INSURANCE RESOURCES

Last updated - 10/11/2026

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13 THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING AN ANNUITY (OR INSURANCE)

I proposed that this information be added to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Annuity Buyer's Guide. I doubt that it will be added, so I'm posting it here.

PHL VARIABLE LIFE (PHLVL) - IGNORE AT YOUR OWN PERIL!

The story of one insurer, PHL Variable Life, is a case study of what can go wrong with a Private-Equity-owned insurer, regulatory incompetence and the effect on policy owners.

"She paid an insurance company $99,000 to generate retirement income for life. Then it collapsed." (by Gretchen Morgenson) - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/paid-insurance-company-99000-generate-retirement-income-life-collapsed-rcna331934

"A decade in decline: PHL Variable serving as a cautionary tale" (by John Hilton) - https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/a-decade-in-decline-phl-variable-serving-as-a-cautionary-tale

Connecticut Department of Insurance - PHLVL liquidation webpage - https://portal.ct.gov/cid/phl?language=en_US

Court Docket for liquidation - the gory details - https://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/CaseDetail/PublicCaseDetail.aspx?DocketNo=UWYCV246085274S

Separate lawsuit against State Farm Insurance alleging the insurer and its agents misrepresented and withheld information about PHL Variable Life Insurance Co. policies - https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/judge-class-action-against-state-farm-over-phl-life-policies-can-proceed

REGULATOR GROUPS

NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) - this group helps states establish uniform rules across the United States - https://content.naic.org/

NOLHGA (National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations) - an association made up of the life and health insurance guaranty associations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Guaranty associations are supposed to protect policyholders when an insurance company fails - https://nolhga.com/

CONSUMER ORGANIZATIONS

Center for Economic Justice - https://www.cesj.org/

Life Insurance Consumer Advocacy Center - https://lifeinsuranceconsumeradvocacycenter.org/

Consumer Federation of America - https://consumerfed.org/

Pension Rights Center - https://pensionrights.org/

Center For Insurance Research - https://www.centerforinsuranceresearch.org/

NAIC Consumer Representatives - https://isiteplus.naic.org/grid/gridDisc.jsp

RATING AGENCIES & SERVICES

ALIRT (independent rating service) - paid subscription - https://alirtresearch.com/

A.M. Best - free account - https://web.ambest.com/home

Fitch - no account required - https://www.fitchratings.com/

Moody's - free account - https://www.moodys.com/

Standard & Poor - free account - https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en

PUBLICATIONS

Retirement Income Journal (paid subscription for full access) - https://retirementincomejournal.com/

InsuranceNewsNet - https://insurancenewsnet.com/

Think Advisor (paid subscription for full access) - https://www.thinkadvisor.com/

Life Annuity Specialist - (paid subscription for full access) - https://www.lifeannuityspecialist.com/

The Life Product Review - (paid subscription for full access) - https://lifeproductreview.com/

The Capitol Forum - (paid subscription for full access) -https://thecapitolforum.com/ - also see their podcasts (free access) on your favorite podcast platform.

WEBSITES

The Common Sense 401(k) Project - Chris Tobe is a prolific writer and pulls no punches - https://commonsense401kproject.com/

The Insurance Forum - groundbreaking work by Professer Joe Belth, who died in 2025 - no new postings, but Joe's blog and the old issues are worth reading - https://www.theinsuranceforum.com/

Schiff's Insurance Observer - groundbreaking work by David Schiff (who wielded "The Eye of Truth" videotaping NAIC meetings) - no new postings, but worth reading - https://www.insuranceobserver.com/

WEBCASTS

Tom Gober with George Noble - The Biggest Fraud In America Is Hiding In Your Annuity - https://youtu.be/Nt4jsXFAPYs?is=BH39jrDYilFdXpAc

Tom Gober with Steve Eisman - The Next Financial Crisis? Private Equity, Private Credit & Life Insurance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7MM0UnQ4o4

Tom Gober with Better Wealth - Is Private Equity Taking Over The Life Insurance Industry? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftKy6WeTDkI

Barry James Dyke on The Financial Quarterback - Is Private Equity Putting Your Retirement at Risk? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz5jaz7Z6h0

Barry James Dyke on Better Wealth - The Dark Reason Private Equity Is Targeting Life Insurance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqGOaSpayO4

Eddie Stone at BellTel Retirees - BellTel 2026 Annual Meeting - Edward Stone, Retirees for Justice Executive Director - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlxfEBwvjmI&t=1s

ARTICLES & PAPERS

(arranged by topic)

