Securian stands out first for what its term policy can become later
Securian Financial is not the most familiar retail life-insurance brand, but its individual-life platform has a feature that deserves more attention than name recognition: Advantage Elite Select Term is built around unusually flexible conversion rights. The policy can serve as ordinary level term today, then move into indexed, variable or survivorship permanent coverage later without fresh medical underwriting, subject to the contract. For buyers who genuinely expect their needs to change, that is more useful than a generic promise that a term policy is “convertible.”
Advantage Elite Select currently offers 10-, 15-, 20- and 30-year guaranteed level-premium periods. The minimum face amount is $250,000. Current Securian professional materials list issue ages from 18 through 80 for a 10-year term, through 70 for 15 years, through 65 for 20 years and through 50 for 30 years. The policy renews to age 95, although premiums rise after the guaranteed period and renewal should normally be treated as a short-term fallback rather than a long-term funding plan.
The product becomes more distinctive after issue. Current rules allow conversion of at least $100,000 into eligible permanent coverage, and Securian says the permanent menu can include indexed, variable and survivorship policies. Partial conversion can leave the remaining term amount in force if at least $100,000 remains. A conversion completed during the first two policy years can also receive a credit of up to the annual premium paid on the term policy.
Those features do not mean every term buyer should plan to convert. Someone who only needs income replacement until children become independent may never need permanent insurance. The conversion value appears when the buyer wants to preserve future insurability because health, estate, business or lifetime-care needs may change. Securian gives that buyer more contractual room than a policy whose conversion feature is narrow or difficult to identify.
WriteFit can make a substantial term application easier without pretending the risk assessment disappeared
Securian’s WriteFit Underwriting program is another important part of Advantage Elite Select. For eligible applicants, WriteFit replaces the traditional exam and blood test with a phone interview and data-based underwriting. Securian says qualifying policies can be issued within 24 hours after the interview. That is a significant convenience for a traditional carrier, particularly when the face amount is well above the limits of many small simplified-issue products.
Eligibility depends on age and face amount. Current product details show WriteFit available in the first premium band from $250,000 through $1 million for ages 18 through 60, and in the $1,000,001 through $3 million band for ages 18 through 50. Amounts above $3 million use traditional underwriting. Securian also notes that certain older applicants in the 55-to-60 range have class-specific WriteFit rules.
The important distinction is that a no-exam path is still underwriting. Securian’s underwriting framework uses predictive tools and other information to assess mortality risk. An applicant who does not qualify for WriteFit can move into traditional underwriting rather than receiving an automatic approval. The final rate class still decides whether the offer is competitive.
That last point matters over a 20- or 30-year term. A quick decision can be valuable, but a one-class difference in underwriting can have a much larger financial effect than the convenience of skipping labs. The right comparison is the issued premium after underwriting, not the speed of the application alone.
Securian also gives advisers direct access to underwriters for more complicated cases. That is less visible than an instant-decision headline, but it can matter for applicants with medical histories that need context. A carrier willing to discuss a case thoughtfully can sometimes be more useful than one that simply automates the decline or class assignment.
The standard conversion window is useful, but the optional agreements are where Securian becomes unusual
Advantage Elite Select’s standard conversion period is currently five years for 10- and 15-year terms and 10 years for 20- and 30-year terms. That is meaningful, but it may not be long enough for someone buying term specifically to preserve a permanent-insurance option decades into the future. Securian addresses that gap with an Extended Conversion Agreement.
The Extended Conversion Agreement can stretch full conversion privileges through the level term period or to age 75, whichever comes first. That changes the planning value of a 20- or 30-year policy. A healthy buyer can lock in an underwriting class now, keep lower-cost term coverage while family and debt obligations are high, then retain the option to move into eligible permanent coverage much later if a lifelong need emerges.
The Chronic Illness Conversion Agreement is even more unusual. It can preserve the right to add Securian’s chronic-illness accelerated death-benefit protection at conversion without new evidence of insurability. Current materials state that the agreement can support a chronic-illness amount from $100,000 up to $5 million, subject to issue age and policy rules. Securian also says conversion can occur even after the insured has already qualified for chronic-illness benefits under the agreement’s terms.
This does not make term insurance a substitute for dedicated long-term-care planning. Chronic-illness acceleration uses life-insurance death-benefit value and follows contractual definitions and payment limits. Its importance is different: the buyer may preserve access to a feature that could be unavailable after health deteriorates.
Securian also offers a Benefit Distribution Agreement on Advantage Elite Select. Rather than paying the entire death benefit as one immediate lump sum, the policyholder can structure some or all of the benefit as guaranteed monthly or annual installments over a selected period. That can help when the policyowner wants beneficiaries to receive a predictable income stream instead of managing a large amount all at once. It is an estate-distribution choice, not additional free coverage, and the beneficiary generally cannot change the installment portion after the insured’s death.
