Your insurer may be owned by a private equity firm. See who owns it, where your premiums are sent, and what they are invested in.
Private equity is buying up US life insurance
Source: NAIC Capital Markets Bureau, PE-owned insurers, year-end 2024
What is at stake for policyholders
Your policy may be reinsured offshore
Athene, for example, reinsures 80–100% of the business of its US companies with its own companies in Bermuda, where capital rules and reporting differ from US states.
The owner can earn on both sides
Athene paid Apollo $1.44bn in 2025 to manage its money, and held $35.4bn in investments tied to Apollo.
Investments are harder to value
PE-owned insurers increased their asset-backed and structured securities and their other long-term investments in 2024, according to the NAIC.
Less of it is public
US insurers list every holding in a yearly statement filed with state regulators. Offshore reinsurers do not file these statements.
Owners change without asking you
Your insurer can be sold, merged or renamed. Your contract stays the same, but the people managing your money do not.
Protection has limits
If an insurer fails, your state’s guaranty association steps in, but only up to a set amount per person.
In the news: private credit, AI and your insurer
Life insurers are among the biggest buyers of private credit, including the debt that pays for AI data centers. Regulators and journalists are starting to ask what that means for policyholders.
- AIUS life insurers increase AI investments as exposure risks grow, says Moody’sReinsurance News · 23 Oct 2026
- Private creditLife insurers concealed $21B in private-credit risk: lawsuitAmerican Banker · 8 Oct 2026
- Private equityThe private equity and private credit loop threatening life insurersForbes · 18 Sep 2026
- AIThe AI bailout could be baked into the AI bubbleThe American Prospect · 3 Aug 2026
- AIWall Street is funding the AI build-out with bonds the SEC never seesBisnow · 11 Jun 2026
- Private creditUS life insurers’ private credit push is creating liquidity and concentration risks, Moody’s warnsInsurance Business · 9 Jun 2026
- Private creditThe overlooked private credit risk is in life insuranceAxios · 3 Apr 2026
- RegulatorsLife insurers’ role in the intermediation chain of public and private credit to risky firmsFederal Reserve · 21 Mar 2025
Links open the original articles and reports. Headlines are the publishers’ own.
Your insurer isn’t PE-owned, but…
Many well-known insurers pass part of their business to reinsurers backed by investment firms. Your contract stays the same, but the risk and the money that backs it move.
- Corebridge Financial$74.3bnwith an Apollo-led group and Carlyle
- Lincoln Financial$34.7bnwith Carlyle, KKR and Apollo
- Guardian$19.3bnwith KKR and Sixth Street
- MetLife$18.5bnwith Sixth Street and KKR
- Principal$17.8bnwith Sixth Street
- USAA Life$17.6bnwith KKR and Apollo
- MassMutual$15.8bnwith Centerbridge and other investors and KKR
- Jackson National$13bnwith Apollo
- Allianz Life$6.87bnwith Sixth Street
- RiverSource (Ameriprise)$5.55bnwith KKR
- John Hancock$5.52bnwith KKR
- Unum$5.45bnwith KKR
- Brighthouse Financial$4.78bnwith Apollo
- Protective Life$3.17bnwith Apollo
- Equitable$2.98bnwith KKR
- OneAmerica$2.67bnwith KKR
- TruStage (CMFG Life)$1.55bnwith KKR
- Transamerica$1.21bnwith KKR and Apollo
- Pacific Life$1.15bnwith KKR
Amounts at the end of 2025, from the insurers’ 10-Ks and the reinsurers’ statements.
How we follow your premium
Who owns it
State approval filings show which firm controls your insurer.
Where it’s sent
Insurers can pass your policy to a reinsurer, often an affiliate in Bermuda.
What it buys
Yearly statements list every bond, loan and fund the insurer holds.
Who benefits
We check which of those investments link back to the owner’s own funds and companies.
Find your insurer
- AtheneApollo
- American NationalBrookfield
- Global AtlanticKKR
- Fortitude LifeCarlyle
- TalcottSixth Street
- Everlake LifeBlackstone
- VenerableApollo
- Security BenefitEldridge
- AspidaAres
- NassauGolden Gate Capital
- American Life & SecurityAntarctica Capital
- Prosperity LifeJAB
- Group 1001 (Delaware Life)Mark Walter (TWG Global)
- More insurers are added as their filings are checked.
Questions
Plain answers about your policy and this site. Nothing here is financial advice.
What is a private equity-owned insurer?
An insurance company controlled by a private equity firm or another investment firm. The firm often also manages the insurer’s money and earns fees for doing so.
Does this change my policy?
