- Northwestern Mutual reported a $40 billion surplus
- The company also reported $38 billion in revenue from 2024
- The life insurance company paid out $6 billion in claims last year
Northwestern Mutual reported another record Thursday, a surplus of $40 billion for 2024.
The Milwaukee-based financial services company reported the surplus along with a dividend payout to policyholders totaling $8.2 billion, nearly $1 billion more than in 2023.
“We’re increasing at a very quick pace, both the dividend as well as that surplus,” said Northwestern Mutual chief financial officer Todd Jones said. “We set records a lot of years but the growth this year was just historic from that standpoint.”
More:The insurance, investment numbers behind Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual’s record-setting 2023
The dividend and surplus is evidence of the strength in Northwestern Mutual as a company, and its impact on policyholders.
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Here are some numbers the company released regarding its 2024 performance:
$8.2 billion dividend to policyholders
The dividend increased by more than $800 million from 2024 at $7.3 million, which had an increase of $550 million in 2023.
The policyholders are the sole beneficiaries of the dividend and Jones said a majority of policyholders reinvest the dividend.
“That’s our largest increase ever,” Jones said. “Our total (dividend) is more than triple the size of our nearest competitor. We’ve paid out over $160 billion to our policyholders since 1872, that’s all through strong investment performance, disciplined underwriting, prudent expense management, things like that.”
$40 billion surplus
Many companies have a “rainy day fund” or some kind of “emergency fund,” basically a stack of money that it can count on if things don’t work out. For Northwestern Mutual, the emergency piggy bank is holding $40 billion.
“That surplus that’s there is meant to be an extra buffer from a financial strength perspective,” Jones said. “We make promises 40 years into the future on life insurance or 50 years on long-term care insurance, that we are going to around and thriving and able to pay that claim several decades into the future.”
$38 billion in revenue
Northwestern Mutual’s total revenue in 2024 was $38 billion, which is $2 billion more than in 2023.
The revenue comes from permanent life insurance premium sales, investment sales and investment revenue due to high interest rates. But a significant contributor to the revenue is new policyholders.
“First year sales… are a very large component of the $38 billion,” Jones said. “When we put a policy on the books, it continues to generate revenue.”
General account investment portfolio is huge
The General Account investment portfolio is a major contributor to Northwestern Mutual’s success and grew by more than 5% to $324 billion compared to the previous year.
Nearly $2.4 trillion with a “T” in life insurance death benefits
Northwestern Mutual life insurance protection is nearly $2.4 trillion of life insurance death benefits “in force.”
$6 billion paid out in claims
The purpose of many of the policies is to protect people and families in the event someone dies, is injured or needs long-term care. In 2024, Northwestern Mutual paid more than $6 billion in claims to those policyholders.
