Uncategorized

Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company has announced the appointment of Glenn Capps as regional sales director for Tennessee and Kentucky within its Distribution department.

In his new role, Capps will be responsible for overseeing sales of the company’s workplace insurance products to brokers, enrollment partners and customers across the region. Capps has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry.

Prior to joining Boston Mutual Life, he held leadership and sales roles at companies including Horace Mann Insurance Company, Aflac, ABC Insurance Group, Great American Financial Resources, and Allstate Insurance Company.

He holds a Group Benefits Disability Specialist (GBDS) designation and is licensed and serves as a registered investment adviser representative.

“I’m thrilled to join Boston Mutual Life and offer the company’s competitive insurance portfolio to brokers and employers in Tennessee and Kentucky,” Capps said in a release. “With a focus on making things easier for our customers, I’m dedicated to leveraging my expertise to deepen our broker partnerships and help their clients find insurance solutions that meet their – and their employees’ – needs.”

LaunchTN adds to team

Launch Tennessee has announced several new hires and two promotions.

The public-private partnership that supports business start-ups has hired Spencer Bowers as the associate director of development, Donna Ford as Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium operations coordinator, Reed Hooks as a capital associate, Mariel Liggin as assistant director of technology and research development and Jenn Ross as senior manager of event planning and activation.

The organization also promoted Ashlin Smith to network and talent programs director and Jay Teamer to capital associate.

All of the recent hires and promotions will work from Nashville, with the exception of Teamer and Ford.

Bowers leads individual giving initiatives, partnerships and growth. Prior to joining LaunchTN, he built experience in development, nonprofit management and stakeholder relations.

In Ford’s new role, she supports the commercialization team with program implementation, data management, compliance, and internal process improvement. She joins LaunchTN following her retirement from the University of Tennessee after 14 years.

Hooks is responsible for the deployment of the InvestTN Fund, performing due diligence and managing the growing pipeline of early-stage startups. Prior to joining LaunchTN, Hooks worked in partnership development at a defense consulting firm.

Liggin’s role includes advancing early-stage tech development by supporting companies in securing federal research and development funding and navigating commercialization pathways.

Ross oversees all facets of live event production. She joins the team from the Centennial Park Conservancy.

“Having the right team in place really makes a difference in how an organization operates,” LaunchTN CEO Lindsey Cox said in the release. “I’m proud of the group we’re building. As a relatively small team, we punch above our weight because of our work ethic, positive company culture, appetite for innovation, and visible impact we have on the state.”

Capitol Christian Music Group adds new executive leadership

Capitol Christian Music Group has promoted three team members, in addition to adding one new hire, to its executive leadership team, according to Music Row.

Carlos Monnaco has been promoted to executive vice president of finance, and Garrett Davis has been named senior vice president of A&R, while CCMG radio promoter Elizabeth Brock has been elevated to vice president of national promotions, according to the publication.

Michael Fogarty has joined the company as vice president, digital marketing.

“I’m very excited to announce these promotions and new hires. I’ve seen firsthand their expertise, passion and excellence,” Capitol Christian Music Group President Brad O’Donnell told Music Row. “Each of them is key to CCMG’s future success, and I’m excited for the impact I know they are going to make in 2026.”

Send personnel info to canderson@nashvillepost.com.

The post On the Move: Dec. 4, 2025 appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.

A Connecticut judge signed off Tuesday on changes to a moratorium on benefits available to the financially troubled PHL Variable Insurance Co. – changes that could reduce universal life death benefits owed by up to $4.1 billion.

Judge Daniel J. Klau acknowledged the difficult situation facing the Connecticut insurance commissioner, who is acting as the designated rehabilitator overseeing PHL Variable. Andrew Mais had fulfilled that role since PHL was placed into rehabilitation in May 2024 due to a hazardous financial condition.

But Mais retired on Nov. 28 and Gov. Ned Lamont named Josh Hershman as interim commissioner. Hershman will take office Dec. 12, a spokesman for CID said.

The moratorium “strikes a balance by giving all policyholders access to cash distributions up to the amount that they would be guaranteed to receive in any liquidation, while also preserving PHL estate assets so that a rehabilitations can be pursued primarily for the benefit of policyholders,” Klau wrote, accepting the arguments of the rehabilitator.

More options for PHL policyholders

The rehabilitator previously explained how policyholders can access more of their benefits. Universal life policyholders have two options under the moratorium modification:

Reduction in the face amount of death benefits with downward premium adjustment prospectively.

Convert policy to a claim for a fixed amount (to be determined based on adjusted surrender value) with no ongoing premium obligation.

The modification is expected to offer fixed indexed annuity owners who have not activated their income rider or are currently receiving systematic withdrawals two alternatives:

Activate the income rider (to the extent available under the contract).

