Life Insurance Carriers NAICS 524113

Jun 2, 2026 - Wall Street Using Company-Owned Insurance Firms As Buyers

• Private-equity firms are increasingly using their subsidiary or affiliated life insurance companies as buyers for their own investment products. The trend is raising concerns among financial regulators about conflicts of interest and risks to policyholders. Affiliated investments at US life insurers reached $413 billion in 2025 - double the 2020 level - with firms such as Apollo, Brookfield and KKR steering large volumes of private credit into insurer portfolios. Critics warn that asset managers could overcharge insurers or offload risky, illiquid assets, while insurers say they maintain safeguards and benefit from privileged access to attractive deals. Regulators in the US and abroad are scrutinizing the trend, especially as these investments make up a growing share of insurers’ core bond holdings and often involve complex asset-backed securities.
• US insurance companies have quietly amassed nearly $1 trillion in private-credit investments, and regulators are struggling to keep pace with the risks this creates. The core problem is that private letter ratings (used by insurers to justify lower capital requirements) have been systematically inflated, in some cases by as many as six notches above what the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) considered appropriate. This means insurers may be holding riskier assets than their books suggest, with insufficient financial cushions to cover potential losses. The consequences for the industry could include heightened federal scrutiny via planned Treasury Department meetings with state regulators, potential tightening of rating oversight, and new NAIC authority to challenge suspiciously high private ratings. For life and annuity companies in particular (which hold the bulk of these assets) the era of using favorable private ratings to minimize capital reserves may be ending.

• The US individual life insurance market isn’t slamming the brakes in 2026, but it’s definitely easing off the gas after a solid 2025 fueled by indexed and variable universal life products, according to LIMRA forecasts. Industry growth should settle to a more normal 2-6% a year through 2027, if inflation fades and rates drift lower. Term life should keep inching ahead, whole life grows slowly with more action in short-pay and final-expense policies, and fixed universal life stays squeezed by pricing pressures. Indexed universal life remains the star of the lineup, just without the breakout buzz of last year. LIMRA recommends insurers spread their bets, simplify products and chase steady demand rather than expecting another stellar year.
• The US age-adjusted death rate declined 3.8% in 2024 to 722 deaths per 100,000 people, down from 750 in 2023, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The nation recorded roughly 3.07 million deaths, marking continued improvement after pandemic-era highs. According to the CDC, the leading causes of death remained heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injuries, while COVID-19 dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since 2020. Mortality declined across most demographic groups, including men, women, and all major racial and ethnic categories, although notable disparities persist. Black non-Hispanic Americans had the highest death rate at 884 per 100,000, while Hispanic Americans had the lowest at 578. Mortality from respiratory diseases and diabetes also fell slightly, reflecting broader improvements in public health and healthcare access. The data suggest the US is returning closer to pre-pandemic mortality trends, though aging populations and chronic disease burdens continue to shape long-term risks.