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...
Bermuda Triangle Story
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.
NAIC Eyes ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Strategy
A document from the NAIC's Financial Stability Task Force reflects the concerns that the NAIC has heard from a variety of sources about the increased ownership of life insurers...
Private equity/life insurer partnerships proceed
American Equity invests in residential real estate firm; Everlake Life is born, a child of Blackstone; AIG and Blackstone close $50 billion deal; Sunset Life rating under review after...
Another Annuity Issuer Enters the ‘Bermuda Triangle’
American Equity Investment Life Insurance Co., a top-ten fixed indexed annuity seller, is partnering with Brookfield Asset Management on a $10 billion reinsurance and investment deal. Their plan looks...
Prudential Sells $31bn Annuity Block to Bermuda Reinsurer
Fortitude Re will assume the assets and liabilities of a $31 billion block of Prudential annuities, and pay Prudential $1.5 billion. The block consists mainly of variable annuities with...
Bermuda’s Role in a Changing Annuity Industry
In this latest installment in our 'Bermuda Triangle' series, we ask why US life/annuity companies would reinsure liabilities in Bermuda, and why big private equity firms are creating reinsurers...
‘The Island is Calling Life Insurers’
Interest among US life insurers in capital-release through reinsurance in Bermuda is spiking. The opportunities are described in this guest column by actuaries Nick Komissarov and Faisal Haddad of...
Athene Takes Another Bite at Pensions Apple
In a pension risk transfer deal, Athene Holding will acquire about $4.9 bn in pension assets and liabilities from Lockheed Martin. But when do these deals become too much...
Principal Financial shrinks its exposure to retail annuities
The company said it 'will fully exit US retail fixed annuities— discontinuing new sales of its deferred annuities, payout annuities, indexed annuities—and will pursue strategic alternatives, including divestiture, of...
Security Benefit Life’s Secret Sauce
Joe Wittrock, CIO at Security Benefit Life, explains how the firm's investments outperform. Eldridge Industries, run by ex-Guggenheim president Todd Boehly, owns SBL, Billboard magazine (right, with Billie Eilish...