Eclipse Protector II and Eclipse Accumulator II are both IUL, but they are built around different priorities
Securian’s indexed universal-life shelf is split clearly between protection and accumulation. Eclipse Protector II is designed around permanent death-benefit protection with indexed-crediting options, while Eclipse Accumulator II is built more directly for cash-value accumulation. Treating them as interchangeable because both are IUL would hide the part of the contract that matters most.
Eclipse Protector II currently accepts issue ages from 0 through 80 and starts at a $100,000 face amount. A No Lapse Guarantee Agreement is required at issue, although it can later be removed. The guarantee can be structured for a period as long as age 120 depending on premium funding. That gives buyers a way to prioritize a contractual death-benefit guarantee while retaining indexed-crediting potential.
Eclipse Accumulator II also starts at $100,000 and supports issue ages through 80, but the policy is designed around lower charges and multiple indexed strategies intended to support accumulation. Current options include strategies linked to the S&P 500, S&P 500 Low Volatility and other index methodologies. The exact cap, participation rate and other crediting terms can change within contractual limits.
Neither policy invests the owner’s money directly in an index. Interest is credited through a formula tied to index movement. A 0% indexed-crediting floor can prevent a negative index credit for a segment, but monthly policy charges continue. Total policy value can therefore decline even when the indexed account itself receives a 0% credit.
Loans add another layer of risk. Securian’s current IUL designs offer fixed, variable and indexed loan structures, each with different charge and crediting mechanics. The presence of multiple loan options does not make borrowing neutral. Loans reduce available values, can reduce the death benefit and can increase lapse or tax risk if the policy is heavily borrowed or underfunded.
The practical comparison should begin with the job the permanent policy is expected to perform. If death-benefit certainty is the main goal, Protector II’s guarantee deserves more attention than an optimistic accumulation illustration. If cash-value growth is central, Accumulator II may be the more relevant contract, but the illustration should be stress-tested under lower crediting assumptions and realistic charges.
Premier VUL and VUL Defender move the conversation from indexed formulas to market risk
Securian’s variable universal-life lineup makes the same protection-versus-accumulation distinction. Premier VUL is accumulation-focused, while VUL Defender is protection-focused. Both expose policy value to variable investment options and therefore to direct market risk in a way that IUL does not.
Premier VUL currently lists issue ages from 0 through 85 and a $100,000 minimum face amount. It offers more than 70 variable investment options, indexed accounts and a guaranteed interest account. That gives the owner substantial allocation flexibility, but the prospectus and underlying fund costs become part of the insurance decision. Market losses can reduce policy value, and insurance charges continue regardless of investment performance.
VUL Defender is built more heavily around lifetime death-benefit protection. Current materials list issue ages through 75, a $100,000 minimum face amount and an optional No Lapse Guarantee Agreement that can protect the death benefit for a selected duration up to age 120 when funding requirements are satisfied. The policy still includes variable and indexed allocation choices, so the owner can accept market risk while buying a separate guarantee around the death benefit.
Securian’s WriteFit process is available on these products as well for qualifying applicants, which can make a sophisticated permanent application less burdensome. The application process should not make the contract itself feel simpler than it is. VUL requires ongoing attention to investment performance, charges, funding and loan activity, and the owner can lose principal in the variable accounts.
This is one area where a company review has limited usefulness. Strong insurer ratings and good product engineering cannot tell an individual buyer whether VUL belongs in the plan. The need for permanent insurance should exist first, and the owner’s willingness to accept market risk should be explicit before an illustration is allowed to drive the decision.
SecureCare IV is a long-term-care contract built on whole life, not ordinary whole life with an extra rider
Securian’s most distinctive current whole-life product is SecureCare IV, a linked-benefit policy that combines nonparticipating whole life with qualified long-term-care coverage. It is not a conventional participating whole-life contract designed around dividends. The insurance architecture is built specifically to provide a death benefit, long-term-care benefits and return-of-premium options within one contract.
Current SecureCare IV materials list issue ages from 40 through 75 for single-pay and five-pay designs, with lower maximum ages as the premium schedule extends to 7, 10, 15 or 20 payments. Face amounts range from $50,000 to $500,000. Premiums and stated benefit amounts are guaranteed under the contract, which makes the product easier to model than a design that relies heavily on non-guaranteed cash-value assumptions.
The long-term-care benefit uses a cash-indemnity structure. After the insured qualifies and satisfies a 90-day elimination period, Securian pays benefits without requiring monthly reimbursement of exact care expenses under the policy design. Current SecureCare IV materials also state that benefits for the elimination period are paid retroactively, so the first payment can include the three elimination-period months plus the current month.
