It is disappointing to read a Financial Times article on life insurers with minimal insight from the life insurance industry (“Life and annuity industry is moving into riskier assets” April 20, 2026). Readers deserve to know key facts about life insurers’ private credit investments, which were glaringly absent from this article.

Doom and gloom speculation about narrow categories of insurance assets reflects a misunderstanding of the life insurance industry and its long-term investment approach. Consistent evidence from highly reputable sources indicates that life insurers’ investments, including investment-grade private credit, do not pose a fundamental risk to policyholders, insurers or the financial system.

Last week, a top official with the International Monetary Fund stated that private credit represents a minor portion of life insurers’ overall investments and does not threaten global financial stability. This view aligns with a recent S&P Global analysis that found insurers are responsibly managing the liquidity and complexity risks associated with private credit.

As noted in the S&P report, life insurers’ long-term focus and the “sticky” nature of U.S. life insurer obligations allow them to buy and hold long-term investments until maturity. And the structure of life insurers’ liabilities along with product features and regulatory guardrails cuts against accusations that life insurers are vulnerable to bank-like runs or fire sales.

Unlike banks, insurers operate with long-term obligations, full reserves for every policy, and regulatory safeguards that ensure stability. These structural differences — combined with prudent product design— make life insurers among the most resilient financial institutions in the U.S.

Measures taken by state regulators since the financial crisis of 2008 have strengthened this resilience.  Working through the NAIC, regulators have implemented new tools to gain greater visibility into insurers' assets, parent companies, affiliated asset managers, and reinsurance arrangements. In 2021, during the peak of the COVID pandemic, life insurers validated their resilience by paying out a record $100 billion in benefits while maintaining capital above regulatory requirements.

By 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 or older, and by 2050, the number of U.S. centenarians is projected to quadruple.  Life insurers are providing long-term financial guarantees that people increasingly want and need. Prudent investments and strong regulatory oversight ensure that companies are able to fulfill these promises far into the future.

David Chavern
President and CEO
American Council of Life Insurers