Is Ohio National a good insurance company? For many retirees and pre-retirees evaluating annuities for secure growth and lifetime income, Ohio National is still a familiar name—and it remains a common “shortlist” carrier when people want principal protection, tax-deferred compounding, and optional income design options. At Diversified Insurance Brokers, we help clients compare Ohio National’s annuity solutions against alternatives across 75+ carriers so you can see—side by side—where the guarantees, income potential, and liquidity rules are strongest for your timeline.

It’s also important to clarify something up front. Ohio National has gone through major corporate changes in recent years, including a shift away from its prior structure and a rebrand for certain operating entities. If you’ve seen the name “Ohio National” on older policies, or you’ve recently heard references to ONICO or different issuing-company names, you’re not imagining things. In the insurance world, that kind of evolution can be normal, but it makes comparison even more important because the best annuity choice is rarely about the “brand name” alone. It’s about the issuing company, the exact contract form, and how the rules line up with what you want the annuity to do.

In this review, we’ll follow a practical, retirement-focused structure: (1) company snapshot and what to verify, (2) where Ohio National-style annuity designs can fit in a plan, (3) common product themes people compare, (4) real-world tradeoffs (fees, surrender schedules, MVAs, riders, and income timing), and (5) who this carrier might be a fit for—plus who should widen the net.

Company Snapshot: What “Ohio National” Means Today

When people ask, “Is Ohio National a good insurance company?”, they’re often really asking two questions at once: (1) is the issuer financially stable enough to support long-term annuity guarantees, and (2) are the product rules competitive for the goal they’re trying to accomplish. Ohio National has a long history in the life insurance and annuity space, but in recent years the organization has been through significant corporate transitions and rebranding, which is why it’s especially important to verify the exact issuing entity on any illustration or contract.

From a planning standpoint, the good news is that the “right” process doesn’t change just because a company changes names. You still want to validate the issuing company, understand the contract’s guarantees, confirm surrender terms, and compare the income math (if income is the goal) against a curated shortlist. The best annuity outcome usually comes from strong fit and clean rules, not from trying to buy the biggest brand name in the market.

If you’re new to annuities and want a fast baseline before comparing carriers, start with foundational guides like what a fixed annuity is and then move to the differences between product categories (especially if someone is showing you an indexed design). If you’re already familiar with the basics, you’ll get the most value from the sections below on liquidity, surrender schedules, income timing, and how to compare illustrations properly.

How Ohio National-Type Annuities Fit in a Retirement Plan

Retirement annuity buyers usually fall into one (or a blend) of three goals. First is protected accumulation: you want stable growth and principal protection, often as a replacement for CDs, treasuries, or a portion of the bond sleeve. Second is future guaranteed income: you want the option to build a “personal pension” later, potentially to complement Social Security. Third is portfolio stability: you’re trying to reduce retirement volatility and sequence-of-returns risk by moving a portion of assets into contractual guarantees.

Ohio National’s annuity lineup (and similarly positioned carriers) is often considered for the first and third goals—protected accumulation and stability—especially when the rate environment makes fixed annuities attractive. For the second goal (future income), the key isn’t just whether the carrier has an “income rider.” The key is whether the rider math, payout factors, start-date flexibility, and rider cost structure produce the income result you want without sacrificing too much liquidity or accumulation efficiency.

If you want a quick framework for how income designs work, review what a GLWB is. Then take the next step and learn how the income base, roll-up features, and payout percentages connect to real withdrawals in how a GLWB works. Those two pages help most people avoid the #1 misunderstanding we see: assuming the “income base” is the same thing as the “account value.”

Popular Product Themes People Compare

Even if you never memorize product names, annuity comparisons tend to cluster around a few themes. Understanding these themes is more useful than trying to remember a hundred different contracts.

1) MYGAs: The “CD-Style” Fixed Annuity

A MYGA (multi-year guaranteed annuity) is the simplest annuity structure: you get a fixed rate for a defined term, and your account value grows based on that guarantee. People often compare MYGAs to CDs and treasuries, but there are two major differences: tax treatment and contract rules. MYGAs typically grow tax-deferred (outside qualified retirement accounts), and they use insurance surrender schedules rather than bank early-withdrawal penalties.

If a MYGA is part of your plan, your evaluation should go well beyond the headline rate. You want to know: How long is the surrender schedule? How much is penalty-free each year? Are there nursing home or terminal illness waivers? Is there an MVA (market value adjustment) that can change the economics of an early exit? You can start this due diligence with annuity surrender charges explained, and then go deeper into MVA behavior if your illustration includes it.

2) Fixed Indexed Annuities: Measured Upside With Downside Protection

A fixed indexed annuity (FIA) can be attractive when you want principal protection but you’d like a chance at better long-run crediting than a simple fixed rate. The tradeoff is complexity: indexed crediting uses caps, participation rates, and/or spreads. Those terms can change over time for new money and, depending on the contract, for renewal segments as well. The right way to compare FIAs is not “who has the best index today,” but “whose crediting and renewal design best matches my timeline, my liquidity needs, and whether I’m prioritizing accumulation or income.”

