v3.25.4
Reinsurance
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2025
Reinsurance Disclosures [Abstract]  
Reinsurance Reinsurance
The following summarizes reinsurance amounts (in millions) recorded on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss), excluding amounts attributable to the indemnity reinsurance agreements with Protective and Swiss Re:

For the Years Ended December 31,
202520242023
Direct insurance premiums and fee income$14,385 $14,052 $13,661 
Reinsurance assumed34 90 91 
Reinsurance ceded(4,567)(7,790)(5,168)
Total insurance premiums and fee income$9,852 $6,352 $8,584 
Direct insurance benefits$10,856 $10,845 $10,178 
Reinsurance ceded(5,405)(8,745)(5,150)
Total benefits$5,451 $2,100 $5,028 
Direct market risk benefit (gain) loss$(350)$(2,819)$(2,309)
Reinsurance ceded127 1,881 1,174 
Total market risk benefit (gain) loss$(223)$(938)$(1,135)
Direct policyholder liability remeasurement (gain) loss$(154)$35 $(234)
Reinsurance ceded55 (55)67 
Total policyholder liability remeasurement (gain) loss$(99)$(20)$(167)

We and LLANY cede insurance to other companies. The portion of our life insurance risks exceeding each of our insurance companies’ retention limit is reinsured with other insurers. We seek annuity and life reinsurance coverage to limit our exposure to mortality losses and/or to enhance our capital and risk management. Reinsurance does not discharge us from our primary obligation to contract holders for losses incurred under the policies we issue. We evaluate each reinsurance agreement to determine whether the agreement provides indemnification against loss or liability. As discussed in Note 25, a portion of this reinsurance activity is with affiliated companies.

As of December 31, 2025, the policy for our reinsurance program was to retain no more than $20 million on a single insured life, with the retention on most policies being significantly below that. As the amount we retain varies by policy, we reinsured 25% of the mortality risk on newly issued life insurance contracts in 2025.

Reinsurance Exposures

We focus on obtaining reinsurance from a diverse group of reinsurers, and we monitor concentration as well as financial strength ratings of our reinsurers. Significant reinsurance agreements are discussed below.

LPINE

Effective June 30, 2024, we entered into a reinsurance agreement with Lincoln Pinehurst Reinsurance Company (Bermuda) Limited (“LPINE”), an affiliated reinsurer with reciprocal jurisdiction status in Indiana as of August 8, 2025, to reinsure certain blocks of in-force group protection and fixed annuity products (“Initial LPINE Treaty”). Effective December 31, 2024, the Initial LPINE Treaty was amended to cede additional fixed annuity products and to open the treaty to reinsure the flow of new fixed annuity policies. Effective July 1, 2025, we amended the Initial LPINE Treaty again to cede an additional block of group protection business.

The Initial LPINE Treaty was structured as coinsurance with funds withheld. As significant insurance risk was transferred for the block of group protection products, amounts recoverable from LPINE were $3.9 billion and $3.7 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We reported a deferred loss of $37 million and $14 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Fixed annuities are not life-contingent and do not contain significant insurance risk; therefore, we reported deposit assets of $9.6 billion and $7.9 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. In this coinsurance with funds withheld reinsurance agreement, we as the ceding company withhold, and therefore retain, the assets backing the reserves and deposit assets.

Effective January 1, 2025, we entered into a second treaty with LPINE to cede the flow of new level term life insurance policies.
We held investments with a carrying value of $13.7 billion and $11.5 billion in support of reserves associated with the LPINE agreement in a funds withheld arrangement as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, which consisted of the following (in millions):

As of December 31,
20252024
Fixed maturity AFS securities$11,272 $9,287 
Mortgage loans on real estate2,115 1,941 
Derivative investments218190
Accrued investment income118 97 
Total$13,723 $11,515 

LNBAR

We reinsure blocks of business to LNBAR, an affiliated reinsurer. Effective October 1, 2023, we entered into an agreement with LNBAR that was structured as a coinsurance treaty, with some assets withheld, for certain blocks of in-force MoneyGuard® products. As significant insurance risk was transferred for the MoneyGuard blocks, amounts recoverable from LNBAR were $14.1 billion and $14.2 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We reported a deferred gain on the transaction of $3.9 billion and $4.1 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We amortized $174 million and $159 million of the deferred gain during 2025 and 2024, respectively. We held other investments and cash and invested cash with a carrying value of $1.5 billion and $1.4 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, in support of reserves associated with this agreement.