Receive a one-time surrender-charge free distribution of the “Free Withdrawal Amount” under the contract (typically this is approximately 10% of the contract’s account value).

Depending on how policyholders decide on the UL options, the results could cost PHL between $165 million and $175 million in premiums not paid, court documents say. However, if all UL policyholders take one of the two options there would be no immediate cash outlay from PHL and death benefits owed would be reduced by up to $4.1 billion.

“This would materially improve the solvency of the PHL estate,” the rehabilitator told the judge.

The cost of the FIA moratorium options is between $39 million to $52.3 million, court documents say.

‘Adversely impacted’

Klau rejected the objections from large policyholders who say the moratorium changes unfairly penalize them. SWS Holdings owns two Phoenix Generations UL Flexible Premium Adjustable Life Insurance policies worth $18 million in death benefits.

In its motion to intervene in the rehabilitation proceedings, SWS said they have been “adversely impacted” by the rehabilitator’s decision to cap policyholder death benefits or policy maturity benefits at $300,000.

That decision had the effect of dividing the PHL policyholders into two camps, SWS claimed: “under the cap” policyholders who will receive payment in full under their policies, and the “over the cap” policyholders, who “will receive less than what they bargained for when they purchased their PHL insurance policies.”

Judge Klau said the time has passed for those objections, which don’t relate to the moratorium changes, he wrote.

The troubled PHL and its subsidiaries, Concord Re and Palisado Re, were put in Mais’s control after a May 20, 2024 court order. PHL issued life insurance and annuity products and related supplemental contracts to policyholders nationwide. Concord and Palisado are captive insurers whose only business is the reinsurance of PHL’s liabilities.

Several companies are competing to take over or reinsure all or parts of the PHL Variable business, and the Connecticut regulators say they will decide which proposal to pursue by the end of December.

© Entire contents copyright 2025 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.

The post Judge approves PHL Variable plan; could reduce benefits by up to $4.1B appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE: SRG) (the “Company”), a national owner and developer of retail, residential and mixed-use properties, announced that today the Company has made a voluntary prepayment of $20.0 million toward its $1.6 billion term loan facility provided by Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska (“Berkshire Hathaway”).

With the prepayment, the Company has now repaid a total of $1.55 billion since December 2021 and $50 million of the term loan facility remains outstanding. The current prepayment will reduce Seritage’s total annual interest expense related to the term loan facility by approximately $1.4 million. The cumulative repayments since December 2021 have reduced Seritage’s total annual interest expense related to the term loan facility by approximately $110.0 million.

About Seritage Growth Properties

Prior to the adoption of the Company’s Plan of Sale, Seritage was principally engaged in the ownership, development, redevelopment, management and leasing of diversified retail and mixed-use properties throughout the United States. As of September 30, 2025, the Company’s portfolio consisted of interests in 13 properties comprised of approximately 1.3 million square feet of gross leasable area (“GLA”) or build-to-suit leased area and 198 acres of land. The portfolio encompasses eight consolidated properties consisting of approximately 0.8 million square feet of GLA and 113 acres and five unconsolidated entities consisting of approximately 0.5 million square feet of GLA and 85 acres.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “will,” or “approximately,” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: declines in retail, real estate and general economic conditions; risks relating to redevelopment activities; contingencies to the commencement of rent under leases; the terms of the Company’s indebtedness and other legal requirements to which the Company is subject; failure to achieve expected occupancy and/or rent levels within the projected time frame or at all; the impact of ongoing negative operating cash flow on the Company’s ability to fund operations and ongoing development; the Company’s ability to access or obtain sufficient sources of financing to fund the Company’s liquidity needs; environmental, health, safety and land use laws and regulations; and possible acts of war, terrorist activity or other acts of violence or cybersecurity incidents. For additional discussion of these and other applicable risks, assumptions and uncertainties, see the “Risk Factors” and forward-looking statement disclosure contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and any subsequent Form 10-Qs. While the Company believes that its forecasts and assumptions are reasonable, the Company cautions that actual results may differ materially. The Company intends the forward-looking statements to speak only as of the time made and do not undertake to update or revise them as more information becomes available, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251204553916/en/

Seritage Growth Properties
John Garilli

Interim Chief Financial Officer

(212) 355-7800

IR@Seritage.com

Source: Seritage Growth Properties

The post Seritage Growth Properties Makes $20 Million Loan Prepayment appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.

OLDWICK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” (Excellent) of Kansas City Life Insurance Company (Kansas City Life) [OTCQX: KCLI]. At the same time, AM Best downgraded the FSR to B+ (Good) from B++ (Good) and the Long-Term ICR to “bbb-” (Good) from “bbb” (Good) of Grange Life Insurance Company (Grange Life) (Columbus, OH). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is negative. Concurrently, AM Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable for the Long-Term ICR and affirmed the FSR of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term ICR of “bbb+” (Good) of Old American Insurance Company (Old American). The outlook of the FSR is stable. Kansas City Life and Old American are domiciled in Kansas City, MO. Grange Life and Old American are wholly owned subsidiaries of Kansas City Life.