No. Your contract terms stay the same when an insurer changes owner or reinsures your policy. The company that issued your policy still owes you the benefits.
What does it mean when my policy is reinsured?
Your insurer pays another company to carry part of the risk of your policy. You keep dealing with your insurer. The question this site asks is who that other company is, and where the money backing your policy ends up.
Why does Bermuda come up so often?
Athene, for example, reinsures most of the business of its US companies with its own companies in Bermuda. Capital rules and public reporting there differ from US states.
What protects me if my insurer fails?
Every state has a guaranty association that covers policyholders up to set limits. The limits vary by state and by type of policy. Each insurer page lets you check your state.
Should I cancel or move my annuity?
Not because of this site alone. Moving an annuity can trigger surrender charges and taxes. Talk to a licensed adviser before changing a policy.
I can’t find my insurer. Why?
Your policy may carry an older company name. Search the sidebar for the name on your contract: former names are included. We add insurers as their filings are checked.
Where does the data come from?
Public filings: SEC annual reports, state insurance department exams, NAIC reports and rating agency announcements. Every section on an insurer page links to its sources.
What is this site for?
More and more US insurers are owned by investment firms, and the details sit in long regulatory filings few people read. We pull the key facts together so policyholders can see who owns their insurer and where their money goes. The site is for information only, free to use for now, and not linked to any insurer or investment firm.
American Life & Security
A small Nebraska annuity insurer, owned until 2023 by the listed Midwest Holding. Antarctica Capital bought it in December 2023, and an Antarctica firm now manages its general account. It passes much of its annuity business to reinsurers, including its own group’s Seneca Re cells.
- Controlling owner
- Antarctica Capital
- Sells
- Annuities (fixed and fixed indexed)
- Owned since
- 2023
As of year-end 2022 filings, unless a figure says otherwise.
Is this your policy?
Company names
- American Life & Security Corp. (Nebraska)
Former names
- Old Reliance Insurance Company (Arizona; renamed 4 Aug 2011)
Products
- American Classic (multi-year guaranteed annuity)
- American Fusion (multi-year guaranteed index annuity)
- American Select
- American Select Bonus
- American Select Bonus Plus
- MaxGrowth 10
Quick check
| Independence factors | Figure | Reliance on the owner |
|---|---|---|
| Money managed by the ownerShare of its investments run by the owner’s own firm | Not published | Not published |
| Business reinsured with own companiesShare of its policies passed to reinsurers in the owner’s group | Not published | Not published |
| Investments tied to the ownerShare of its investments put into the owner’s own funds and companies | Not published | Not published |
| Fees paid to the ownerWhat it pays the owner each year to manage its money | Not published | Not published |
| Hard-to-sell investmentsLoans and complex securities that are not traded on a market | 52.7% [3] [1] | High |
Low, Medium and High show how much the insurer relies on its owner, using the thresholds in our methodology. Our own reading of the filings, not a credit rating or financial advice. If an insurer fails, your state’s guaranty association protects policyholders up to a set limit (nolhga.com).
Who owns it
- United StatesUltimate controlling person; majority owner of Antarctica Capital, LLCChandra R. Patel
- Registration not statedPrivate investment firmAntarctica Capital, LLC
- Registration not statedForm A applicants with Mr. PatelAntarctica Midwest Investment Partners, LP; Antarctica GP Investments III, LLC; Antarctica Investment Advisers, LLC
- Delaware, United StatesAcquisition vehicleMidas Parent, LP
- Delaware, United StatesHolding company (the website now names the parent American Life Financial Partners, LLC)Midwest Holding LLC
- Nebraska, United StatesYour insurerAmerican Life & Security Corp.
Nebraska’s order lists five applicants: Antarctica Midwest Investment Partners, Midas Parent, Antarctica GP Investments III, Antarctica Investment Advisers and Chandra R. Patel. It does not say how the Antarctica entities sit above one another. The money came from “certain investment funds and entities affiliated with Antarctica”, which committed about $128m. Antarctica’s own share of that equity is not stated. From 29 Dec 2023, Antarctica Investment Advisors, LLC manages the general account. The regulator does not say what share of all assets that covers. Two 10-year surplus notes at 10% were issued in January 2024 to Antarctica funds: $8m to Antarctica Special Opportunities Partners VI and $12m to Antarctica Special Opportunities Partners VII. The filings do not say where two of these companies are registered.