LNBAR has funded trusts to support reserves ceded by us of which the balance in the trusts changes as a result of ongoing reinsurance activity and totaled $12.8 billion and $12.2 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Fortitude Re

Effective October 1, 2023, we entered into a reinsurance agreement with Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“Fortitude Re”), an authorized Bermuda reinsurer with reciprocal jurisdiction reinsurer status in Indiana, to reinsure certain blocks of in-force UL with secondary guarantees (“ULSG”) and fixed annuity products, including group pension annuities. Fortitude Re represents our largest unaffiliated reinsurance exposure as of December 31, 2025.

The agreement between us and Fortitude Re was structured as a coinsurance treaty for the ULSG and fixed annuities blocks. As significant insurance risk was transferred for ULSG products and life-contingent annuities, amounts recoverable from Fortitude Re were $10.6 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024. We reported a deferred loss on the transaction of $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We amortized $92 million and $90 million of the deferred loss during 2025 and 2024, respectively. Annuities that are not life-contingent do not contain significant insurance risk; therefore, we reported deposit assets for these contracts of $2.4 billion and $3.0 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Resolution Life

Effective October 1, 2021, we entered into a reinsurance agreement with Security Life of Denver Insurance Company (a subsidiary of Resolution Life that we refer to herein as “Resolution Life”) to reinsure liabilities under a block of in-force executive benefit and universal life policies. The agreement was structured as coinsurance for the general account reserves and modified coinsurance for the separate account reserves. Amounts recoverable from Resolution Life were $4.8 billion and $4.9 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Resolution Life has funded trusts, the balances of which change as a result of ongoing reinsurance activity to support the business ceded, that totaled $3.6 billion and $3.8 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Commonwealth

Effective January 15, 2020, we entered into a coinsurance agreement with Commonwealth Annuity and Life Insurance Company (“Commonwealth”) to reinsure fixed annuity products, which resulted in a net deposit asset of $11.5 billion and $9.5 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Commonwealth has funded trusts, the balances of which change as a result of ongoing reinsurance activity to support the business ceded, that totaled $11.6 billion and $9.0 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Protective

The sale of individual life and individual and group annuity business acquired from Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston completed May 1, 2018 resulted in amounts recoverable from Protective of $8.1 billion and $8.4 billion as of December 31, 2025 and
2024, respectively. Protective has funded trusts, the balances of which change as a result of ongoing reinsurance activity, to support the business ceded, that totaled $9.3 billion and $9.9 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Athene

Effective October 1, 2018, we entered into a modified coinsurance agreement with Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) to reinsure fixed annuity products, which resulted in a deposit asset of $1.7 billion and $2.1 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We held assets in support of reserves associated with the Athene transaction in a modified coinsurance investment portfolio, which consisted of the following (in millions):

As of December 31,
20252024
Fixed maturity AFS securities$124 $142 
Trading securities1,121 1,385 
Equity securities43 42 
Mortgage loans on real estate199 232 
Derivative investments24 46 
Other investments56 54 
Cash and invested cash100 147 
Accrued investment income14 18 
Other assets
Total$1,683 $2,067 

The portfolio was supported by $47 million of over-collateralization and a $50 million LOC as of December 31, 2025. Additionally, we recorded a deferred gain on business sold through reinsurance related to the transaction with Athene and amortized $18 million, $26 million and $33 million of the gain during 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Swiss Re

Our reinsurance operations were acquired by Swiss Re in December 2001 through a series of indemnity reinsurance transactions. As such, Swiss Re reinsured certain liabilities and obligations under the indemnity reinsurance agreements. As we are not relieved of our liability to the ceding companies for this business, the liabilities and obligations associated with the reinsured policies remain on the Consolidated Balance Sheets with a corresponding reinsurance recoverable from Swiss Re, which totaled $1.4 billion and $1.3 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Swiss Re has funded a trust, with a balance of $597 million and $617 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, to support this business. In addition to various remedies that we would have in the event of a default by Swiss Re, we continue to hold assets in support of certain of the transferred reserves. These assets consist of those reported as trading securities and certain mortgage loans.

Hannover Life

Effective October 1, 2023, we entered into a reinsurance agreement with Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America (Bermuda) Ltd. (“Hannover Life”) to reinsure certain group annuity contracts, which resulted in net deposit asset of $4.5 billion and $3.0 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Credit Losses on Reinsurance-Related Assets

In connection with our recognition of an allowance for credit losses for reinsurance-related assets, we perform a quantitative analysis using a probability of loss approach to estimate expected credit losses for reinsurance recoverables, inclusive of similar assets recognized using the deposit method of accounting. Our allowance for credit losses was $91 million and $95 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.