Excellence

Historical overview

It was 1859 when two-year-old Northwestern Mutual faced a challenge. Two policyowners died in a train derailment. The death claims amounted to $3,500. Company assets totaled $2,000. Rather than delay payment, the company president took a personal loan to pay the beneficiaries. Thus began one of Northwestern Mutual's long-held traditions: do the right thing.

Protecting the interests of policyowners and other clients requires a purposeful fairness - to ensure that policyowners and beneficiaries get what they should get. This tradition has been carefully bred in our tradition. Long before they were popularly defined in the business press, such terms as “high ethical standards” and “integrity” were ingrained in the spirit of Northwestern Mutual.

Financial Strength

Policyowners entrust us with their personal security. In return, we accept the responsibility to deliver the best possible value backed by unmatched financial strength. Here are some examples of Northwestern Mutual’s exceptional financial strength. The company:

• Leads the industry with a total policyowner dividend payout of almost $4.6 billion for 2007.
  
• Recorded total surplus ratio at year-end 2006 was a record $14.8 billion.
  
• All four of the major rating agencies recently reaffirmed Northwestern Mutual’s top ratings for financial strength: *Moody’s Investors Service - Aaa, 3/2006; Standard & Poor’s - AAA, 11/2006; Fitch Ratings - AAA, 8/2006; and A.M. Best Company - A++, 7/2007. These third-party ratings do not apply to the investment performance of the separate accounts or any investment product.
  
  

More Results From Our Tradition of Excellence

• An impressive 40% of premium revenue is returned to participating policyowners as dividends.
• 96% of policyowners stay with us each year.
• 60% of new life insurance business comes from existing customers, clearly an indication of strong loyalty.
• Our life insurance lapse ratio (individuals who stop paying premiums) is one half that of the industry average.*
• The mortality rate among policyowners is about 35% better than the industry average*, a result of our careful underwriting.
• Life insurance unit costs per $100 of total premium are 38% lower than the industry average.*
  
  *According to Northwestern Mutual research

Policyowners Examining Committee

Each year for nearly a century, Northwestern Mutual’s Board of Trustees has selected five policyowners to independently and unrestrictedly evaluate the company's operations, management and strategic plans. The committee typically spends five days at the company, spread over two visits in the fall. Their report is made orally to the Board, and is published in the company's Annual Report, which is sent to each policyowner.