The negative outlooks on the ratings of Kansas City Life and Grange Life, as well as the negative outlook on the Long-Term ICR of Old American, reflect the group’s pending litigation exposures associated with universal life cost-of-insurance policyowner charges, and whether Kansas City Life’s risk mitigation strategies will alleviate the remaining pressure on its capital growth plan and improve its risk-adjusted capitalization.

The ratings of Kansas City Life reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The group reported about $4 billion of admitted assets at the end of third-quarter 2025, highlighting its diverse product mix that includes individual and group life insurance, individual annuities and separate account variable annuity business, which provide operating scale and diversification benefits. The organization faces strong competition from larger peers. For example, high upfront commissions and incremental innovation and technology costs may be needed to support Old American’s premium volumes in the final expense market.

AM Best also will continue to monitor how legal costs impact the group’s overall balance sheet strength and ERM assessments. While a settlement agreement has been reached, which AM Best views favorably, additional accrued expenses in 2025 contributed to statutory operating losses and final court hearings to approve the settlement still needs to take place. The significant decline in statutory net income in the first nine months of 2025, was mostly offset by capital relief from a third-party structured reinsurance transaction executed by Old American with a well-rated counterparty, which AM Best also views favorably. The group’s strategic use of reinsurance with long-standing reinsurer partners transfers risk and reduces the impact of strain on capital levels; however, this is partially offset by higher reinsurance dependence that limits the group’s overall financial flexibility in the near term.

The ratings of Grange Life reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as adequate, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM.

The downgrading of the ratings of Grange Life reflect its decline in risk-adjusted capitalization as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and AM Best’s expectation that its weak level of risk-adjusted capital and modest amount of available capital will not return to historical levels. Grange Life continues to operate as a closed block of business, since the start of 2020, when all policies sold through Grange Life’s former agents began being written by Kansas City Life. Grange Life is licensed in just 15 states.

The ratings of Old American reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM. The ratings of Grange Life and Old American also reflect implicit support from the greater organization.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251204292591/en/

Stratos Laskarides

Senior Financial Analyst

+1 908 882 1995

stratos.laskarides@ambest.com

Wayne Kaminski, FLMI, MBA

Associate Director

+1 908 882 1916

wayne.kaminski@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 882 2310

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 882 2318

al.slavin@ambest.com

Source: AM Best

The post AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Kansas City Life Insurance Company; Downgrades Credit Ratings of Grange Life Insurance Company; Revises Issuer Credit Rating Outlook to Negative for Old American Insurance Company appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.

SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good), the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb” (Good) and the Vietnam National Scale Rating (NSR) of aaa.VN (Exceptional) of Bao Minh Insurance Corporation (BMI). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

These ratings reflect BMI’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also factor in the neutral impact from BMI’s majority owner, State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), which is the sovereign wealth fund of Vietnam.

BMI’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), which is expected to remain at the strongest level over the medium term. AM Best views BMI’s investment portfolio to be of moderate risk, with the majority of investments allocated toward term deposits and the remainder held in non-rated corporate bonds, equity investments, including a joint venture and real estate. Notwithstanding, the company maintains a moderate reinsurance dependence to support the underwriting of large limit risks and to manage its catastrophe exposure accumulation, although reinsurance credit risk is partially mitigated by its good quality reinsurance panel.

AM Best views BMI’s operating performance as adequate, supported by its five-year average return-on-equity ratio of 10.2% (fiscal-year 2020-fiscal-year 2024). Underwriting performance deteriorated in fiscal-year 2024, driven by losses from Typhoon Yagi and a higher expense ratio; although, BMI continued to report positive overall earnings in that same fiscal year. Subsequently, underwriting margins showed a recovery in the first nine months of 2025, following ongoing portfolio remediation actions. Investment returns remain a stable contributor to overall earnings with a five-year average net investment yield of 5.5% (fiscal-year 2020-fiscal-year 2024).

AM Best views BMI’s business profile as neutral. BMI is ranked as the third-largest non-life insurer in Vietnam based on 2024 direct premiums. The company’s underwriting portfolio is diversified by line of business and distribution channels. BMI’s business profile continues to benefit from business referrals from SCIC.

Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251204191471/en/

Xin Ya Ong

Financial Analyst

+65 6303 5024

xinya.ong@ambest.com

Chris Lim, CFA

Associate Director, Analytics

+65 6303 5018

chris.lim@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 882 2310

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist  

+1 908 882 2318

al.slavin@ambest.com

Source: AM Best

The post AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Bao Minh Insurance Corporation appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.

