Ladder vs Principal

Ladder and Principal are two of the insurers we track in United States. Ladder is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and has been operating for 9 years (established 2017); Principal is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa and has been operating for 147 years (established 1879). That is roughly 138 years of difference in market experience — Principal predates Ladder 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.

Ladder operates across 1 line (term-life), with 1 product in our database. Principal operates across 1 line (term-life), with 0 products. Where the comparison actually applies is the term-life category, where both insurers offer competing products that a buyer would realistically choose between.

How to actually choose between Ladder 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.