If you want the simplest explanation of FIA mechanics, read how a fixed indexed annuity works. Once you understand the moving parts, you’ll be in a position to compare what actually matters: the tradeoffs between roll-up and payout math, the liquidity rules, and whether the rider cost is worth it for the income goal you have.

3) Income Structures: GLWBs vs. SPIAs vs. DIAs

When the goal is “paycheck,” there are multiple ways to get there. A GLWB rider is one approach; immediate income annuities (SPIAs) and deferred income annuities (DIAs) are other approaches. Each has different liquidity, legacy, and income certainty characteristics.

A SPIA can produce very efficient income because it’s a pure income contract—typically with limited liquidity. A DIA can create a larger future paycheck by deferring income for a set period. A GLWB rider can be more flexible for many retirees because it can preserve some access to the account value while still delivering contractually defined lifetime withdrawals. The “best” structure depends on whether you care most about maximum income, flexibility, legacy, or a blend.

If you want to learn the basics of immediate income, use what is an immediate annuity. If you’re exploring a delayed-paycheck design, review what is a deferred income annuity. These references help you compare “income first” strategies against rider-based strategies without mixing apples and oranges.

Financial Strength: What to Look For (Without Getting Lost)

For any “Is X a good company?” page, financial strength is a core piece of the answer, because annuity guarantees are only as good as the insurer’s ability to support them over time. But here’s the nuance: ratings matter, yet they’re not the only indicator of contract reliability. You also care about reserve practices, asset/liability matching, reinsurance strategy, and the carrier’s long-term commitment to the annuity line you’re considering.

With Ohio National (and the successor/related entities you may see on current contracts), the practical action step is simple: verify the exact issuing company name on your illustration and confirm its current rating profile. “Ohio National” can mean different things depending on policy era and the exact entity. Once you know the issuer, you can compare it to peer carriers in the same product category and make a confident decision with complete clarity about who is actually backing the guarantees.

From an advisor’s standpoint, we generally prefer a process that is easy for consumers to validate. We show you the issuer, the surrender schedule, the free withdrawal rules, and the income math (if applicable) across a shortlist. That makes the evaluation objective: you can see what you’re buying and what it’s designed to do, rather than relying on marketing language.

Liquidity, Surrender Schedules, and MVAs: The Real-World Stress Test

The biggest regret we see in annuity planning is not “I didn’t get the very top rate.” It’s “I bought a contract that didn’t match how I needed the money to behave.” That’s why liquidity is the stress test. It’s easy to commit money on paper. It’s harder when life happens—unexpected expenses, healthcare needs, family support, or the desire to reposition assets if the interest-rate environment changes.

In most deferred annuities, there is a surrender charge schedule that gradually declines over time. Many contracts also include a penalty-free withdrawal feature—commonly a percentage of the account value available each year. Some include special waivers (for example, terminal illness or nursing home confinement), but these rules vary and must be verified in the actual contract. If your illustration includes an MVA, the economics of an early surrender can change depending on interest rates. MVAs are not automatically “good” or “bad,” but they are often misunderstood, and they can matter in a higher-rate environment.

Before you buy, confirm the answers to these questions in writing: What is the surrender schedule by year? When do free withdrawals begin (immediately, after year one, or later)? How much is penalty-free annually? Are required minimum distributions (RMDs) waived from surrender charges for qualified money? Does the contract include an MVA, and when does it apply? If you want a plain-English overview of the most common structures, read annuity free withdrawal rules, then compare your illustration’s terms against that baseline.

Income Planning: Timing Matters More Than People Expect

When retirees ask us for “the best annuity,” they often mean “the best income.” But income planning is timing-sensitive. The same premium can produce very different guaranteed withdrawals depending on the age you start income, whether you’re using single-life or joint-life income, and how the contract defines its payout factors. In other words, a carrier can look “average” at age 62 and look “excellent” at age 70 (or vice versa) depending on how their income factors are designed.

That’s why we like to coordinate annuity income timing with the rest of a retirement plan—especially Social Security. Some households want to use annuity income as a bridge while delaying Social Security. Others want to do the opposite: maximize Social Security first and turn on annuity income later. A well-built plan aligns the annuity start date with your essential-expense timeline and the stability you want in retirement.

If this is the conversation you’re having, review how Social Security and annuities work together. That guide frames annuities the right way: as one tool for building an income floor, not as a one-size-fits-all replacement for portfolio withdrawals.

Pros and Potential Trade-Offs

Who Might Consider Ohio National

Ohio National can be worth considering if you’re the type of retirement saver who values clarity and predictability and you’re comfortable following a structured annuity decision process. In our experience, the best-fit buyers tend to share a few traits.

