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.
Group 1001 (Delaware Life)
Formerly Sun Life’s US company, controlled by Mark Walter through TWG Global. In 2026 it restated its 2024 related-party investments from $2.3bn to $11.6bn, during a federal investigation.
- Controlling owner
- Mark Walter (TWG Global)
- Sells
- Fixed index and fixed annuities, pension risk transfer, funding agreements
- Owned since
- 2013
As of year-end 2025 filings, unless a figure says otherwise.
Is this your policy?
Company names
- Delaware Life Insurance Company (Delaware; not licensed in New York)
- Delaware Life and Annuity Company (Delaware, subsidiary of Delaware Life)
- Clear Spring Life and Annuity Company (Delaware)
- Gainbridge Life Insurance Company (Delaware, subsidiary of Clear Spring Life and Annuity)
Former names
- Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.S.) (renamed Delaware Life in 2014)
- Guggenheim Life and Annuity Company (renamed Clear Spring Life and Annuity in 2022)
- Clear Spring Life Insurance Company, Texas (renamed Gainbridge Life in 2022)
- Delaware Life Insurance Company of New York, formerly Sun Life Insurance and Annuity Company of New York (sold to Nassau Financial Group in 2023; no longer in the group)
Products
- Growth Pathway
- Target Income Choice
- Target Growth 10
- Retirement Stages Select
- TruePath Income
- PrimeStart Bonus 10
- Momentum Growth
- Momentum Growth Plus
- DualTrack Income
- TrackGuard+
- Apex MYGA
- Pinnacle Plus MYGA
- Older variable annuities: Accelerator Prime, Futurity, Regatta, Masters, Keyport, Columbia All-Star, Compass
Quick check
| Independence factors | Figure | Reliance on the owner |
|---|---|---|
| Money managed by the ownerShare of its investments run by the owner’s own firm | More than halfin-house [1] [9] [3] | Medium |
| Business reinsured with own companiesShare of its policies passed to reinsurers in the owner’s group | 0% [1] [9] [3] | Low |
| Investments tied to the ownerShare of its investments put into the owner’s own funds and companies | 40.7% [1] [4] [9] [3] | High |
| 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 | 30.0% [1] [10] | Medium |
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 · holds all voting interests in the top companiesMark R. Walter
- Delaware, United StatesHolding companies (via DLICM, LLC, DLHPII Equity Participation Company and TWF Global Holdings)TWG Global Holdings, LLC and TWG Global Parent, LLC
- Delaware, United StatesParent company (“TWG Global”)TWG Global, LLC
- Delaware, United StatesHolding companyTWG Financial Holdings, LLC
- Delaware, United StatesGroup holding company · 91.89% owned by TWG Financial HoldingsGroup 1001, Inc.
- Delaware, United StatesInsurance holding companyGroup 1001 Insurance Holdings, LLC
- Delaware, United StatesHolding companiesDLIC Holdings, LLC and DLIC Sub-Holdings, LLC
- Delaware, United StatesYour insurerDelaware Life Insurance Company
Walter’s companies hold all the votes at the top of the group, but the June 2026 statement gives them economic interests of 15.12% and 5.61% in TWG Global Holdings. It does not name the other economic owners, or the owners of the remaining 8.11% of Group 1001, Inc. When Walter and Boehly bought the company in 2013, the regulator described them as “officers and non-controlling owners of Guggenheim Partners, LLC”. Guggenheim Partners Investment Management manages $2.6bn (5.8%) of Delaware Life’s investments. Guggenheim-linked firms also provide services, and the statements list Guggenheim as a related party. Two Sammons insurers hold $150m of Delaware Life’s surplus notes. The Delaware regulator treats them as related parties “given Mr. Walter’s relationship with Sammons Enterprises, Inc. through his affiliation with Guggenheim Partners, LLC”.
Changes of control
- 2013
- Sun Life Financial sells Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.S.) for about $1.35bn to Delaware Life Holdings, controlled by Mark Walter and Todd Boehly (1 Aug)
- 2014
- Renamed Delaware Life Insurance Company (14 Jul)
- 2016
- Boehly sells his interest, leaving Walter as sole controlling party
- 2021
- Group 1001 buys Guggenheim Life and Annuity and its subsidiary from Sammons (approved 3 Nov, closed 12 Nov). These become Clear Spring Life and Annuity and Gainbridge Life
- 2023
- Sells Delaware Life Insurance Company of New York to Nassau Financial Group
Where your premium goes
- 1 · You payPremiumFixed index and fixed annuities, pension risk transfer, funding agreements
- 2 · Your insurerDelaware Life Insurance Co.Delaware (offices in Zionsville, Indiana)
- 3 · Reinsured withHannover Life Re, New Reinsurance Company and othersMostly outside reinsurers; affiliate DL Reinsurance takes only variable annuity hedging risk
- 4 · Money managed byMark Walter (TWG Global), for part of itFees not published
- 5 · Invested in$43.9bn of assetsSee below
0.2% of the business written by Group 1001 (Delaware Life)’s US companies is reinsured with its own companies in Not stated. [1] [9]
What it invests in
Links back to the owner
Your insurer invests part of your premiums in businesses tied to Mark Walter (TWG Global): its own funds, companies those funds own, and lenders it controls.
| Where the money went | How it is tied to Mark Walter (TWG Global) | Amount, end of 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Private-credit bonds | Returns depend mainly on affiliates; restated as related party; counterparties not named | $12.6bn |
| Short-term private-credit investments | Returns depend mainly on affiliates | $3.24bn |
| Short-term loans to affiliates | Includes a $115m demand note from Clear Spring Health Insurance Company | $476m |
| Other invested assets | Returns depend mainly on affiliates | $510m |
| Trust notes | Backed by funding agreements and private credit; returns depend mainly on affiliates | $326m |
| Notes backed by separate account funding agreements | Returns depend mainly on affiliates | $308m |
| DL Investment Holdings 2015-1, LLC preferred units | Affiliated holding company; 6% preferred | $246m |
| Other affiliate bonds, mortgage loans and other invested assets | Direct investments in affiliates | $148m |
| All related-party investments | 40.7% of total investments | $17.9bn |
The total also counts holdings not named.
