Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company Review

We've looked at over 1,000 insurance companies rating them on strength, accessibility, and service to find the best ones. Here's what people think about Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Christine Lacagnina Written by Christine Lacagnina
Christine Lacagnina
Written by Christine Lacagnina

Christine Lacagnina has written thousands of insurance-based articles for TrustedChoice.com by authoring consumable, understandable content.

Updated

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company at a Glance

  • Founded in 1851
  • Specializes in life insurance
  • Rated "A++" (superior) by AM Best
  • Rated "B-" (good) by the Better Business Bureau (BBB)
  • Also offer annuities and retirement planning

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company pros: High rating through AM Best. Several forms of life insurance available. Longstanding carrier.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company cons: Limited coverage catalogue. Lower than average BBB rating. No information provided about discounts. Virtually all customer feedback is very negative. 

To find insurance in your state, use our national insurance company directory to find the best company to meet your needs. You can locate insurance companies that specialize in your specific coverage needs and get connected to an agent near you.

What Type of Insurance Does Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company Offer?

Here's an overview of the products offered by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.

  • Whole life insurance
  • Term life insurance
  • Universal life insurance
  • Variable life insurance
  • Disability income insurance
  • Annuities

Your independent insurance agent can help you find more information about the coverages offered by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, and help you decide if this insurance company is right for you.

What to Know about Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company

Founded in 1851, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company has had more than a century and a half's worth of history in the insurance industry. The carrier goes by MassMutual for short. They are a privately held insurance company headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

MassMutual's LinkedIn network reports that they have more than 11,500 employees. In addition to several types of life insurance coverage, the carrier also offers 401k savings plans, financial planning services, annuities, and retirement planning services. The carrier claims to have $830 billion of life insurance policies in force.

Thanks to its extensive history and high financial ratings, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company has developed a reputation as a strong and longstanding company. AM Best gives MassMutual an overall “A++” rating—the highest available—indicating the carrier is a superior choice in terms of financial strength.

Established in 1899, AM Best is one of the oldest rating companies in the world. Reviews from AM Best indicate an insurance company’s financial strength and creditworthiness and are based on comprehensive evaluations of the company’s operating performance, business profile, and annual report. 

What Discounts Does Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company Offer?

MassMutual does not make information about its specific discounts readily available. However, an independent insurance agent can find this information for you. Independent insurance agents work hard to find you quality coverage at the lowest possible price.

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Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company Customer Service

Here's an overview of MassMutual's customer service options and availability.

  • Phone contact option
  • Email contact option
  • Snail mail contact option
  • Online claims reporting
  • Customer service hotline has the following hours


Hours (EST)


Monday-Friday 8 am - 8 pm


Saturday CLOSED


Sunday CLOSED

To ensure a great customer service experience, work together with an independent insurance agent. Independent insurance agents can help handle claims and other matters for you, so you can relax and enjoy your coverage.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company FAQ

What is Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company's average claim response time frame?

MassMutual does not provide a specific claims response time frame promise.

What is Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company's customer service availability?

MassMutual's phone department is available at extended hours during the week. The carrier can also be contacted by email or snail mail.

What is Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company's claims process?

MassMutual does not provide much information about its claims process, beyond how to file. Customers can contact an independent insurance agent to file claims for them and walk them through every step of the process, however.

Does Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company create a user-friendly experience for customers?

MassMutual's website leaves a lot to be desired. There's not much information provided about discounts or claims processing, for one. They also offer fewer customer service contact options than many modern carriers. Overall, MassMutual falls behind in the user-friendliness department.

Does Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company have good whole life insurance?

MassMutual's website states that they offer the following perks under their whole life insurance.

"Death benefit

Whole life ensures a guaranteed death benefit, which means that your loved ones will receive a lump sum of money regardless of how long you live. 

Build cash value

With whole life, the policy builds cash value over time that can be used to help you pay for college, supplement your retirement income, or for emergencies.

Opportunity to earn dividends

Policyowners are also eligible to receive valuable dividends. While dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid them to eligible participating policyowners every year since 1869."

Is Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company a good insurance company?

MassMutual has plenty of history within the insurance industry. They also have an extremely high rating through AM Best. However, their rating through the BBB is lower than many other carriers', and their customer reviews are dismal. So, we're hesitant to call MassMutual a good insurance company at this time.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company Customer Reviews

Consumer Affairs
They were very difficult and unpleasant to work with. They took 6 months to set up a 401k with my company. The service was terrible following and it took me 8 months to get rid of them and set up the 401k with a better company who was very easy and a pleasure to work with. I recommend John Hancock over MassMutual any day. They also charged me $500 to separate from them. Unethical company.


Consumer Affairs
The company I used to work for used MassMutual for their retirement plans. After I left the company I decided to cash out my plan, I was partially vested in my employer contributions. Somehow when I took my disbursement my vesting became zero percent for that portion of my account. After getting the run around several times by several different people at MassMutual it had now been about a month and I'm still short about $5,000 from my account with no explanation from anyone.


Better Business Bureau
I am appalled with this company and its lack of empathy towards its customers. I surrendered my policy with them last year and I still have not received its cash value. I have called them more than once about it. The first time I was misled into believing they would pay me in installments. The second time I was lied to again and told they had to figure out what happened to the check they supposedly sent me, and they never got back to me about it. I hope they sleep well knowing that I, one of their few blind customers I'm sure, will be homeless shortly.


Better Business Bureau
They have "internal policies" to keep you from getting your money, and these policies are borderline if not completely illegal. They honestly expect me to wait 45 days before I can start the process to get my money from them.


Better Business Bureau
Awful company. I'm too enraged and tired to even explain the many time consuming and inane errors they've made requiring my pension. I'm filing several formal complaints against the company.


TrustedChoice.com's Final Review

We award Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company a final rating of 2 out of 5 stars. The carrier has an extensive history in the insurance industry, however it doesn't appear they've fully used this experience to their advantage. Their rating through the BBB is lower than many other carriers', despite their very high AM Best rating.

More concerning is the consistent 1-star customer reviews for the insurance company across the board. It's virtually impossible to find any good customer feedback about the carrier. Since we value customer feedback and service very highly, that's really our biggest concern.

Overall, we recommend working together with a trusted independent insurance agent to find another insurance company that can meet your coverage needs. Especially if quality customer service and delivering on coverage promises is important to you, you might want to skip looking into MassMutual.

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https://www.massmutual.com/

https://ratings.ambest.com/CompanyProfile.aspx?AltSrc=108&Bl=0&GSA=1&AMBNum=6695

https://www.bbb.org/us/ma/springfield/profile/insurance-services-office/massachusetts-mutual-life-insurance-company-0261-200244/customer-reviews

https://www.linkedin.com/company/massmutual-financial-group/about/

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/massmutual-annuities.html