Prudential Financial ranked No. 1 in overall life insurance sales during the third quarter, with a market share of 5.7%, Wink, Inc. reported.

All life sales for the third quarter were more than $2.8 billion, down 3.9% compared to the previous quarter and up 3.2% compared to the same period last year, according to Wink’s Sales & Market Report. All life sales include fixed universal life, indexed UL, variable UL, indexed whole life, whole life, and term life product sales.

Prudential is a market leader in variable universal life insurance and CEO Andy Sullivan pointed to its industry dominant distribution as one reason why. Sullivan spoke last month during the insurer’s third-quarter earnings call.

Prudential also cited “disciplined pricing, expense management and optimizing in-force business” as reasons for its strong life insurance segment showing.

Transamerica Life’s Financial Foundation IUL II, an indexed universal life product, was the No. 1 selling product for all life sales, for all channels combined, for the second consecutive quarter, Wink reported.

All universal life sales for the third quarter were over $1.1 billion, down 2.6% compared to the previous quarter and up 2.2% compared to the same period last year. All universal life sales include fixed UL, indexed UL, and variable UL product sales.

Noteworthy highlights for all universal life sales in the third quarter included Prudential ranking as No. 1 in overall sales for all universal life sales, with a market share of 10.8%. Transamerica Life’s Financial Foundation IUL II, an indexed universal life product, was the No. 1 selling product for all universal life sales, for all channels combined, for the second consecutive quarter.

Non-variable universal life sales for the third quarter were $838.4 million, down 6.5% compared to the previous quarter and down 1.1% compared to the same period last year. Non-variable universal life sales include both fixed UL and indexed UL product sales.

Noteworthy highlights for total non-variable universal life sales in the third quarter included National Life Group retaining the No. 1 overall sales ranking for non-variable universal life sales, with a market share of 13.6%. Transamerica Life’s Financial Foundation IUL II, an indexed universal life product, was the No. 1 selling product for non-variable universal life sales, for all channels combined, for the second consecutive quarter.

Fixed Universal Life sales for the third quarter were $73 million, up 4.5% compared to the previous quarter and down 26.9% compared to the same period last year.

Items of interest in the fixed UL market included Nationwide retaining its No. 1 ranking in fixed universal life sales, with a 20.9% market share; Pacific Life Companies, John Hancock, Thrivent Financial, and Protective Life Companies completed the top five, respectively.

Nationwide’s Nationwide CareMatters II was the No. 1 selling fixed universal life insurance product, for all channels combined, for the fourth consecutive quarter. The top primary pricing objective of death benefit captured 34.5% of sales. The average fixed UL target premium for the quarter was $7,342, a decline of more than 5% from the prior quarter.

Indexed life sales for the third quarter were $768 million, down 7.4% compared with the previous quarter, and up 2.5% compared to the same period last year. Indexed life sales include both indexed UL and indexed whole life.

Key items of interest in the indexed life market included National Life Group maintaining its No. 1 ranking in indexed life sales, with a 14.8% market share; Transamerica, Pacific Life Companies, John Hancock, and Nationwide rounded out the top five, respectively.

Transamerica Life’s Financial Foundation IUL II was the No. 1 selling indexed life insurance product, for all channels combined, for the third consecutive quarter. The primary pricing objective for sales in the quarter was cash accumulation, which captured 73% of sales. The average indexed life target premium for the quarter was $12,447, a decline of nearly 4% from the prior quarter.

Sheryl J. Moore, CEO of both Moore Market Intelligence and Wink, Inc. said: “Indexed life sales will set a record in 2025. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues, given recent litigation with the product line.”

Variable Universal Life sales for the third quarter were $319.3 million, up 9.2% compared with the previous quarter and up 12.1% compared to the same period last year.

Items of interest in the variable universal life market included Prudential retaining the No. 1 ranking in variable universal life sales, with a 32.6% market share. Pacific Life Companies, Nationwide, John Hancock, and RiverSource Life completed the top five, respectively.

Pruco Life’s PruLife Custom Premier II was the No. 1 selling variable universal life product, for all channels combined for the quarter. The top primary pricing objective for sales this quarter was cash accumulation, capturing 65.7% of sales. The average variable universal life target premium for the quarter was $22,524, a decline of nearly 19.0% from the prior quarter.

“The market has been steadily increasing this year, and so has variable UL,” Moore said. “I anticipate that VUL sales will be up for the year.”

Whole life third quarter sales were over $1 billion, down 3.2% compared with the previous quarter, and up 8.8% compared to the same period last year.

Items of interest in the whole life market included the top primary pricing objective of final expense, capturing 73.3% of sales. The average premium per whole life policy for the quarter was $3,987, a decline of nearly 22% from the prior quarter.

