Washington, D.C. (March 5, 2019) – The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) commends the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center For Capital Markets Competitiveness for its report released Tuesday, The Role of Insurance Investments in the U.S. Economy.

The report noted that insurance company investments support businesses, households, and local governments and are an important source of stability to financial markets. The report also highlighted the significant contributions that insurers make to the corporate bond market, stating, “Life insurers’ public corporate bond investments alone funded about $120 billion of business investment in needed plants,  equipment, and other capital expenditures in 2017.”

As of December 2017, insurance companies’ total assets were roughly $5.8 trillion, including 21 percent of all corporate bonds.

“Insurance investments matter. They support job creation, the nation’s infrastructure, real estate growth and corporate bond market liquidity, among many other things.” said ACLI President and CEO Susan Neely, who moderated a panel discussion about the report and insurance regulation at the Chamber of Commerce. Tom Sullivan, Associate Director, Division of Supervision and Regulation at the Federal Reserve Board, NAIC CEO Mike Consedine and Steven Seitz, Director, Federal Insurance Office, U.S. Department of the Treasury, participated in the panel as well.

“When evaluating a potential investment, insurers and regulators agree that consumer protection must always come first. We respect the crucial role that regulators have, and we appreciate their willingness to discussing new types of investments that will allow insurers to continue to invest in America. Life insurers are committed to investing in our country’s economic strength while striving to make financial and retirement security available to all American families.”

The complete report is available here.

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) advocates on behalf of 280 member companies dedicated to providing products and services that promote consumers’ financial and retirement security. 90 million American families depend on our members for life insurance, annuities, retirement plans, long-term care insurance, disability income insurance, reinsurance, dental and vision and other supplemental benefits. ACLI represents member companies in state, federal and international forums for public policy that supports the industry marketplace and the families that rely on life insurers’ products for peace of mind. ACLI members represent 95 percent of industry assets in the United States.

To learn more, visit acli.com and our blog, ACLI Perspectives, at acli.com/perspectives.

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