How to Buy the Best Infinite Banking Policy

Are you shopping for the best Infinite Banking policy, but want to first make sure you have the correct policy design with a good life insurance company and a team you can trust?

Here’s the first thing you need to know: there’s no such thing as an “Infinite Banking Policy.” We only use that phrase here because it’s commonly searched, and we want to meet you where you are. But the truth is, Infinite Banking is not a product—it’s a strategy.  The vehicle we use is properly structured whole life insurance with a mutual company. But it’s not the policy alone that creates results. It’s how the design, funding, and use of that policy align with your larger financial strategy and your legacy goals. That’s where most people get off track—and where working with a like-minded team becomes essential.

In this episode, we dive deep into the infinite banking concept and discuss the importance of choosing the right mutual insurance company and working with a like-minded advisor or agent team.

Join us as we share our insights and experiences to help you better understand and implement this powerful financial strategy in your own life. If you want to say goodbye to second-guessing and regret, and make Infinite Banking decisions with certainty and confidence, tune in today!

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Building Confidence Through Education

Finances can be a tough space to navigate because money is deeply personal, and everyone has different opinions. That’s why we value providing education – because we want to give people the tools they need to build confidence and make their own decisions about money. 

Confidence allows you to take action, build trust, and create a positive cycle. You learn more, become more confident, take more action, and build more trust. This simple, small shift allows you to be at the helm of your financial choices, rather than shifting responsibility off your plate completely.

How to Choose the Best Insurance Company

If you’re interested in infinite banking, based on our material or something you’ve heard elsewhere, you may have questions on how to do it “right.” While this can vary depending on your personal money goals, there are some general rules of thumb to follow when you buy a life insurance policy for IBC purposes. Let’s go over them together. 

1. Choose a Mutual Company

A mutual company means that the insurance company is owned by the policyholders. In order to benefit from dividends, this is the type of company you want to work with. As a partial owner, you get to participate in all profits. While not guaranteed, mutual companies tend to run a tight ship and make very conservative long-term decisions. You can expect them to profit. 

The other option is to choose a stock company, which is beholden to shareholders. These shareholders may not even have a policy with the insurance company. This can drive stock companies to make riskier, short-term decisions that aren’t always in the best interest of policyholders. You also don’t get those dividends if they do turn out okay. 

2. Look at Financial Ratings

In addition to being a mutual company, you also want to work with a company that has a solid financial history. A good track record suggests that they know how to manage risks long-term and can continue to do so for 30+ more years. 

You can check a company’s financial rating in any of the major rating services: Standard & Poor’s, AM Best, Fitch, and Moody’s. A company with at least a 90% rating is a good company to work with. 

3. Do They Have a History of Dividends?

Another benchmark of a good mutual insurance company is its history of paying life insurance dividends. This indicates that they have good long-term vision and are capable of turning a profit even in dire economic landscapes. Many mutual companies have paid dividends every year for the last hundred years, which means they turned a profit during major wars, recessions, depressions, and the housing crisis. 

This is a great indication of good stewardship and consideration for policyholders. So be sure to choose a company that has a solid record of profit. 

In the same vein, it’s worth taking note of how close companies are to hitting their declared dividend. Occasionally, companies overstate what they think the dividend will be and end up being off the mark. It’s not necessarily a deal-breaker, yet something to be aware of as you look for companies. 

4. Customer Service

What kind of customer service does the insurance company provide? How responsive are the insurance companies? This is information your producer or agent will know well. Each company operates differently and has its own way of doing things. The best life insurance companies for infinite banking may even be faster at distributing funds than others. If you’re going to be using your policy over your whole lifetime, choosing a company with good service will benefit you. 

It’s also important to note that while you can execute an IBC strategy with any mutual company, not every insurance company supports the idea or understands it. Your producer can also help you identify which companies understand what you’re trying to do. 

Best Whole Life Insurance Companies for Infinite Banking

Your legacy is not the caboose of your financial life. It’s the engine. Selecting the best infinite banking policy isn’t a decision to leave buoyed by happenstance.

Choosing the right whole life insurance policy to implement the Infinite Banking Concept isn’t about chasing a top 5 list. It’s about discernment—and alignment.

You may notice we’re not naming specific companies here. That’s intentional.

Because this isn’t about which company we think is best. It’s about helping you find the company that best fits your values, vision, and goals. We’ve included a full section in this article that walks you through how to evaluate a company—but naming names here would shortcut that process, and potentially mislead.

The truth is: there are several strong mutual companies that support Infinite Banking with excellent policy design, financial stability, and client service. But which one is right for you depends on your cash flow, your timeline, your use of capital, and the specific features needed to implement the strategy well.

What matters most is working with a company that:

• Embraces the Infinite Banking Concept—not just sells whole life
• Has a long-term stewardship mindset
• Offers consistent, responsive, relationship-centered service
• And is a true partner for your family’s multigenerational plan

When it comes to building legacy, we don’t take shortcuts. And that includes helping you make decisions based on wisdom—not popularity.

