Northwestern Mutual sets records in 2019

Company will return $6B to policy owners

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. said Tuesday it increased its surplus to the highest level in its history during 2019 and expects to pay out a record $6 billion in dividends to policy owners.

The Milwaukee-based company said the total surplus, which is an insurer’s cushion against the unexpected — and a key measure of its overall financial strength — was more than $30.4 billion, up nearly 14% from $26.7 billion in 2018.

The expected 2020 dividend payout is nearly $400 million more than last year.

“Through our unwavering commitment to our clients, we have once again achieved exceptional financial results,” John Schlifske, chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Northwestern Mutual has a history of generating solid results, but 2019 was strong even measured against its previous performance.

“We’ve had good years before,” said Todd Jones, vice president and controller at Northwestern Mutual. “We had a ‘wow’ year in 2019.

“Even though we’re big and 160 years old, we’re continuing to grow,” he added.

Northwestern Mutual employs more than 5,000 people in the Milwaukee metro area. It has facilities in downtown Milwaukee and Franklin.

The $6 billion being returned to policy owners leads the industry, Jones said.

“If you take our three closest competitors and add them together, they don’t get to $6 billion,” he said. “We’re owned by our policy owners. Because of that, we give back most of our earnings to our policy owners.”

The surplus and the dividend comes as the company paid out $4.8 billion in claims to policy owners and their beneficiaries in 2019.

The company has $1.9 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force.

The surplus shows that the company is in a strong position to meet its commitments to policy owners, Jones said.

“We’re trying to deliver measures that benefit policy owners not just today but also in the future,” he said. “At the level where we are it really does ensure that we are going to be here in the future to meet the commitments, and, really, in any economic environment.”

Northwestern Mutual had sales growth during 2019 of 10% vs. 2018, Jones said.

Also, the rate at which policy owners renew and pay their premiums for the following year stood at 96.4% in 2019, he said.

“People are putting their trust in us,” Jones said. “We feel very strongly about the mission we have here.”

An atrium built around and connected to the original Northwestern Mutual building features real palm trees that have been preserved in the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. Tower and Commons skyscraper in Milwaukee.

PHOTOS BY MIKE DE SISTI / MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. Tower and Commons skyscraper in Milwaukee.