Term life third-quarter sales were $574.4 million, down 7.7% when compared with the previous quarter and down 4.6% compared to the same period last year.

Items of interest in the term life market included Prudential ranking as No. 1 in term life sales, with a 6.2% market share. Pacific Life Companies, Corebridge Financial, Protective Life Companies, and Massachusetts Mutual Life Companies completed the top five, respectively.

Pruco Life’s Term Essential 10 was the No. 1 selling term life insurance product, for all channels combined, for the second consecutive quarter. The average annual term life premium per policy reported for the quarter was $2,230, a decline of nearly 11% from the previous quarter.

Wink now reports sales on all annuity lines of business, Moore said, as well as all life insurance product lines.

© Entire contents copyright 2025 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.

The post Prudential leads all life sellers as Q3 sales rise 3.2%, Wink reports appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.

OLDWICK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “aa” (Superior) of Minnesota Life Insurance Company and its subsidiary, Securian Life Insurance Company, together referred to as Securian Financial Insurance Group (Securian). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a+” (Excellent) of Securian Casualty Company (Securian Casualty). AM Best also has affirmed the FSR of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a-” (Excellent) of Securian Specialty Lines, Inc. (Securian Specialty) (Austin, TX). In addition, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a” (Excellent) of Canadian Premier Life Insurance Company (Canadian Premier) (Toronto, Ontario, Canada).

Lastly, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “a” (Excellent) of Securian Financial Group, Inc. (SFG) (Delaware) and the Long-Term Issue Credit Rating (Long-Term IR) of “a” (Excellent) of SFG’s $500 million, 4.8% senior unsecured notes, due 2048.

The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. All companies are headquartered in St. Paul, MN, except where specified.

The ratings reflect Securian’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

Securian’s risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), continues to be assessed at the strongest level, and supports the group’s insurance, business and investment risks. The BCAR recently experienced a slight downward trend, largely due to operating losses and recent acquisition activity, but is projected to recover in the near term. The group maintains favorable liquidity, with several sources available if necessary. Financial leverage remains modest and manageable, along with interest coverage metrics that are supportive of Securian’s current ratings. Invested assets are mainly of higher credit quality, with good sector diversification and modest allocations to higher risk assets. AM Best notes that Securian has allocations in commercial mortgage loans, but this exposure is partially mitigated by its strong mortgage underwriting program and overall good performance. Securian’s investment allocation into private corporate bonds is also experiencing continued growth. There was a restructured mortgage loan in 2024, Securian’s first since 2020, but there are no foreclosed or delinquent mortgages in the overall portfolio.

Securian remains highly diversified by earnings and distribution, while continuing to slowly expand its reach, most notably in Canada through Canadian Premier. The expected sales pipeline is positive for Securian with brand strategy getting traction with increased awareness.

Recent earnings have been mainly driven by improved mortality and some portfolio actions, as well as organic growth with rapidly rising interest rates that are now indicating an overall slowdown. The rapidly rising rates have resulted in losses on derivatives used to hedge variable products. Securian also demonstrated an overall declining trend in investment yield, which was impacted by one-time reinsurance transactions in prior years; however, this has begun to trend upward, though it is still relatively modest compared with the industry average. Securian plans additional product expansion in the near term with possible reinsurance transactions as well.

The ratings of Securian Casualty reflects its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM.

Securian Casualty’s balance sheet strength assessment is supported by the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by BCAR, favorable gross leverage measures that reflect low dependence on reinsurance and a conservative investment portfolio. However, balance sheet strength has been dampened by dividend payments to its parent. Operating performance has been profitable and bolstered by generally favorable underwriting and investment income, although the company’s metrics trail the credit composite average. Securian Casualty has demonstrated a sound understanding of the market it operates in; however, growth has been volatile and profitability has been challenged by market dynamics over the past year. The company has an established presence in the contractual liability market and continues to leverage its resources to support future product and market expansions. In addition, the ratings reflect enhancement given Securian Casualty ‘s integration within the group and its significant earning contributions, which provides added diversification to Securian.

The ratings of Securian Specialty reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM.

Securian Specialty began writing business in the third quarter of 2024 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Securian Casualty. The ratings consider Securian Specialty’s role as a member of Securian. Initially, Securian Specialty is offering products adjacent to what Securian Casualty currently offers to lenders. The company is leveraging Securian Casualty’s distribution network, as well as new distributors.

Securian Specialty’s very strong balance sheet strength is underpinned by projected strongest risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by BCAR, and a sound business plan. Operating performance metrics are expected to be comparable with those of the credit composite average. The ratings also consider the execution risk inherent in startup organizations and the potential challenges management faces to execute on the business plan.

The ratings of Canadian Premier reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM.

Risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by BCAR, increased to the strongest level from very strong, mainly due to the impact of additional capital growth and improvement in bond-credit clarifications as compared with the previous year when Sun Life’s financial institution and association business was acquired, as well as a surplus decline as some was consumed to support credit life growth. Canadian Premier is becoming increasingly prominent in the finance company and auto-dealer markets, as evidenced by recent higher premiums. The ratings also reflect the increasing strategic importance of Canadian Premier to its parent.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251204862491/en/

Igor Bass

Senior Financial Analyst–L/H

+1 908 882 1646

igor.bass@ambest.com

Janet Hernandez

Senior Financial Analyst–P/C

+1 908 882 2484

janet.hernandez@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 882 2310

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 882 2318

al.slavin@ambest.com

Source: AM Best

The post AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Securian Financial Group, Inc. and Its Subsidiaries appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.

Pacific Life Insurance Co. took over the top spot in life insurance new annualized premium through the first three quarters, LIMRA announced Wednesday.

PacLife new annualized premium through three quarters rose nearly 33% from 2024 to $840.6 million. The insurer has been in a tight battle with Northwestern Mutual in recent quarters. Northwestern reported a 2.2% increase in year-to-date premium to $832.6 million.

While PacLife led the industry in new premium, the insurer ranked 18th in policy count through the third quarter.

Overall, new annualized premium increased 14% year over year to $4.3 billion in the third quarter, according to LIMRA’s individual life insurance sales results, which represent 80% of the U.S. market. The number of policies sold rose 10% in the third quarter.

In the first nine months of 2025, new annualized premium totaled $12.7 billion, up 12% over the prior year. Policy count rose 6% year-to-date.

“It was another strong quarter for individual life insurance sales with whole life products driving overall policy sales growth. Interestingly, final expense sales were the determining factor of whole life growth, propelled by middle- and lower-income consumer demand,” said Sean Grindall, senior vice president and head of Life and Annuities, LIMRA and LOMA. “Overall, 2025 has been an extraordinary year with total premium growth expected to be in double-digits. The last time we witnessed this level of growth was in 2021 during the pandemic. Strong demand for accumulation products, the expansion of the simplified products and a robust final expense market spurred this year’s performance.”

LIMRA provided a breakdown by product category:

Whole life

For the fourth consecutive quarter, whole life sales posted positive growth. WL new premium totaled $1.5 billion in the third quarter, 11% above the prior year’s results. The number of WL policies sold surged 18% in the quarter, marking the biggest growth since at least 1990.

For the year, WL new premium climbed 6% to $4.6 billion, compared with the prior year’s results. Policy count grew 11% year over year. WL new premium represented 36% of the total life insurance market in the first nine months of 2025.

Indexed universal life

In the third quarter, indexed universal life new premium was just over $1 billion, up 16% year over year. The majority of IUL carriers reported sales growth in the quarter, including nine of the top 10 carriers. Expanded distribution, enhanced products and a strong equity market all contributed to the third quarter’s success. Policy count improved 8% in the third quarter.

“Over the past several quarters, IUL products have expanded to address two distinct markets: traditional products designed for affluent investors and simplified IUL products sold through distributors targeting middle-income customers,” said Karen Terry, corporate vice president and head of LIMRA Insurance Research. “Current economic conditions, including higher interest rates have made IUL cap and participation rates more attractive, while simplified products offer premium flexibility to customers looking for a permanent insurance product.”

Year-to-date, IUL new premium totaled a record-high $3.2 billion, 19% higher than the prior year’s results. There were 6% more IUL policies sold in the first nine months of 2025. IUL new premium represented 25% of the total U.S. life insurance market in the first three quarters of 2025.

Variable universal life

Variable universal life new premium surged 35% to $692 million in the third quarter, driving the premium growth for the quarter. The number of policies sold grew 4% in the quarter.

VUL new premium totaled $1.9 billion in the first months of 2025, up 30% year over year and policy count improved 4%. In the first three quarters of 2025, VUL held 15% of the total U.S. individual life insurance market.

Term life insurance

Term life new premium totaled $760 million, 5% above third quarter 2024 results. Policy count increased 5% in the quarter. Several carriers attribute their growth to rising consumer interest, underwriting automation and expanded distribution.

In the first nine months of 2025, new term premium increased 2% year over year to $2.3 billion. The number of policies sold grew 1% over the same period in 2024. Term life new premium represented 18% of total sales YTD.

Fixed universal life

Fixed universal life sales fell for the fourth consecutive quarter. New fixed UL premium contracted 4% in the third quarter to $245 million. Policy count fell 4% from the third quarter 2024.

In the first nine months of the year, fixed UL new premium was $726 million, 5% below prior year’s results. YTD policy count dropped 7%. Fixed UL new premium held 6% of the U.S. life insurance market in the first nine months of 2025.

