Is American National a Good Insurance Company?

American National Insurance Company — known in the industry as ANICO — has been around since 1905, making it one of the oldest insurance companies in the country. That kind of history matters when you’re placing retirement money into a contract that needs to perform for decades. The company holds an AM Best financial strength rating of A (Excellent), affirmed as recently as November 2025 — solid marks that put it well within the range most independent advisors require for annuity recommendations. At Diversified Insurance Brokers, Jason Stolz, CLTC, CRPC, DIA, CAA, evaluates American National the same way we evaluate every carrier: against the full market, for your specific premium, age, and retirement income goal. A carrier being good does not automatically mean the contract being offered is the right one for you — those are two separate questions, and we help clients answer both.

One thing worth knowing upfront: American National made a significant strategic shift in 2025, discontinuing the writing of new life insurance policies and refocusing the business entirely on annuities. If you came here because someone mentioned ANICO for life insurance, that product category is no longer available from this carrier. For life insurance options across our full carrier panel, our life insurance services page covers what’s available. For annuities — fixed deferred, indexed, and immediate — American National remains an active and competitive carrier.

Company Snapshot

120 Years Old and Still Independent-Agent Focused

American National has operated out of Galveston, Texas since its founding — which makes it something of an outlier in an industry where most major carriers are headquartered in Des Moines, Hartford, or New York. That regional independence has never hurt its ability to compete nationally; ANICO writes business in all 50 states through affiliated entities and distributes entirely through licensed independent agents rather than captive sales forces. That distribution model matters to us, because it means we can access and objectively compare ANICO products against the broader market rather than having a captive relationship that limits what we can recommend.

The Brookfield acquisition in 2022 brought this 117-year-old company under the umbrella of one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers. From a capital standpoint, that is a meaningful upgrade — Brookfield’s $850B+ in global AUM provides substantial financial depth beyond what ANICO’s balance sheet alone reflects. The honest consideration that advisors raise is one of ownership philosophy: Brookfield is a private equity and alternative asset firm with investor return objectives, which differs from the policyholder-first orientation of mutual carriers. AM Best’s November 2025 affirmation explicitly noted no concerns about solvency or claims-paying ability — but for clients placing very large amounts or entering long-duration contracts, the ownership structure is worth understanding. For shorter-term MYGAs where the guaranteed rate is locked for the full period, the practical day-to-day impact of ownership is minimal.

The Palladium MYGA: What Makes It Stand Out

The Palladium MYGA is the primary reason most clients and advisors look at American National. It regularly appears in the top five to ten MYGA rates for three and five-year terms, which is enough to put it on the short list whenever a client is shopping guaranteed yield for a defined accumulation period. There are two variants: the standard Palladium MYG, which allows up to 10% of account value in penalty-free withdrawals annually starting in year two, and the Palladium MYG Max, which does not include that free withdrawal provision but may offer a higher guaranteed rate in exchange. Choosing between the two comes down to whether near-term liquidity access matters — if you will not need any of the money during the guarantee period, Max may produce more yield; if you want the option to take income without penalty, the standard MYG is the better design.

Both products run on three-to-ten-year terms, offer tax-deferred accumulation, and include a guaranteed minimum renewal rate of 2.55% — which is a meaningful floor. Many MYGAs renew at whatever the carrier declares, with no guaranteed minimum. A floor rate means the worst-case renewal outcome is known going in, which matters for clients who are modeling retirement cash flows and do not want a dramatic rate reset at renewal to disrupt their income plan. The Palladium also includes confinement, terminal illness, and disability waivers — meaning surrender charges can be waived if the annuitant enters a nursing home, is diagnosed with a terminal illness, or becomes disabled. That kind of built-in flexibility is worth noting because it directly addresses the “what if I need the money sooner than expected” concern that holds many retirees back from committing to a longer guarantee period. For clients building a multi-source retirement income plan, our resource on fixed annuities versus CDs covers how guaranteed annuity products compare to bank alternatives on both rate and flexibility. The full product review is at our dedicated American National Palladium MYGA page.

The Strategy Indexed Annuity PLUS Series

The Strategy Indexed Annuity PLUS 7 and PLUS 10 are American National’s fixed indexed annuity products. Like all FIAs, they credit interest based on the performance of an external index — in ANICO’s case, primarily the S&P 500 — subject to contract-specific caps, participation rates, or spreads, with a 0% floor meaning the contract value does not decline in years when the index falls. The number in the product name refers to the surrender period: seven years for the PLUS 7, ten years for the PLUS 10. Both allow up to 10% annual penalty-free withdrawals after year one — a more generous liquidity provision than many FIA contracts, which often restrict free withdrawals to 5-10% and sometimes limit access in early years entirely.

Optional income riders are available on both products for clients who want guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits rather than just accumulation. The honest assessment: ANICO’s income rider designs are functional but not the most competitive in the FIA market. Carriers like Allianz, Athene, and North American consistently offer more aggressive income base growth rates and higher payout percentages in head-to-head comparisons. Where the PLUS series competes well is for clients who want indexed growth potential with a more generous liquidity profile than income-optimized FIAs typically provide — it is a more balanced product design rather than a pure income maximizer. If income is the primary objective, our resource on what an income rider is covers how to compare rider designs across carriers so you know exactly what you are evaluating. The full product breakdown is at our dedicated American National Strategy Indexed Annuity PLUS 10 page.

The Palladium SPIA: Immediate Income Option

For clients who are at or past the income start date and want to convert a lump sum directly into a guaranteed payment stream, American National offers the Palladium Single Premium Immediate Annuity. SPIA payout rates are competitive and worth including in a multi-carrier comparison — particularly for clients who are already considering ANICO for MYGA accumulation and want a clean transition to income at maturity. The Palladium SPIA supports multiple payout structures: life only, period certain, and joint life options for couples. A SPIA is the simplest annuity structure that exists — you hand over a premium and receive a defined monthly payment, guaranteed for as long as the selected payout structure runs. No crediting strategies, no income riders, no surrender periods. For clients who want simplicity above all else, or who have a specific income need they want fully covered with guaranteed payments, the SPIA structure removes all of the complexity that sometimes makes FIAs and deferred annuities harder to evaluate. Our resource on lifetime income annuities covers how SPIAs and income annuities work across the carrier spectrum.

Where American National Fits and Where to Look Elsewhere

American National makes the most sense for clients who are comfortable with Brookfield ownership, value 120 years of operating history, and are primarily shopping for fixed deferred accumulation or a straightforward immediate income conversion. The Palladium MYGA’s low minimum premium and confinement waivers make it one of the more accessible and practically designed MYGAs in the market. The FIA products are solid mid-market options for clients who want indexed growth with genuine liquidity flexibility and are not trying to squeeze the maximum possible guaranteed income from an income rider.

Where American National is a weaker fit: clients requiring A+ AM Best minimum strength; clients who need a life insurance solution from the same carrier (no longer available); and clients whose primary FIA objective is maximizing income rider performance. For those situations, a head-to-head comparison against American Equity, Allianz, Athene, and North American will likely surface more competitive income designs. Our resource on state guaranty association protections explains the state-level safety net that applies to annuity contracts with any carrier — important context for right-sizing how much to place with any single insurer, including ANICO. For the broader retirement income picture — how an annuity fits alongside Social Security and other income sources — our resource on how Social Security and annuities work together covers the coordination strategy most clients are navigating when they are evaluating an annuity purchase.