June 20, 2025 Reinsurance

AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Everlake Life Group Members

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a+” (Excellent) of Everlake Life Insurance Company and Everlake Assurance Company, collectively known as Everlake Life Group (Everlake Life). Both companies are domiciled in Northbrook, IL. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Everlake Life’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

Everlake Life is ultimately owned by Everlake Holdings, LP (Everlake) (Cayman Islands), and Blackstone Inc. is the ultimate parent company of the general partner of the vehicle that owns the interests of Everlake. In 2024 and the first half of 2025, the group executed further on its strategy by growing premiums and assets under management by over $1 billion through a number of block and flow assumed reinsurance deals, which enhanced the overall scale and diversity of its operations. While Everlake has some outstanding senior debt and Everlake Life Insurance Company has access to borrowings through the Federal Home Loan Bank, Everlake Life’s balance sheet is well-positioned to support its current business risks and future growth strategy. Blackstone Inc. is anticipated to continue to support Everlake via investment expertise and access to capital, as has been demonstrated over the past few years since Everlake Life was acquired from The Allstate Corporation in 2021.

Everlake Life reported approximately $275 million of statutory net income in 2024, and around $325 million in the first quarter of 2025, despite the group facing substantial competition as it executes its strategy of diversifying its in-force book of annuity and life insurance business. Everlake’s strong management team – including long-tenured industry leaders from Blackstone Inc., former parent, The Allstate Corporation, and certain new hires – has a history of managing and completing successful (re)insurance transactions that meet targeted investor returns. Significant expertise is required as Everlake Life continues to manage a diversified closed block which includes universal life with secondary guarantees and structured settlements, and repricing new reinsurance deals depends on achieving adequate ceding commissions, the market value of assets transferred, and net yield from investments in the group’s target portfolio. The group has completed its strategic asset repositioning and has reported favorable net investment income generation in each of the past five years.

Everlake Life maintains the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), which continues to be managed through the significant use of non-affiliate and affiliate retrocession, which reduced Everlake Life’s net premiums, and which negatively impacts AM Best’s view of Everlake Life’s quality of capital. Everlake Life has transferred much of its new assumed reinsurance business directly to reinsurance partners, Everlake Reinsurance Ltd or Herald Reinsurance Ltd (HRL), both domiciled in the Cayman Islands. HRL is ultimately owned by investors in Blackstone Inc. private equity funds. These offshore reinsurers are not directly part of the rated group. Some statutory liabilities in excess of economic reserves also are being backed by a credit-linked note, which also partially offsets the positive rating factors, albeit this note is issued by a highly rated partner.

The investment portfolio duration is shorter than the liabilities, and a decline in interest rates could impact the group’s available capital negatively. However, a cash flow matching strategy is employed for near-term payout and deferred annuity liabilities to provide sufficient liquidity and reduce asset-liability mismatch risk. For longer-dated cash flows, Everlake employs total return strategies to generate incremental yield and to minimize liquidity needs.

AM Best will continue to monitor the group’s future capitalization, investment performance, and ERM program against planned growth initiatives.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.