Remember, the best whole life insurance policy for infinite banking isn’t determined by a single metric. It’s about finding the financial partner that aligns with your family’s values and vision – one that will stand as faithfully with your grandchildren as they do with you today.

How to Choose the Best Producer/Team

After you have an idea of what company or companies you’d like to work with, you’ll want to choose an agent or producer to help you set up your policy. In an ideal world, this is a lifelong relationship, so you want to choose someone you trust and get along with. 

If you want to use the Infinite Banking strategy, proceed with caution when you see companies using other terminology. You’ll see various spin-offs of IBC, which are little more than marketing tactics. However, not every one of these companies is going to be advocating for or following the 5 Tenets of IBC. Let’s go over what those tenets are.

The Five Tenets of IBC

[15:20] “Number one, Nelson always said [to] think long-term. And when you link long term, you’re going to make better decisions for you and your family, instead of trying to make short term decisions.”

Number two, don’t be afraid to capitalize. Each and every person has a need for capital, so you should be looking for ways to solve that need. And when you have an opportunity, don’t be afraid to use your capital. 

The third tenet is to be a good steward of your policy. If you take a loan, pay it back in full. While you can get away without doing so, you’re only hurting your own bottom line. 

Tenet four is not to do business with banks. Now, this can take some considerable time, because of our current economy. But eventually, you should have a banking system that allows you to finance your own endeavors. 

Finally, you’ve got to re-think your thinking. Don’t accept everything you know as fact, and be willing to learn and grow. In particular, this applies to what you know about whole life insurance, as many people misunderstand it. 

How Does Your Advisor Support You? 

When choosing an advisor, if you want to do infinite banking, the best thing you can do is find someone who has gone through the Nelson Nash training using the Practitioner Finder. These are going to be advisors who are well-versed in IBC and have the desire to keep growing in their practice and their offerings. 

In addition to the support you’ll get from an IBC-trained advisor, it’s also important to ask them about their practices. Will the advisor do annual reviews? Can you count on them, or their team, to help you maintain or manage the policy when needed? Will your advisor give you a second opinion? Do they have a sufficient relationship with the insurance company to handle any problems? 

And finally, does your advisor have a sufficient team to ensure that all bases are covered and you will be taken care of? 

How to Buy the Best Infinite Banking Policy

The final step is determining the right policy and policy type. While this is mostly going to depend on what you want to do with your money and what assets you already have, we can make some general suggestions. 

1. Choose Whole Life Insurance

In addition to working with a dividend-paying mutual company, you also need the right product from that company: whole life insurance, which is a type of permanent cash value insurance. The cash value is where you’re going to be building and using capital. 

Term insurance, on the other hand, is temporary insurance that does not have any cash value. You can, however, buy a convertible policy that you eventually turn into whole life insurance, if you’d like to lock in your insurability now, and can’t commit to whole life yet. 

There’s also something called universal life insurance, which has a cash value component. This, however, does not have the same strength of guarantees that whole life insurance does and is not reliable for capital growth. It’s correlated to the stock market, and therefore subject to the same fluctuations. 

You want guaranteed interest, guaranteed level premiums, and a cash value that’s guaranteed not to decrease. You get all of that with whole life insurance. And while the dividend is not guaranteed, that’s simply because profit cannot be guaranteed. 

That’s why the best whole life insurance policy for infinite banking is with a company that boasts a good history. 

2. Paid-Up Additions

If you want a policy with the most early-cash-value build-up, you’ll want to maximize your PUAs (paid-up additions). PUAs are additional money that you can contribute to your policy every time you pay your premiums. They are like an additional, fully paid-up death benefit. This translates to additional cash value since the cash value is the equity of your death benefit. 

However, just because maximum PUAs are great for early cash value does not mean it’s automatically the right choice. You also want to have enough base premium to support a solid death benefit. You’ll want to think about and balance your family’s need for cash with your family’s need for protection.

[49:29] “I can tell you right now, the skinnier the base policy, the greater the chance of it to lapse. Why? The skinnier the base, the [fewer] guarantees you have.”

The reason for this is because PUAs don’t accumulate interest and dividends in the same way or at the same rate as base premium. So while PUAs will increase your cash value in the early years, don’t rely solely on early PUAs. It’s okay for your policy to take some time to build up in order to get the most guaranteed benefit. 

3. Apply Dividends to Cash Value

When you do earn dividends on your whole life insurance policy, you have several ways to take them. For example, you can apply dividends to your premium or to any outstanding loans. You can also just take your dividends as cash. Our favorite option, for IBC purposes, is to apply the dividend to your cash value. This is how you grow your policy and really get some momentum on your capital-building journey.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a Policy

The path to securing the best infinite banking policy is marked by intentional design, not drift. To that end, let’s consider a little tough love about the pitfalls that ill-advised families might encounter.