From its yearly statement to state regulators
$469mreported as affiliated in Delaware Life’s 2025 yearly statement: 1.4% of its bonds and other long-term investments.Found by our name match
$836mmore in Mark Walter (TWG Global)-linked holdings the statement does not flag.The $469m is the statement’s affiliated subtotals: $14m in Schedule D Part 1 Section 1, $66m in Section 2 and $389m in Schedule BA. Outside those schedules it reports $246m of preferred units in DL Investment Holdings 2015-1, $36m of shares in subsidiaries and $487m of affiliated short-term investments, including a $115m note from Clear Spring Health Insurance Company. Note 10 adds $432m of related-party investments without naming them. This statement was filed before the restatement and does not mention the investigation. The audited statements published in June 2026 put investments tied to related parties at $17.9bn at the end of 2025, and Delaware Life says the additional ones were left out of this annual statement. Schedule BA also lists 11 collateral loans as unaffiliated, from Blackfin Capital Holdings to Walden Financial. Together they come to $509.7m, exactly the amount of other invested assets that the audited statements restated as depending mainly on affiliates. Their names do not show a link, so we do not count them as matched.
| Found by matching names | Why it is linked | Held by | Held, end of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDIF GCF CLO Issuer LLC, Series 2022-1 (six classes) | “PDIF” is the statement’s own short name for PDIF Feeder I, LLC, which it calls an affiliate. The June 2026 quarterly statement lists PDIF GCF CLO Issuer 2022-1, LLC inside the Group 1001 holding company system | Delaware Life | $438m |
| Guggenheim Pvt Debt Agg II LP | The statement lists Guggenheim Partners Investment Management as a related party, and the group includes TWG Guggenheim Investment Holdings, LLC | Delaware Life | $135m |
| Guggenheim CLOs, Guggenheim Corporate Funding and other Guggenheim-named notes and funds (22 lines) | Same Guggenheim link | Delaware Life | $164m |
| Eldridge Industries LLC notes (four) | Schedule Y lists TWG Eldridge Holdings, LLC in Mark Walter’s group. The statement does not say how much of Eldridge it holds | Delaware Life | $79m |
| Rainforest Borrower Trust | Schedule D Part 3 lists the December 2025 purchase as affiliated, but Part 1 lists the holding as unaffiliated. Schedule Y lists Rainforest Funding Trust as a Delaware Life subsidiary | Delaware Life | $20m |
| Largest items the statement reports as affiliated | Held, end of 2025 |
|---|---|
| Clear Spring PC Holdings, LLC | $185m |
| DL Investment Holdings 2016-1 LLC | $113m |
| Woodmere Finance Comp Trust | $66m |
| DL Investment Holdings 2016-2 LLC | $40m |
| Bahia Energy Holdings LLC (collateral loan) | $35m |
| DK Investment Holdings LP | $17m |
| Mylo LLC | $14m |
Sources
- [1]Delaware Life Insurance Company, audited statutory financial statements 2025 and 2024, restated related-party disclosures (in Delaware Life Variable Account G, Form N-VPFS/A, SEC, 29 Jun 2026)
- [2]Delaware Department of Insurance, examination report of Delaware Life Insurance Company as of 31 Dec 2023 (adopted 23 Jun 2025)
- [3]Delaware Life Insurance Company, quarterly statement as of 30 Jun 2026 (Schedule Y)
- [4]Delaware Life, Affiliated Investments Reduction Plan & Control Remediation Plan update (Sep–Oct 2026)Five-Year Historical Data, lines 30 and 31; Notes 2, 3 and 4. The company’s own table adds $374m of investments in subsidiaries, which gives $18,251m (42%). It says $0.9bn was repaid in Q2 2026, and the share was 39% at 30 Jun 2026; Our reading of Schedules D and BA
- [5]Delaware Department of Insurance, examination report of Gainbridge Life Insurance Company as of 31 Dec 2023
- [6]Delaware Department of Insurance, examination report of Delaware Life and Annuity Company as of 31 Dec 2023
- [7]Delaware Life, company website (ratings, products)
- [8]Delaware Life, all annuities page (current and legacy products)
- [9]Delaware Life Insurance Company, NAIC annual statement 2025 (as filed, before the June 2026 restatement)
- [10]Delaware Life Insurance Company, NAIC annual statement 2024Our calculation: shares of total cash and invested assets ($43,883m in 2025, $32,420m in 2024), from the audited statements. 2025 bonds use the NAIC’s new bond rules; 2024 bonds use the old categories, so government includes all special-revenue bonds (mainly agency mortgage bonds and municipal bonds). “Bonds tied to affiliates” are the bonds the company now reports as affiliated, mainly private credit whose returns depend mostly on affiliates. 2024 is the restated figure. A further $3.2bn of such private credit sits in cash and short-term (2025). The private share counts mortgage loans, non-agency asset-backed bonds including CLOs, and other invested assets. It leaves out the $12.9bn of affiliated private-credit corporate bonds. For 2024 (30.9%) we use the 2024 annual statement: corporate and affiliated mortgage-backed and other structured bonds stand in for non-agency asset-backed bonds, so the two years are close but not identical
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.