The top 4 life insurance brands of 2016

State Farm takes Brand of the Year honors in the home and life insurance categories, holding steady in its equity ratings as the insurance category overall experiences declines, according to The Harris Poll 2016 EquiTrend Study.

The 28th annual study awards the strongest brands in nearly 100 categories across the media, travel, financial, automotive, entertainment, retail, restaurants and household industries, based on consumer response. Measuring brands' health over time, the EquiTrend Brand Equity Index is comprised of three factors — familiarity, quality and purchase consideration — that result in each brand's equity rating.

Brands ranking highest in equity receive the Harris Poll EquiTrend "Brand of the Year" award for their respective categories. This year, more than 97,000 U.S. consumers assessed more than 3,800 brands (including 56 insurance brands), across nearly 500 categories.

AAA edges out State Farm to claim Auto Insurance Brand of the Year, climbing to the top spot from third place in 2015. Blue Cross Blue Shield is named Health Insurance Brand of the Year for the sixth consecutive year, a feat achieved only by nine other brands in the EquiTrend study.

"State Farm has been at or very near the top of insurance brands measured for many years," says Joan Sinopoli, vice president of brand solutions at Nielsen, which owns The Harris Poll. "The company has an incredibly strong captive agent network on the ground, and for years maintained a consistent, familiar core campaign while running parallel campaigns to stay fresh and relevant."

Other life insurance brands in the study ranking below the category average include (alphabetically):