Northwestern Mutual Kicks Off 2023 Dividend Announcement Season

Customers often use policy dividends to increase policy benefits or cash value, or to reduce out-of-pocket premium costs.

A mutual insurer’s dividend interest rate is based on the yield the insurer gets on its own investments.

Northwestern Mutual bases dividend payment calculations on claims experience and expense management as well as on the dividend interest rate.

Results

As a mutual insurer that sells no stock to the general public, Northwestern Mutual presents its earnings using state insurance regulators’ Statutory Accounting Principles rules, rather than the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles rules used by publicly traded stock companies.

For the first half of the year, Northwestern Mutual is reporting $594 million in net income on $18 billion in revenue, compared with $132 million in net income on $16 billion in revenue for the comparable period in 2021.

The company’s own net investment income increased to $6.1 billion, from $4.9 billion.

The Outside World

Northwestern Mutual executives noted that the company is increasing the 2023 dividend payout total despite the many sources of economic volatility in 2023, such as high inflation and geopolitical uncertainty.

Given all of the sources about what the world might look like in 2023, “the record payout is testament to the strength of Northwestern Mutual, and our strong performance and commitment to treat our policy owners equitably,” Jason Klawonn, the company’s chief actuary, said in an email.

Pictured: Northwestern Mutual’s headquarters building, in Milwaukee. (Photo: Northwestern Mutual)