• Bond-and-CD reallocators: You’re shifting a portion of assets from CDs, bonds, or money markets into a contract-based guarantee, especially when rate levels make fixed annuities attractive.
• Pre-retirees with a defined timeline: You want to lock in a multi-year guarantee and you already know roughly when you’ll need income.
• Income-floor builders: You’re coordinating Social Security timing with another guaranteed source so that essential expenses are covered by predictable income streams.
• Conservative planners: You want principal protection first, and you’re willing to trade some liquidity for a stronger guaranteed structure.

Who Should Cast a Wider Net

Even if Ohio National is a respected name, there are many cases where a broader market comparison can materially improve the outcome—either by increasing guaranteed income, improving liquidity, or delivering a stronger crediting/rider value balance.

• Rate maximizers: If you’re purely shopping MYGA rates, it’s essential to compare multiple issuers with the same term and similar withdrawal rules.
• Income optimizers: If maximizing guaranteed lifetime income is the #1 goal, you should compare payout factors and rider economics across income-focused carriers.
• Flexibility-first retirees: If you may need larger withdrawals, contract flexibility can matter more than a small rate difference.
• Complex planning cases: If you’re evaluating ladders, 1035 exchanges, tax timing, or coordinated distribution strategies, small product-rule differences can compound into large differences over time.

Planning Example: A “Stable Core + Income Later” Design

A 64-year-old couple wants to retire in three years and is uncomfortable relying entirely on portfolio withdrawals early in retirement. They allocate a portion of IRA assets to a protected-growth annuity intended to establish a stable base. They plan to delay Social Security to increase future benefits. During the three-year gap, they want minimal volatility and a clear timeline. The annuity’s role is not to replace the entire portfolio. It’s to create a durable foundation so the rest of the assets can stay growth-oriented, and the couple can avoid panic-selling during a down market.

In a case like this, our job is not “sell a specific carrier.” Our job is to compare multiple issuers and show (a) which contract has the best guarantee for the chosen term, (b) which has the most favorable free-withdrawal and waiver rules for their needs, and (c) what the plan looks like if they later convert part of that protected asset into lifetime income. Often, the best answer is a blend: a rate-focused annuity for protected accumulation plus an income-focused structure for a future paycheck. The only way to know is to model it with the client’s timeline and state-specific availability.

How We Compare Ohio National Against Alternatives

When we benchmark Ohio National (or the relevant issuing company) against the market, we don’t do it with generic charts. We do it with apples-to-apples comparison rules. That means matching term length, matching surrender schedules as closely as possible, matching free withdrawal provisions, and then comparing the guarantees, renewal structure, and income math (if income is on the table). If indexed crediting is involved, we also compare the crediting menu and the carrier’s renewal posture so you have a realistic picture of how the product can behave over time.

Most importantly, we keep the conversation aligned with the goal. If you want protected accumulation and you don’t need an income rider, you should not pay for rider fees. If you want income, we compare the income result (not the roll-up headline) and verify exactly how withdrawals are calculated. If you want flexibility, we emphasize liquidity features and exit economics instead of just “rate.”

If you want a starting point before requesting an illustration pack, review today’s best MYGA annuity rates to benchmark fixed-rate options by term, and then compare indexed options with bonus designs (where appropriate) using highest bonus FIA rates. From there, the next step is choosing the right short list based on your state and timeline.

What to Verify Before You Choose Any Ohio National Annuity

If you take nothing else from this page, take this checklist. These are the items that determine whether an annuity is a “great fit” or a “future frustration.”

• Issuing company name: Confirm the legal name on the illustration and contract forms. This matters more than the marketing name on a brochure.
• Term and surrender schedule: Match the surrender timeline to the timeframe you truly plan to hold the annuity.
• Free withdrawal rules: Confirm when they begin, how much is available annually, and whether there are waivers that matter to your situation.
• MVA presence: If there is an MVA, understand when it applies and how it could change early exit economics.
• Rider economics: If you’re adding an income rider, confirm how withdrawals are calculated, when income can start, and what the rider fee does to accumulation.
• Renewal behavior: Ask how renewal rates are set and what flexibility you have at the end of the guarantee period.
• Beneficiary treatment: Confirm your beneficiary options and how the contract handles death benefits or continuation options where applicable.

Bottom Line: Is Ohio National a Good Insurance Company?

Yes—for many retirement savers, Ohio National can still be a credible contender, especially when you’re looking at principal-protected annuity strategies and you’re willing to do proper issuer verification and contract-level due diligence. The bigger truth, however, is that “good company” isn’t the finish line. The finish line is: Is this specific contract good for your term, liquidity needs, and income goal?

As independent advisors at Diversified Insurance Brokers, we don’t ask you to rely on brand recognition. We run side-by-side comparisons across the market so you can choose the best combination of guarantees, flexibility, and retirement income design for your state and timeline—whether that ends up being Ohio National (or a related issuing entity) or a different carrier with stronger numbers for your situation.

Related Pages

• What Is a Fixed Annuity?
• How Does a Fixed Indexed Annuity Work?
• Annuity Surrender Charges Explained
• Annuity Free Withdrawal Rules
• How Social Security and Annuities Work Together
• Best MYGA Annuity Rates