• Choosing a policy based solely on day-one cash value. Early liquidity is important—but it’s not the only metric that matters. Prioritizing first-year cash value often sacrifices long-term growth, stability, or flexibility. A strong policy balances early access with sustained performance that supports your legacy over time. Don’t trade long-term stewardship for short-term convenience.
• Working with an agent who doesn’t live and breathe banking policies themselves is like asking someone who’s read books about swimming to teach your child how to navigate ocean currents. Choosing a whole life insurance policy for infinite banking requires specialized knowledge that only experienced practitioners truly grasp.
• Working with someone who sells products—not plans. Your advisor matters as much if not more than the policy. You need a guide who sees your whole picture—your family, your vision, your goals—and can help you design something that works not just on paper, but in real life.
• Some families discover too late that their policy’s loan provisions severely restrict their banking efficiency. Understanding direct vs. non-direct recognition when evaluating life insurance companies for infinite banking isn’t just technical jargon – it can be the difference between your money working in one place or two simultaneously.
• Getting stuck in comparison charts. Dividend history and ratings matter—but only in context. What you need is not the “best” company, but the right structure and alignment for your unique financial season and goals.
• Waiting for “someday.” You don’t need to have everything figured out to begin. Clarity comes in motion. Waiting for the perfect time usually means no action at all—and lost years of growth and protection your family may one day depend on.

The families that build legacy-grade banking systems approach this decision with the reverence it deserves. They recognize that once poured, this foundation will either limit or liberate generations.

Real-Life Examples: The Living Proof of Policy Design

Wesley Smith, a digital marketing agency owner and real estate investor, turned to Infinite Banking to take full control of his financial future after years of dealing with the limitations of banks, retirement accounts, and conventional thinking.

Here’s how he’s using whole life insurance today:

• Family System of Policies:
  Wes has policies on himself, his wife, and each of his two children. “The kids’ policies will fund college, a first car, maybe even their first business. I’m teaching them to use and repay policy loans now.”
• Liquidity Without Constraints:
  He uses policy loans for things like home upgrades and vacations, without rigid payment schedules or begging a bank. “We removed trees in the backyard, laid sod… with a policy loan. Paid it back on my schedule.”
• Premium Strategy + Expansion:
  As his income grows, so does his system of policies. He maximizes PUAs, uses premium deposit funds, and starts new policies instead of over-prepaying old ones. “Once I start prepaying all my policies, I know it’s time to start a new one.”
• Planning for the Long Term:
  Wesley is using IBC to build multi-generational wealth, avoid 401(k) restrictions, and give his kids a real financial head start. “You can’t go back and start a policy 10 years ago. So I’m doing it now—for my kids, and my future.”
• Real Estate + Retirement Ready:
  Though he hasn’t used IBC for real estate yet, Wesley plans to fund future investments from policy loans and repay them through cashflow or future sales. “I’ll buy property, pay it off through cashflow or a refi, and keep my capital growing the whole time.”

Wesley’s story proves that Infinite Banking isn’t just theory—it’s a system that grows with your income, your family, and your vision.

Using Whole Life Insurance to Build Wealth and Business Freedom

Marcus came to us in 2019 looking for a smarter way to protect his family, grow his capital, and invest in real estate. Since then, he’s used his whole life insurance policy as a financial foundation to launch multiple ventures—without relying on banks.

Here’s how he’s put his policy to work:

• Real Estate Flips:
  Marcus borrowed against his cash value to fund two profitable fix-and-flips. “We used it to pick up the property and make the repairs… then flipped it. Paid the loan back as soon as the equity came in.”
• Collateral for an SBA Loan:
  He secured an SBA loan for his Hotworx fitness franchise using his policy’s death benefit as collateral—without touching the cash. “They didn’t access my cash value… they collateralized the death benefit. It got us where we needed to go.”
• Family Vehicle + New Business:
  With a policy loan, Marcus bought a car for his wife and funded the franchise fee for Destination Athlete, a sports apparel company he and his wife now run together. “We pulled out all of it… used it for a vehicle and to start our second business.”
• Disciplined Payback = Reusability:
  Marcus repays each loan with discipline, giving him access to capital again and again. “Once it’s paid back, I reuse it. I treat it like a real bank—with my own terms.”

For Marcus, whole life insurance isn’t just protection. It’s his business capital, legacy plan, and financial peace of mind—all in one.

Book A Strategy Call

Do you want to coordinate your finances so that everything works together to improve your life today, accelerate time and money freedom, and leave the greatest legacy? We can help!  

Book an introductory call with our team today to learn how privatized banking, alternative investments, or cash flow strategies can help you accomplish your goals better and faster. 

That being said, if you want to find out more about how privatized banking gives you the most safety, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, read our free guide to find out more and guarantee a legacy.