A provider of life and health insurance, Globe Life sells whole and term life policies plus Medicare Supplement and limited-benefit plans like accident and cancer coverage. The Globe Life brand began in 1951 when two friends in Oklahoma started the company with borrowed money, but the corporate family dates to 1900, when a fraternal benefit society called the Heralds of Liberty was founded in Huntsville, Alabama. It took the Globe Life name in 2019 after years as Torchmark.
Life underwriting margin growth slowed to 5% in H1 2026 as health premiums rose 14% on Medicare Supplement sales.
Life growth decelerated to 5% in the first half, settling at a pace below the remeasurement-aided rates of the past two years. rose 8% to $1.60 billion in the quarter and climbed 19.7% to $3.65, driven by a 14% increase in health premiums and improved life mortality. The core life insurance engine is still growing, but the rate now depends on underlying claims trends rather than one-time assumption updates.
Key takeaways
Life rose 5% to $708 million for the first half, as improved mortality lowered net policy obligations to 35% of life premiums from 37% a year ago, though the growth rate slowed from the 7% pace in the first half of 2025.
Health premiums rose 14% to $854 million for the first half, led by Medicare Supplement sales at the United American Division, and total increased 10% to $484 million with health net sales up 30%.
Health rose 6% to $194 million for the first half, but the margin as a percent of premium dipped to 23% from 24% as group claims experience increased.
Section summaries
Management's Discussion and Analysis
Net income rose 10% to $558M on 6% premium growth and improved life mortality, while health sales surged 30%.
⌄
Total premium grew 6% to $2.6B, with life premium up 3% to $1.71B and health premium up 14% to $854M, driven by strong Medicare Supplement sales.
grew 6% to $75 million for the first half, stabilizing after a 16% decline in full-year 2025, as higher yields on fixed maturities and commercial mortgage loans offset growth in required interest on policy liabilities.
The company repurchased 2.6 million shares for $378 million during the first half and excluding accumulated other comprehensive income rose 11% to $100.04.
The average producing agent count declined overall due to a decrease at the American Income Division, even as total grew 10%.
What changed
The life growth rate settled at 5% in the first half of 2026, down from 7% in the first half of 2025 and well below the 12% full-year 2025 pace that had been aided by a $131 million — confirming the deceleration flagged as a watch item after Q1 2026.
returned to growth, rising 6% in the first half after a 16% decline in full-year 2025 and four consecutive quarters of decline through Q1 2025, suggesting the drag from commercial mortgage loan and limited partnership yields has stabilized as anticipated.
Health growth accelerated to 30% in the first half from 22% in Q1 2026, extending the 58% increase in Q1 and indicating the Medicare Supplement expansion at the United American Division is sustaining momentum rather than proving a one-time event.
The average producing agent count declined overall due to a decrease at the American Income Division, a new development that may relate to the outstanding EEOC determination and U.S. Attorney subpoenas on agent practices that have been flagged as watch items for over 18 months.
Share repurchases of $378 million in the first half of 2026 ran below the $403 million deployed in the first half of 2025, continuing the slower pace that began in full-year 2025.
What to watch
Whether the life growth rate can rise above the 5% first-half pace without a , or whether underlying non-COVID claims and acquisition costs keep it at this lower plateau.
Whether the 30% increase in health is sustainable and whether the associated group claims experience — which pushed the health margin percentage down to 23% — remains manageable as the book grows.
Any financial or operational impact from the EEOC determination and U.S. Attorney subpoenas, particularly the decline in producing agent count at the American Income Division and its effect on future life sales.
The trajectory of in the second half — whether the 6% first-half growth marks a durable recovery after the 2025 decline, or whether commercial mortgage loan and limited partnership yields resume their erosion.
Life increased 5% to $708M, benefiting from improved mortality results that lowered net policy obligations to 35% of premium from 37%.
Health rose 6% to $194M, though margin as a percent of premium dipped to 23% from 24% due to increased group claims experience.
grew 6% to $75M, aided by higher yields on fixed maturities, commercial mortgage loans, and other long-term investments.
The company repurchased 2.6M shares for $378M, and excluding AOCI increased 11% to $100.04.
Total increased 10% to $484M, led by a 30% jump in health net sales, while the average producing agent count declined overall due to a decrease at the American Income Division.