CAPTIVES & OFFSHORING

"Life Insurers’ Investment Complexity, Reliance on Oshore Reinsurers Raise Concerns About Stability" (by A.M. Best) - https://bestsreview.ambest.com/edition/2025/march/Asset-Management-Life-Insurers-and-Offshore-Reinsurers-Reliance.html?altsrc=104

"Mind the Gaps: What Do New Disclosures Tell Us About Life Insurers’ Use of Off-Balance-Sheet Captives?" (by Office of Financial Research) - https://www.financialresearch.gov/briefs/files/OFRbr_2016-02_Captive-Insurers.pdf

Variable Annuities – Recent Trends and the Use of Captives (by Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) - https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/supervision-and-credit/variable-annuities.aspx (click on link for "Full paper"

COUNTERPARTY RISK

"Warnings of Mounting Risk." (by Mary Walsh) - https://substack.news-items.com/p/warnings-of-mounting-risk

INSURER FAILURES

"Bankruptcy of insurance and reinsurance companies in the United States" (by Atlas Magazine) - https://www.atlas-mag.net/en/articles/bankruptcy-insurance-and-reinsurance-companies-united-states

"The Failures of Four Large Life Insurers" (by Government Accounting Office) - https://www.gao.gov/assets/t-ggd-92-13.pdf

"What Happens When the Insurer of Your Annuity Goes Broke?" (by Kiplinger) - https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/t003-c000-s004-protect-annuity-from-a-broke-insurer.html

FINANCIAL RISK

"'Safe' Annuity Retirement Products and a Possible US Retirement Crisis" (by Tobe & Lambert) - https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1957&context=faculty

"Shifting landscapes: life insurance and financial stability" (by Bank for International Settlements) - https://www.bis.org/publications/qr-202409/shifting-landscapes-life-insurance-and-financial-stability

"Variable Annuities: Underlying Risks and Sensitivities" (by Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) - https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/risk-and-policy-analysis/2019/variable-annuities-underlying-risks-and-sensitivities.aspx (click on "Full Text Document")

GUARANTEES

"When a Guarantee Isn't a Guarantee" (by James Sandage) - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5218612 (click on Download this Paper or Open PDF in Browser)

"How Much Risk Do Variable Annuity Guarantees Pose to Life Insurers?" (by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) - https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/2017/384

PENSION RISK TRANSFER

"The Evolution of Insurance in the Age of PRT" (by Bailey McCann) - https://www.ai-cio.com/news/the-evolution-of-insurance-in-the-age-of-prt/

"The Forgotten Promise: Why PBGC Retirement Benefit Guarantees Should Continue After Pension Risk Transfer Transactions" (by Kevin O'Brien & Spencer Walters) - https://www.ipbtax.com/assets/htmldocuments/IPB%20OBrien-Walters%202025%20White%20Paper%20PBGC%20Guarantees.pdf

"Pension Risk Transfers May Be Transferring Risk to Beneficiaries" (by David Eichhorn) - https://www.nisa.com/perspectives/pension-risk-transfers-prt-may-be-transferring-risk-to-beneficiaries/

"An Update to the Potential Economic Loss to Participants (ELP) of PRT Transactions" (by David Eichhorn) - https://www.nisa.com/perspectives/an-update-to-the-potential-economic-loss-to-participants-elp-of-prt-transactions/

"PRC urges additional consumer protections when employers unload pension liabilities" (by Pension Rights Center) - https://pensionrights.org/prc-urges-additional-consumer-protections-when-employers-unload-pension-liabilities/

"The Current Environment for Pension Risk Transfer – A Roundtable Conversation" (by Society of Actuaries) - https://www.soa.org/globalassets/assets/files/resources/research-report/2025/ar214-pension-risk-report.pdf

PRIVATE EQUITY & CREDIT

Is alternative asset manager-backed ownership incompatible with providing long-term security to U.S. Life insurance policyholders? What two decades of experience show us about aam-backed life companies. (by Larry Rybka/Valmark)

"Beware of Private Equity Gobbling Up Life Insurance and Annuity Companies" (by Eileen Appelbaum) - https://cepr.net/publications/beware-of-private-equity-gobbling-up-life-insurance-and-annuity-companies/

"Private equity stake in life insurers draws new round of critical reports" (by John Hilton) - https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/private-equity-stake-in-life-insurers-draws-new-round-of-critical-reports

"Privately Placed Debt on Life Insurers’ Balance Sheets: Part 1—A Primer" (by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) - https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/2024/493

"Privately Placed Debt on Life Insurers’ Balance Sheets: Part 2—Increasing Complexity" (by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) - https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/2024/494

"Private Equity and Life Insurers" (by International Monetary Fund) - https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/gfs-notes/2023/english/gfsnea2023001.pdf

