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Business Profile

Insurance Services Office

Northwestern Mutual

Headquarters

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Insurance Services Office.

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Northwestern Mutual's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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Northwestern Mutual has 32 locations, listed below.

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 51 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 12 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

    Sort by

    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/27/2025

      Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Several months ago (at least May 2024 or prior), I had a phone call with a customer service agent at NW ********************** while attempting to separate bills after my divorce. I explained that I wanted my ex husbands policies off of my account and I clarified that I would only be paying for the life insurance policies for myself and the life insurance policies Ive been using as savings accounts for my two children. I clarified multiple times to make sure that the payments coming out of my account were only to cover mine and my children. There were two separate payments coming out and I was confused as to why but I thought the smaller payment was for the kids and assumed it was separate only because I added their accounts after, but I just went online to view accounts for a financial affidavit I realized that for some reason, the agent took my ex husbands policies off my account but kept them ************************ billing so Ive been paying his life insurance and his disability coverage for all these months: $65.10 for at least May 24 to Feb 25 (10 months: $651). I called when I realized this and the representative said he could take my ex husbands payments off my account but I requested a refund for all the months that I wasnt supposed to be paying that and he said he had no way to do that and had to escalate it. He gave me a case number but I want to hold this company responsible so that I get my money back so Im following up with BBB. The case number given to me was **********.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/15/2025

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I was charged an undisclosed fee of $175 to roll over my Simple *** (over 2 years old) from Northwestern Mutual to ******* ******. This happened after requesting information from Northwestern Mutual on how to roll over my Simple *** and being ignored after leaving the previous company I worked for. Had they not ignored my request, I would have been able to roll over my Simple *** last year and been able to skip the additional $50 annual fee they charge (on top of the $175 transfer fee).

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/03/2025

      Hello,

       

      I never received a receipt from Northwestern Mutual.  I only discovered the charges after seeing that my last statement from Northwestern Mutual was over a couple hundred dollars more than what was received in my roll over account with ******* ******.  I called to inquire and was told about the $50 annual charge and $175 transfer fee over the phone.  The account was transferred over from Northwestern Mutual 1.13.2025, so I can only assume that's when the charges were made.  Please let me know if you have any further questions.  I wish I had some documentation to share, but Northwestern Mutual has not provided anything to date.

       

      Thank you,

      ***** ******

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/07/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I talk to *** back on 8/23/24 1:17pm central time.I called because I received a call few minutes before from my agent complaining about she doesn't get paid if I cancel or change plans. I talk to *** about canceling term 10 plan at that time and I was supposed to be getting a call back from a supervisor that never happened.11/4/24 1:05pm I called and talk to two separate agent about canceling plan. The agent didn't really canceld the plans they shuffle to my agent I'm sure this is a common tactic this company uses.Shortly after I received a call from my agent stating she put a lot of work in for me. It was guilt trip tactic I'm sure *** teacher there agents. I was guilt trip into signing a policy at reduce value.That cat and mouse tactics have tarnished my beliefs in this company and I want to close my pending term.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/31/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I had a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual and everything was going ok in the beginning and they set me up with another person to do planning for changes on my life insurance. Well I was on the phone with the gentlemen and we talked about setting up a meeting and he said he would send me a meeting invite. Well I didn't receive anything so I have called and emailed numerous times to him and my agent for over 2 months now and they will not answer my calls nor emails. I have contacted Northwestern Mutual regarding this issue and I made a complaint against them and nothing has came out of it. They just told me to get a new agent. This is totally unacceptable and unprofessional as a business for their employees to act this way to customers and especially when they are dealing with their money.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/20/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Financial advisor ******* ***** ******** conducted a scam by misleading me into purchasing multiple services after I explained what I wanted to do at Northwestern Mutual. Each time, she provided different products without informing me that transferring my money would incur substantial fees, resulting in the loss of more than 98% of my funds. As a disabled veteran, my situation was not considered. Ms. ******** collaborated with another individual involved in the scam, named ***** K. *******. I can provide evidence of the scam and hope that I am not the only one affected by this.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/31/2024

      Our teams are actively working with the customer to resolve this issue. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/03/2024

      Type:Customer Service Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I received a letter that I could switch from term life to whole life but I cannot reach an actually person in the customer service department. I need to speak to someone about my policy.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/17/2024

      Our teams made outreach to this client to connect. Therefore, we consider this case resolved. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/03/2024

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I have term life policies with them. I tried to call them to talk to them about this and no one has returned my phone calls.I would like to hear from the business, contact by the business.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/17/2024

      Our teams made outreach to this client to connect. Therefore, we consider this case resolved. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/11/2024

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I was lied to by a representative working with northwestern mutual about a individual account which when explained to me in our first conversation would work as an account where i pay monthly into the account a set # and i would be able to withdraw all the money from my account as cash whenever i pleased, i ended up closing my account because i was not satisfied with their buisness and lo and behold the representative told me that he never actually set up the account i asked for and agreed to in the first place, instead he used all the money i sent monthly on "term life insurance" and not 1 dollar was put into the account i agreed to in the first place, the worst part is i was coerced into signing documents that when i signed them he told me himself they are what i wanted, that whole life insurance was just an addition to the account

      Business Response

      Date: 10/03/2024

      Our teams took the time to dig into this, and given the information provided, believe that our company acted accordingly and stand behind our claims made. We sent a letter to the customer explaining our research on their policy and explained our reasoning. For that, we consider this case resolved. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:08/19/2024

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Ive been trying to contact someone to close my account/withdraw my policy and its absolutely impossible to chat/email or call anyone. They send you to your local advisor who never responds to anything. The payment process is awful and unpredictable. I just want to close my account so I can continue with another company.

      Business Response

      Date: 08/28/2024

      Our teams responded to this complaint accordingly and have obliged to the desired outcome. For that, we consider this matter resolved. 

      Thank you. 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 08/28/2024

      [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 

      Regards,

      *****************************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/01/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Insurance Agent did not fulfill requests to surrender insurance policies, and we were continuously charged since 1/2023, and since 5/2024.Issues/notes/timelines are stated below :Subject: Contemporaneous Notes I am writing regarding a life insurance policy, which was verbally cancelled with an agent on January 5, 2023. According to the ******************** of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) guidelines, insurance companies should retain records for at least five years after the termination of a policy. I am concerned that the recording of the policy surrender from that phone call *** not have been properly recorded or stored by Northwestern Mutual.Agent did not take notes during this phone call, which was scheduled over Zoom. Northwestern Agent **** and ******* from the Northwestern Client Loyalty Team both indicated that this was unusual during subsequent calls.Client and his wife, Client 2 have been clients of Northwestern Mutual since January 2017, with no complaints or payment issues. The account was transferred from the original agent to new agent in August 2021. Annual calls were scheduled in 2021, 2022, and 2023. The policy was verbally cancelled on January 5, 2023, and Client 2's policy was cancelled in writing in May 2024. For the first time in four years, no annual call was scheduled for 2024.On May 15, 2024, Client 2 emailed agent to cancel her policy but never received a response. Her claim of exception was also denied by Northwestern Mutual, citing no verbal surrender of policy on record.We request a refund for Clients policy from verbal cancellation request 1/2023 and Client 2's policy from written cancellation request 5/2024.

      Business Response

      Date: 07/19/2024

      Hello - Our teams have made contact with the client to resolve the issue. For that, we consider this case closed and resolved. 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 07/26/2024

      [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 

      Regards,

      *****************************

    Northwestern Mutual is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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