The post PacLife takes top spot as LIMRA reports 14% rise in new life premium appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Star Mountain Capital, LLC (“Star Mountain”), a rapidly growing, employee-owned investment firm with ~$4.5 billion in assets under management (“AUM”), is pleased to announce that Jim Boyle has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor. Mr. Boyle will leverage his extensive leadership experience transforming major financial institutions to advance Star Mountain’s mission of creating long-term value in the lower middle-market.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251203032009/en/

James R. Boyle, Senior Advisor at Star Mountain Capital.

“Jim’s extensive experience navigating complex economic cycles and his deep understanding of diversification and portfolio resilience add tremendous value to our team,” said Brett Hickey, Founder & CEO of Star Mountain Capital. “His leadership and strategic insight will further enhance our ability to build durable, alpha-generating portfolios and create long-term value for our investors and portfolio companies.”

“Star Mountain’s mission of disciplined investing, partnership alignment and long-term value creation closely aligns with the principles that have guided my leadership throughout my career,” said Mr. Boyle. “I look forward to supporting the firm’s continued growth by contributing strategic, operational and risk-management insights gained from leading and transforming large, complex financial organizations.”

Jim is a veteran financial services executive who has led two major insurers, Foresters Financial and John Hancock, and delivered growth in both expansion and turnaround settings.

Mr. Boyle served as President and CEO at Foresters Financial. There, he transformed a mid-size fraternal insurer into a digitally enabled market contender. He rebranded the organization, introduced wellness-focused products, expanded omnichannel distribution and enabled same-day mobile transactions. He led four divestitures and acquired Canada Protection Plan, securing a top ten life-insurer position in Canada, and he oversaw the first $250 million subordinated debt offering by a fraternal insurer.

Prior to leading Foresters Financial, Mr. Boyle was President and CEO of John Hancock (the U.S. subsidiary of Manulife Financial), where he worked for more than 20 years.

During his tenure, Mr. Boyle advanced through a series of leadership roles, ultimately serving as Chairman, President and CEO of the entire U.S. business from 2008 to 2012. His responsibilities included overseeing the life and long-term care insurance, mutual funds, retirement plans, annuities and independent broker-dealer network businesses.

While at John Hancock, Mr. Boyle directed capital and product restructuring that restored earnings and strengthened the brand after the great financial crisis.

In addition to multiple director positions with John Hancock, Mr. Boyle has served on the boards of the prestigious Investment Company Institute and the American Council of Life Insurers, as well as on boards for university, charitable and philanthropic organizations. He currently serves as a Board Member of Mutual of Omaha and Senior Advisor to Blackstone Insurance Solutions. He is also a Director of the John Hancock mutual fund complex, which includes more than 200 funds and approximately $200 billion in assets under management.

Mr. Boyle earned his B.S. in Accounting, cum laude, from Boston College and is a CPA (inactive license).

As an aligned Senior Advisor, Mr. Boyle supports Star Mountain Capital with strategic growth initiatives, risk management insights, and industry relationships to help the firm and its portfolio companies maximize long-term value.

About Star Mountain Capital

With ~$4.5 billion in AUM (committed capital including debt facilities as of 11/30/2025), Star Mountain specializes in providing scalable and data-driven investment solutions across two core strategies:

• Direct Investments: Providing debt and equity capital to established lower middle-market businesses.
• Secondary Investments: Acquiring LP interests, direct assets, and making primary LP commitments.

Star Mountain’s investors include public and private pensions, insurance companies, commercial banks, endowments, foundations, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Employee-owned and sharing profits with 100% of its U.S. full-time employees, the firm prioritizes alignment of interests to maximize value for stakeholders.

Since 2010, Star Mountain has completed over 300 direct investments and 50 secondary/fund investments in the North American lower middle-market. The firm has been recognized as one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies and a Best Place to Work by Crain’s New York Business and Pensions & Investments.

For more information, visit www.starmountaincapital.com.

Legal Disclaimer:

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase interests in any investment product. Awards and recognitions by third-party rating agencies, companies or publications should not be interpreted as a guarantee of future results or performance. They should not be considered as an endorsement, recommendation or referral of Star Mountain Capital or its representatives by any client or third party. Rankings published by media and industry organizations are based on information provided by the recognized advisor. Additionally, readers should understand that past performance is not indicative of future results. Award descriptions and selection methodologies may vary.

Awards and Recognition Disclosure:

Star Mountain Capital’s awards and recognitions are based on third-party evaluations and criteria, which may be subjective. These honors do not imply a guarantee of future performance or an endorsement by current or past clients.