Changes of control
- 2011
- Midwest Holding buys Old Reliance Insurance Company of Arizona and merges it with its American Life & Security Corp.; renamed (4 Aug)
- 2016
- Moves its home state from Arizona to Nebraska
- 2018
- Midwest Holding bought by Xenith Holdings, owned by Vespoint (28 Jun)
- 2020
- Crestline buys a stake in Midwest Holding; Midwest Holding sells shares to the public (Dec)
Where your premium goes
- 1 · You payPremiumAnnuities (fixed and fixed indexed)
- 2 · Your insurerAmerican Life & Security Corp.Nebraska
- 3 · Reinsured withSeneca Re cells and outside reinsurersSeneca Re is a Vermont captive in the same group
- 4 · Money managed byAntarctica Capital (share not published)Fees not published
- 5 · Invested in$1.84bn of assetsSee below
Its filings do not say what share of its business it reinsures with its own companies. [1] [3] [5]
What it invests in
Links back to the owner
No filing we found lists investments tied to Antarctica Capital.
Sources
- [1]Nebraska Department of Insurance, examination report of American Life & Security Corp. as of 31 Dec 2022 (adopted 27 Sep 2024)Shares of total investments including cash: $1,806m (2022) and $1,118m (2021), from the investment table in Midwest Holding’s 10-K. These are GAAP group figures that also include the Seneca Re cells, before Antarctica. The private share is mortgage-backed, asset-backed, CLOs, mortgage loans and other invested assets, our calculation. It leaves out “term loans” (30.9% in 2022), which the 10-K does not label public or private. The statutory total of cash and invested assets was $1,845m at end-2022
- [2]Nebraska Department of Insurance, Form A order C-2913 approving acquisition of control of American Life & Security Corp. (12 Dec 2023)
- [3]Midwest Holding Inc., 10-K for 2022 (SEC, 27 Mar 2023)South Dakota summary, Liabilities, Surplus & Other Funds; exam report, Financial Statements
- [4]American Life, company website (about and products)
- [5]AM Best, rating action on American Life & Security Corp., 31 Jan 2024
- [6]AnnuityRatesHQ, American Life review (SECONDARY, broker site)
- [7]South Dakota Division of Insurance, published summary of American Life & Security Corp.’s 2025 annual statement (NAIC 67253), legal notice printed in the Garretson Gazette, May 2026
- [8]Midwest Holding Inc., merger proxy statement DEFM14A (SEC, 16 Jun 2023)
- [9]Midwest Holding Inc., 8-K on completion of the merger (SEC, 21 Dec 2023)
Methodology
How we measure an insurer’s independence from its owner.
What it is
A credit rating tells you whether an insurer can pay its claims. It does not tell you how much the insurer depends on the firm that owns it. When one firm owns the insurer, manages its money, reinsures its policies and sells it investments, the policyholder’s money stays inside one group. This indicator shows how far that goes.
It is our own assessment, built only from public filings. It is not a credit rating and not financial advice.
The five indicators
| Indicator | What we measure | Low | Medium | High | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Money managed by the owner | Share of investments managed by the owner or its affiliates | Below 25% | 25–75% | Above 75% | Investment management agreement in the annual report or statutory filing |
| Business reinsured with own companies | Share of the insurer’s business reinsured with companies in the same group | Below 20% | 20–50% | Above 50% | Reinsurance note of the annual report; Schedule S of the statutory statement |
| Investments tied to the owner | Related-party investments as a share of all investments | Below 3% | 3–10% | Above 10% | Related-party note; affiliated holdings in Schedules D and BA |
| Fees paid to the owner | Investment management fees paid to the owner, as a share of invested assets | Below 0.2% | 0.2–0.5% | Above 0.5% | Related-party note of the annual report |
| Hard-to-sell investments | Investments that are not traded on a market and are hard to value or sell quickly: mortgage loans, asset-backed, mortgage-backed and CLO securities, and alternatives, as a share of investments | Below 20% | 20–40% | Above 40% | Investment tables of the annual report; Schedules D and BA |
How the overall result is set
Each indicator scores 2 for Low, 1 for Medium and 0 for High reliance on the owner. The five scores are added up, for a total between 0 and 10. A higher score means a more independent insurer.
When a filing does not publish what an indicator needs, that indicator is left out and the total is scaled to 10. We give an overall result only when at least three of the five indicators can be assessed.
- 7–10Independence: High
- 4–6Independence: Medium
- 0–3Independence: Low
Example: Athene scores High on three indicators and Medium on two, for a total of 2 out of 10. Its independence from Apollo is Low.
Limits
- Thresholds are our own. We will review them once enough insurers are covered to compare.
- Group filings can mix the insurer with its offshore reinsurers. We say which entity each figure covers.
- When a figure is not published, the indicator is marked as not assessed rather than guessed.
- Figures are as of the latest annual filing and can change during the year.