The policy allows qualified services such as home health care, assisted living, adult day care, nursing-home care, hospice, respite care, home modification and informal care. SecureCare IV also provides access to specified amounts for home modifications and caregiver training during the elimination period. For policyholders living outside the United States, current materials state that the full monthly maximum and full benefit pool remain available for qualified care, paid in U.S. currency.
Those are substantial features, but the decision is primarily about long-term-care funding. A household that only wants a permanent death benefit should compare simpler permanent policies. SecureCare IV makes more sense when the buyer has deliberately chosen a linked-benefit strategy and is comfortable committing premium dollars to an insurance pool that is intended to respond to either care needs or death.
The return-of-premium options also need context. A contractual surrender value can reduce the psychological cost of committing assets to linked-benefit insurance, but early surrender can still be subject to a vesting schedule. The buyer should compare available liquidity over time, not merely the existence of a return-of-premium feature.
The financial-strength evidence is strong; the satisfaction score is a real counterweight
Securian’s legal life insurers, Minnesota Life Insurance Company and Securian Life Insurance Company, currently carry A+ from AM Best, AA from Fitch, Aa3 from Moody’s and AA- from S&P Global. Securian states that the ratings are current as of December 2025. Its Comdex ranking was 95 as of June 1, 2026, which places the group near the upper end of insurers rated by multiple agencies.
The balance-sheet figures support that profile. Securian reported $3.5 billion of statutory capital and surplus for 2025 and $4.9 billion of total GAAP equity. Fitch reaffirmed the AA rating with a stable outlook in November 2025, and Moody’s reaffirmed Aa3 with a stable outlook at the same time. These ratings address claims-paying strength, not whether a particular term, IUL, VUL or linked-benefit policy is competitively designed.
Customer satisfaction is much less impressive. Securian scored 613 in J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, compared with the study average of 650. The score placed Securian near the lower end of the ranked carriers. J.D. Power’s study covered trust, value for price, ease of doing business, people, product offerings, service access, problem resolution and digital channels.
That gap deserves real weight because Securian’s permanent policies can require decades of service. Conversion requests, beneficiary changes, policy loans, illustration reviews, long-term-care claims and VUL servicing all create interactions long after the original sale. A strong contract can still be worth buying from a carrier with weaker survey results, but the company review should not hide the service evidence behind financial-strength ratings.
The distribution model also affects experience. Individual life products are generally purchased through financial professionals, and Securian also distributes coverage through employers, financial institutions and associations. The quality of the adviser or institution can materially shape how clearly the product is explained and how smoothly the buyer navigates underwriting.
Minnesota Life and Securian Life are the legal insurers behind the brand
Securian Financial is the marketing name for Securian Financial Group and its subsidiaries. Most individual life products outside New York are issued by Minnesota Life Insurance Company. In New York, products are issued by Securian Life Insurance Company, a New York-authorized insurer. Minnesota Life is not authorized to conduct insurance business in New York.
The distinction is visible throughout Securian’s current product pages. Advantage Elite Select, IUL, VUL and SecureCare materials repeatedly state that product availability and features can vary by state and that each issuing insurer is solely responsible for the obligations of its own policies. New York versions can also differ from the national product details.
This matters for more than legal precision. Financial-strength ratings should be matched to the company named in the contract, and product comparisons should use the correct state form. A national Securian illustration or rider description is not sufficient evidence that the same feature exists under the New York policy.
Securian’s strongest current company case therefore rests on specific contracts rather than on a generic brand proposition. Advantage Elite Select offers unusually thoughtful conversion tools. Eclipse Protector II and Accumulator II separate protection and accumulation objectives. VUL Defender and Premier VUL make the same distinction with direct market exposure. SecureCare IV solves a linked-benefit long-term-care problem. The provider is most useful when one of those designs matches the actual need, not when the logo is used as a shortcut for the analysis.
The reason to choose Securian should be visible in the contract before the policy is issued
For a term buyer, the strongest reason may be conversion flexibility. Advantage Elite Select gives the buyer standard term coverage now and several contractual ways to preserve future permanent options, including the ability to extend conversion and preserve access to chronic-illness protection. That is a concrete feature that can justify choosing Securian over a similarly priced term policy with weaker conversion rights.
For a permanent buyer, the reason should be equally specific. Eclipse Protector II is not the same recommendation as Eclipse Accumulator II. VUL Defender is not the same recommendation as Premier VUL. SecureCare IV should enter the conversation because the household has decided to insure long-term-care risk, not because the buyer merely wants permanent life insurance.
Securian’s financial-strength ratings are reassuring, while its below-average 2025 satisfaction score argues for paying attention to the servicing relationship and the quality of the financial professional. If the underwriting result is competitive and the exact contract feature solves a problem the buyer can explain in plain language, Securian can be a strong choice. If the recommendation depends mainly on a complex illustration or on features the household cannot identify a use for, the case needs more work before money is committed.