PHL Variable Insurance Company: Negative Surplus Position
PHL Variable Insurance Company’s (PHLV) filed its year-end 2023 regulatory financial statement in late April 2024, seven weeks after the required filing date of March 1. The company reported a negative surplus1 position of -$92 million at 12/31/23, which was a $177 million deterioration from +$85 million at 12/31/22. The deterioration in surplus was driven by a large after-tax operating loss of $162 million incurred in 2023, which was not balanced by any capital support from PHLV’s parent company.
U.S. Life Insurer Exposure to Less Liquid Bonds – YE2023
Life insurers have long held a mix of assets with various liquidity profiles, from the very liquid to the nearly illiquid. In this review we highlight some of the less liquid components of life insurer bond portfolios.
Trends in Individual Annuities
In this review, we concentrate on the recent changes in the annuity product landscape
ALIRT Research – Three Weddings (and a Funeral?)
It is commonly held that the present six-year hard market pricing cycle has been a boon for U.S. commercial lines insurers. And this is certainly true, generally. But we must not forget that hard market conditions also generally arise after periods of extended soft pricing behavior and that the latter can result in substantial financial deterioration. It is, in fact, this financial deterioration that ultimately impairs insurers’ balance sheets and drives the “fear” phase of the rate cycle and hence higher rates and tighter terms and conditions.
ALIRT Industry Update: U.S. Life Review Nine Months 2023
Our six month 2023 financial highlights based on insurers’ statutory financial statements.
Badger Mutual Faces Severe A.M. Best Downgrade – Regional Property/Auto Insurers Under Pressure
The worsening plight of a number of smaller regional property & casualty insurers was on full display today as A.M. Best downgraded Milwaukee-based Badger Mutual Insurance Company (BMIC) three pegs from B+ (6th highest) to C++ (9th highest). This is remarkable given that the rating agency had just lowered BMIC’s rating from A- to B+ two months before.
Life Insurer Exposure to Alternative Investments
This review analyzes alternative investments for U.S. life insurers.
ALIRT Research – Fronting Insurers Update
Given the recent bombshell regarding fraudulent collateral issues at insurtech Vesttoo – a development which follows closely upon a $60 million collateral dispute write-down by Trisura in 4Q2022 – we provide below an update of ALIRT’s Fronting Company composite as of YE2022 and interim 6 Month 2023 data.
Below Investment Grade Bond Exposure for Life Insurers – September 2023
Below Investment Grade (BIG) bonds consist of all bonds rated BB+/Ba1 or lower by public rating agencies. In the statutory financial statement, there are four different “Classes” of BIG bonds (and their S&P ratings):
Largest U.S. Surplus Lines Carriers Underperforming the Broader Commercial Lines Market
Last month, A.M. Best released its annual study of the U.S. surplus lines market. We thought this a perfect opportunity to review the financial quality of the largest domestic E&S insurers, per ALIRT’s quarterly credit analyses, as of the six month 2021 statutory filings.