American Family vs Principal

American Family and Principal are two of the insurers we track in United States. American Family is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin and has been operating for 99 years (established 1927); Principal is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa and has been operating for 147 years (established 1879). That is roughly 48 years of difference in market experience — Principal predates American Family by a generation, which usually translates into more granular underwriting data and a larger book of legacy claims to reference. Older does not automatically mean better, but it does mean more institutional memory of what claims look like in this market.

Neither insurer publishes a claim settlement ratio that we have been able to verify against regulator filings; both should be evaluated primarily on product features and disclosed terms, with a stronger emphasis on contractual exclusions and dispute resolution clauses since the actual claim record is not auditable here.

American Family operates across 1 line (motor), with 0 products in our database. Principal operates across 1 line (term-life), with 0 products. The two insurers do not actually overlap on any category in our data, which makes head-to-head comparison difficult — you are choosing between different products for different needs, not between two competing plans in the same slot.

How to actually choose between American Family and Principal in United States: the insurer choice is one input, but the specific plan you pick within that insurer matters more. Two flagships from different insurers are usually closer to each other than a flagship and a budget plan from the same insurer. Use the insurer-level comparison above to set your priors (which company you trust on claim record, network, and tenure), then click into the specific plans listed on each insurer's profile to compare features, exclusions, and waiting periods at the product level. When all else is comparable, weight the insurer with the stronger published claim record — the policy is only worth what the insurer actually pays.