Bermuda Triangle Story
Michael Gordon, CEO of Axonic Insurance, part of Axonic Capital, sees the future of the life/annuity/asset-management business as an increasingly a la carte affair, where the components of the...
MassMutual platform to distribute Aspida Life fixed-rate annuities
The platform, Flourish, is a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of MassMutual. It serves more than 750 wealth management firms managing some $1.5 trillion in financial assets.
Reinsurance on NAIC agenda this week
More news: Private ownership of life re/insurers may affect credit ratings, says Fitch; F&G issues its first RILA; American Equity Investment Life reports 2023 results; Global Atlantic closes $10bn...
This Year’s Legal Battles
The life/annuity industry faces three big legal issues this year. All stem from, or are complicated by, the patchwork regulation of financial products in the US, our out-of-date pension...
NAIC Urged to Limit ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Strategy
'The ability of insurers to significantly lower the total asset requirement for long-duration blocks of business that rely heavily on asset returns appears to be one of the drivers...
Of Athene, Pension Risk Transfers, and Fiduciaries
The ERISA Advisory Council recently heard comments on changing the criteria that fiduciaries use when vetting annuity providers in pension risk transfer deals. Athene's vice chairman defended his company's...
Why ‘Offshoring’ Annuity Risk Is Wrong
Many for-profit US life/annuity companies do not use independent reinsurers. They use an affiliated or captive reinsurer in a jurisdiction like Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Vermont, or Arizona. This...
NAIC Reassures Congress on Private Equity-Led Insurers
Responding to Sen. Sherrod Brown's March inquiry, the association of state insurance commissioners gave high marks to their own oversight of PE-linked life/annuity companies. But the NAIC's 'nothing...
Fortitude Re’s expansion continues
Fortitude Re bought Rx Life Insurance Company from Heritage Life. Now named 'Fortitude US Reinsurance Company,' and domiciled in Arizona, it will enable Bermuda-based Fortitude Re to offer clients...
Why RIJ Obsesses over the ‘Bermuda Triangle’
Private equity is no longer a sideshow in the annuity industry. Its involvement is now the main event. But we know too little about private equity’s growing role in...
USAA inked a pair of reinsurance deals in 2021
USAA, a reciprocal insurer, completed reinsurance transactions with Commonwealth Annuity and Life and Fortitude Re, according to its 2021 annual statements.
Private Equity in the Life/Annuity Biz
Experts Tim Zawacki of S&P Global Market Intelligence, Rosemarie Mirabella of AM Best, and Jason Kehrberg of PolySystems presented data on “Private Equity and the Life Insurance Industry” at...
‘Bermuda Triangle’ news
FNF 'dividends' 15% of F&G Annuities & Life stock to shareholders; Ares Management announces $40 billion in lending commitments; Athene gets ‘Excellent’ strength rating from AM Best; KKR closes...
Prudential divests $31 billion block of in-force VAs
Prudential executive vice president and head of US Businesses Andy Sullivan said his company will focus on selling more of its “protected outcome solutions, like FlexGuard and FlexGuard Income.”
‘Private equity’s insurance innovation needs a risk check’: Risk. net
In this guest editorial, the editor-in-chief of Risk.net applauds the innovation that private equity firms bring to the annuity industry, but urges regulators to 'assess the private equity model,...
MassMutual flies into the ‘Bermuda Triangle’
MassMutual has all the pieces--a life insurer that issues fixed annuities, a stake in a Bermuda reinsurer, a big in-house asset manager, and various partnerships--that should enable it to...
Fortitude Re, Midwest Holdings pursue ‘triangle’ strategies
Fortitude Re, a reinsurer backed by The Carlyle Group, a $276 billion private equity firm, is completing its annuity-reinsurance-asset management strategy. Midwest Holdings' life insurer, American Life, has launched...
Re: Allianz Life, F&G, Oceanview Re
Three items: Allianz unlocks $4.07 billion in surplus through $35 billion FIA reinsurance deal with units of asset manager Sixth Street; AM Best affirms F&G's 'Excellent' strength rating but...
John Hancock transfers VA risks to Venerable
Venerable Holding will reinsure $22 billion worth of in-force variable annuity contracts issued by John Hancock Life. The deal releases $2 billion in capital for Manulife, which will put...
Investcorp buys Sunset Life, sets up Insurance Solutions unit
Investcorp hired Todd Fonner and Nathan Gemmiti, executives with experience at Blackstone and Apollo, respectively, to run its new venture providing investment guidance to life insurers.