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.
Nassau
Formerly Phoenix Life Insurance Company. Nassau, a company that Golden Gate Capital’s funds set up in 2015, bought it in 2016. Today it sells almost nothing new and mostly looks after older life policies and annuities. Fortress and Golub hold minority stakes in Nassau with no votes, and Golden Gate is still the majority controlling owner.
- Controlling owner
- Golden Gate Capital
- Sells
- Deferred annuities in New York; mostly older life policies
- Owned since
- 2016
As of year-end 2025 filings, unless a figure says otherwise.
Is this your policy?
Company names
- Nassau Life Insurance Company (New York)
- Nassau Life and Annuity Company (Connecticut; issues the group’s annuities outside New York; called Nassau Life and Annuity Insurance Company in California)
- Nassau Life Insurance Company of Kansas (Kansas, Medicare Supplement)
Former names
- Phoenix Life Insurance Company (renamed 10 Oct 2018)
- Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Company (became a stock company in 2001)
- Delaware Life Insurance Company of New York (merged in, 5 Jul 2023)
- Foresters Life Insurance and Annuity Company (merged in, 8 Jul 2020)
- Pyramid Life Insurance Company (now Nassau Life Insurance Company of Kansas)
Products
- Phoenix whole life, universal life, variable universal life and term policies
- Phoenix closed block of participating policies (from the 2001 demutualization)
- Phoenix Accumulator Universal Life III and IV (taken over from PHL Variable)
- Nassau deferred annuities sold in New York
Quick check
| Independence factors | Figure | Reliance on the owner |
|---|---|---|
| Money managed by the ownerShare of its investments run by the owner’s own firm | At least half [1] [4] | Medium |
| Business reinsured with own companiesShare of its policies passed to reinsurers in the owner’s group | None [1] [4] | Low |
| Investments tied to the ownerShare of its investments put into the owner’s own funds and companies | 1.9% [1] [4] | Low |
| Fees paid to the ownerWhat it pays the owner each year to manage its money | $26m0.25% of its investments a year [1] [4] | Medium |
| Hard-to-sell investmentsLoans and complex securities that are not traded on a market | 31.2% [1] [6] [4] | 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 · owns all the voting shares of Golden GateDavid Dominik
- Delaware, United StatesFund manager (Golden Gate Capital)Golden Gate Private Equity, Inc.
- Cayman IslandsControlling owner · majority holderGGC Fund III (Golden Gate Capital Opportunity Fund, L.P. and related funds)
- Cayman IslandsHolding companyNassau Financial Group GP Ltd. / Nassau Financial Group, L.P.
- Delaware, United StatesHolding company · general partnerNassau Insurance Group Holdings GP, LLC
- Delaware, United StatesHolding companyNassau Insurance Group Holdings, L.P.
- Delaware, United StatesHolding companyThe Nassau Companies
- Delaware, United StatesHolding companyThe Nassau Companies of New York (formerly The Phoenix Companies, Inc.)
- New York, United StatesYour insurerNassau Life Insurance Company
The statement names David Dominik as the ultimate controlling person for every company in the group. The New York regulator says he owns all the voting shares of Golden Gate. Golden Gate’s exact economic share is not published. Fortress (about 7.7% in 2023), Golub, Wilton Re and Stone Point Credit hold minority stakes with no votes. The “100%” in Schedule Y is what the Golden Gate fund entities hold together, not Golden Gate’s share of Nassau. Fortress and Golub also manage money for the group. Each has an investment management agreement, and Fortress IMA Management is one of this insurer’s outside managers. Some steps in the chain are left out above, including Golden Gate’s fund management entities. Schedule Y shows Nassau Financial Group GP Ltd. as controlled by “Individuals” by contract.
Changes of control
- 2001
- Phoenix Home Life Mutual became a stock company under The Phoenix Companies, Inc. and was renamed Phoenix Life Insurance Company (25 Jun)
- 2016
- Bought by Nassau Reinsurance Group Holdings, set up in 2015 with $750m committed by Golden Gate Capital (20 Jun); Nassau put $100m of new capital into Phoenix
- 2018
- Renamed Nassau Life Insurance Company (10 Oct)
- 2020
- Foresters Life Insurance and Annuity Company merged into it (8 Jul)
- 2023
- Bought Delaware Life Insurance Company of New York and merged it in (1 and 5 Jul); Fortress took a 7.7% stake in Nassau with no votes (1 Sep)
Where your premium goes
- 1 · You payPremiumDeferred annuities in New York; mostly older life policies
- 2 · Your insurerNassau Life Insurance Co.New York
- 3 · Reinsured withMunich Re and other outside reinsurersNone in the same group
- 4 · Money managed byGolden Gate Capital, for part of it$26m in fees in 2025
- 5 · Invested in$10.3bn of assetsSee below
None of Nassau’s business is reinsured with its own companies. [1] [4]
What it invests in
Links back to the owner
Your insurer invests part of your premiums in businesses tied to Golden Gate Capital: its own funds, companies those funds own, and lenders it controls.