Ranking Methodologies:

• Crain’s Best Places to Work: Evaluations were conducted through a two-part process, assessing workplace policies, practices and employee satisfaction via surveys. Participation required a fee solely for survey processing purposes. More details are available at Crain’s eligibility criteria.
• Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work: Companies were evaluated based on surveys measuring employee engagement (75%) and employer policies (25%). Participation required a minimum of 20 U.S. employees and $100 million in discretionary assets under management. Further details can be found at P&I eligibility criteria.
• Inc. 5000 Rankings: Companies were ranked based on revenue growth from 2019 to 2022. To qualify, firms had to be U.S.-based, privately held and independent, with revenue thresholds of at least $100,000 in 2019 and $2 million in 2022. More details are available at Inc. 5000 criteria.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251203032009/en/

Media Contact:
John Polis – Media@StarMountainCapital.com

Source: Star Mountain Capital, LLC

The post James R. Boyle, Former John Hancock President and CEO, Joins Star Mountain Capital as Senior Advisor appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.

The following information was released by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC):

The life insurance market has undergone substantial changes in recent years, driven by prolonged low interest rates, evolving consumer preferences,more complex investment practices,and increaseduse ofreinsurance. These shifts have introduced new opportunities and risks, prompting state regulators, through the NAIC, toholisticallystrengthen oversight and modernizethesolvency framework. From enhanced capital requirements and transparency measures to updated scenario modeling and stress testingto tailoring reliance oncredit ratings, these actions ensure insurersremainfinancially sound and capable of meeting their promises to policyholders. Learn how regulators are adapting to protect consumers andmaintainmarket stability in a rapidly changing environment.

Understanding the Issue

Following the 2008financial crisis, the life insurance sector experienced major structural transformations driven by an extended period of low interest rates.Lower yields on traditional investments pressured insurers to seek alternative strategies to meet long-term obligations. This shiftinvolved a greater reliance on complex assets,private credit,andan increase intransactions involving private equity firms. This shift also broughtanincreaseduseofreinsurancetosupport the increasingdemand forretirementproductssuch asannuities.Whilethese strategies can enhance diversification and access to capital,growing the market to meet consumer demand,they also introduce liquidity risks and reduce transparency, creating potential vulnerabilitiesforpolicyholders and theinsurance industry.

Why It Matters

Consumers depend on insurers to honor their commitments during critical life events. If insurers assume excessive risk or lack sufficient reserves, their ability to pay claims could be compromised. Regulators have a mandate to ensure that innovation in investment practices does not undermine solvency or consumer confidence.

Regulatory Actions

State insurance regulators, through the NAIC, have implemented a comprehensive set of measures to strengthen oversight and mitigatetheserisks:

Enhanced Transparency and Reporting:New disclosure requirements provide regulators with detailed information on affiliated investments(i.e.investments between two companies within the sameorganization), private equity transactions, and complex holding structures, reducing the likelihood of hidden exposures.

Capital and Reserve Adequacy:Regulators have raised risk-based capital charges for higher-risk assets and adopted updated asset adequacy testing guidelines to ensure insurersmaintainsufficient financial resources to support liabilities.

Scenario Modeling and Stress Testing:The NAIC modernized its economic scenario generator (GOES) to incorporate low-interest-rate conditions and conducts annual stress tests on exposures such as collateralized loan obligations (CLOs).

TailoredRegulator Useof Credit Ratings:A new framework formore informedregulatory use ofand reliance oncreditratingsand, inlimitedcircumstances,allows regulators to challengeuse ofinvestmentratingsthatwould result incapital requirementsthat do notreflectunderlyingrisk.

Oversight of Private Equity and Reinsurance:Stateshaveimposedstricter conditions onacquisition of U.S. insurancecompanies byprivate equity, including collateral requirements and higher capital thresholds.More importantly,states continuallymonitorthe financial condition of insurers, with increased monitoring asnew or increasing risks areidentified.

Consumer Protection Outcomes

These initiatives aim to preserve policyholder security, improve market transparency, and reduceriskwhile allowing innovation and broadening market participation. By proactively adapting regulatory frameworks, state regulators reinforce the stability of the insurance sector and uphold their core mission: ensuring insurersremainreliable stewards of consumer premiums and capable of meeting obligations under all economic conditions.

LearnMore

TheNAIC’sCapital Markets Bureaumonitors developments in the capital markets globally and analyzes their potential impact on the investment portfolios of U.S. insurance companies. Please see the Capital Markets Bureau website atINDEX.

About the National Association of Insurance Commissioners

As part of our state-based system of insurance regulation in the United States, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) provides expertise, data, and analysis for insurance commissioners to effectively regulate the industry and protect consumers. The U.S. standard-setting organization is governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Through the NAIC, state insurance regulators establish standards and best practices, cond

The post NAVIGATING SHIFTS IN LIFE INSURANCE: HOW REGULATORS RESPOND TO MARKET EVOLUTION appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.