insurance coverage of up to $1 million.
Principal offers several riders for its life insurance policies, including:
- Accelerated death benefit rider: Provides up to 75% of the death benefit (up to a $1 million maximum) if the policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal illness. There’s no extra charge for this rider.
- Child protection rider: Adds eligible children (aged 14 days to 18 years) to the policy when it’s issued, with coverage available between $5,000 and $25,000.
- Conversion extension rider: Allows the policyholder more time to convert their term policy to a permanent one. It activates at the end of the full level premium period or when the policyholder turns 70, whichever comes first.
- Disability waiver of premium rider: Waives the premium as long as the insured is totally disabled, subject to rider limitations.
You can learn more about the carrier’s offering by visiting their website or speaking with a local representative.
Principal was founded in 1879, giving it well over a century of experience in the life insurance business. It has received high ratings from AM Best and the BBB and provides a comprehensive and stable set of life and disability insurance for individuals, as well as group policies for employers.
There are not a lot of customer reviews to be found, but those that exist are both positive and negative. Overall, however, Principal Financial Group can be considered a good insurance company.
https://www.principal.com
https://www.bbb.org/us/ia/des-moines/profile/life-insurance/principal-financial-group-0664-102430