| Where the money went | How it is tied to Golden Gate Capital | Amount, end of 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| The Nassau Companies of New York bond | 7.45% bond of its own parent company, due 2032, reported as affiliated | $65m |
| Nassau CFO Fund | Residual interest, reported as affiliated | $31m |
| NCA Realty Fund I LP | Real estate fund run by Nassau CorAmerica, reported as affiliated | $30m |
| NCA Realty Fund II LP | Real estate fund run by Nassau CorAmerica, reported as affiliated | $21m |
| Nassau Private Credit Onshore Fund LP | Nassau Private Credit fund, reported as affiliated | $21m |
| NPC Credit Opportunities Onshore Fund LP | Nassau Private Credit fund, reported as affiliated | $19m |
| Balance Point LLC | Reported as affiliated | $7m |
| Affiliated asset-backed securities | Reported as affiliated in Schedule D | $5m |
| All related-party investments | 1.9% of total investments | $198m |
From its yearly statement to state regulators
$198mreported as affiliated in Nassau Life Insurance Company’s 2025 yearly statement: 1.9% of its bonds and other long-term investments.Found by our name match
$18mmore in Golden Gate Capital-linked holdings the statement does not flag.The $198m is the statement’s affiliated subtotals: $64.6m in Schedule D Part 1 Section 1, $5.1m in Section 2 and $128.4m in Schedule BA. The statement also reports $1,001m in its own subsidiaries Nassau ABS A-I and B-I as affiliated. These are not owner holdings and are left out. The audited statements say it also holds notes of Nassau special purpose vehicles run by Nassau Asset Management units: $176.5m face value, $147.9m fair value. Some of these may be in the affiliated lines above and some in unaffiliated lines; the split is not stated. Bonds named “NGC Note Issuer” ($39.6m) and NGC/NGCE CLO tranches ($10.6m) are reported as unaffiliated. NGC is also the name used by Nassau Global Credit, but the statement does not tie these holdings to it. Nassau Asset Management, an affiliate, was paid $25.7m in 2025 for managing investments ($27.0m in 2024). Outside managers handle less than half of the invested assets.
| Found by matching names | Why it is linked | Held by | Held, end of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Gate Capital Fund VII | Golden Gate Capital fund, by its name | Nassau Life Insurance Company | $5m |
| Fortress Lending Fund IV LP | Fund run by Fortress, a minority owner of Nassau | Nassau Life Insurance Company | $13m |
| Largest items the statement reports as affiliated | Held, end of 2025 |
|---|---|
| The Nassau Companies of New York 7.45% bond | $65m |
| Nassau CFO Fund | $31m |
| NCA Realty Fund I | $30m |
| NCA Realty Fund II | $21m |
| Nassau Private Credit Onshore Fund | $21m |
| NPC Credit Opportunities Onshore Fund | $19m |
| Balance Point LLC | $7m |
Sources
- [1]Nassau Life Insurance Company, annual statement 2025Five-Year Historical Data; Note 1
- [2]New York DFS, report on examination of Nassau Life Insurance Company as of 31 Dec 2022 (dated 29 Jan 2026)
- [3]Nassau and Golub Capital close minority equity investment, 7 January 2025
- [4]Nassau Life Insurance Company, audited statutory financial statements 2025 (SEC filing N-VPFS, April 2026)Shares of total invested assets ($10,265m in 2025, $10,628m in 2024), our calculation from the Summary Investment Schedule and Schedule D. The 2025 statement uses the NAIC’s new bond rules, so treat the comparison as rough. “Own investment subsidiaries” are Nassau ABS A-I and B-I, two investment vehicles the insurer set up in 2023. In 2025 they were reported in Schedule BA ($1,001m), and in 2024 as common stock ($711m). The 2025 private share counts them because they sit in Schedule BA; without them it is 21.5%. Policy loans are a quarter of the portfolio. The $3.1bn held in separate accounts is not included; Schedules D and BA; Five-Year Historical Data line 49; Our reading of Schedules D and BA
- [5]Nassau financial strength and ratings page
- [6]Nassau Life Insurance Company, annual statement 2024
- [7]Nassau and Fortress strategic partnership release, 5 September 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.