"Measuring Counterparty Exposures to Private Credit" (by Office of Financial Research) - https://www.financialresearch.gov/briefs/files/OFRBrief-26-02-measuring-counterparty-exposures-private-credit.pdf

"How Does Private Equity Impact Insurer Asset Management?" (by Kyeonghee Kim) - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4981378 (click on Download this Paper or Open PDF in Browser)

"Life Insurers’ Role in the Intermediation Chain of Public and Private Credit to Risky Firms" (by US Federal Reserve) - https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/life-insurers-role-in-the-intermediation-chain-of-public-and-private-credit-to-risky-firms-20250321.html

"What Private Equity Does Di↵erently: Evidence from Life Insurance" (by Divya Kirti) - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3538443 (click on Download this Paper or Open PDF in Browser)

"Capturing An Excess Return Premium For Illiquidity Is A Privilege Not A Right!" (by Michael Kitces) - https://www.kitces.com/blog/capturing-an-excess-return-premium-for-illiquidity-is-a-privilege-not-a-right/

Letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren to NAIC 09/10/2026 - https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/202609.10lettertonaicrewalterpeandinsuranceoversight.pdf

NAIC response to 9/10/2026 letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren - https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/government-affairs-letter-20260924-warren-exposure-private-credit-equity-funds.pdf

"An open letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren: The NAIC’s Answer Doesn’t Hold Up" (by Nick Nemeth) - https://mispricedassets.substack.com/p/an-open-letter-to-senator-elizabeth

RATING AGENCIES

"Rating Without Market Discipline" (by Li, Oh & Ricciardi) - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6859158 (click on Download this Paper or Open PDF in Browser)

REGULATION

"ENHANCING, FURTHERING, AND STRENGTHENING" (by Kevin Hennosy) - https://roughnotes.com/enhancing-furthering-and-strengthening/

"The Federal Deregulation of Insurance" (by David Zaring) - https://texaslawreview.org/the-federal-deregulation-of-insurance/

"Is U.S. INSURANCE REGULATION UNCONSTITUTIONAL?" (by Daniel Schwarcz) - https://ncoil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/SSRN-id3239966.pdf

"HOW TO MODERNIZE AND IMPROVE THE SYSTЕМ OF INSURANCE REGULATION IN THE UNITED STATES" (by Federal Insurance Office) - https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/311/How%20to%20Modernize%20and%20Improve%20the%20System%20of%20Insurance%20Regulation%20in%20the%20United%20States.pdf

"Improving U.S. Insurance Regulation" (by Bipartisan Policy Center) - https://bipartisanpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Improving-U.S.-Insurance-Regulation.pdf

"Rules and Discretion in Life Insurance Regulation" (by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) - https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/2017/373

REINSURANCE

"The Risky Reinsurance Behind The Insurance" (by Ben Mattlin) - https://www.fa-mag.com/news/the-risky-reinsurance-behind-the-insurance-82249.html

"Background on: Reinsurance" (by Insurance Information Institute) - https://www.iii.org/article/background-on-reinsurance

"Shining a Light on Shadow Insurance" (by New York State Department of Financial Services, Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent) - https://02ec4c5.netsolhost.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/NY-shadow-reinsurance-report-June-2013.pdf - this is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) piece on this topic.

"No. 100: Shadow Insurance—A Chronology of What May Become the Worst Financial Scandal in the History of the Life Insurance Business" (by Joseph Belth) - https://www.josephmbelth.com/2015/05/no-100-shadow-insurancea-chronology-of.html?m=0

"Reinsurance as a capital management tool for life insurers" (by Milliman) - https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/reinsurance-as-a-capital-management-tool-for-life-insurers

"International Reinsurance Landscape Overview for U.S. Life & Annuities (by Society of Actuaries) - https://www.soa.org/globalassets/assets/files/resources/research-report/2026/2026-02-ml256-int-reins.pdf

RETIREMENT PLAN ISSUES

"CANCUN, CRUISES AND CASH" (by Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren) - https://www.warren.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/doc/senator_warrens_annuity_report_-_sept_2024.pdf

STATE GUARANTY ASSOCIATIONS

"Insurance on Insurers: How State Insurance Guaranty Funds Protect Policyholders" (by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) - https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/economic-perspectives/2024/3

"Private Credit's State Backstop: How Private Equity Socializes Risk Through Insurers" (by Drall & Granato) - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7152239 (click on Download this Paper or Open PDF in Browser)

PEOPLE TO FOLLOW ON LINKEDIN

Tom Gober

Larry Rybka

Sheryl Moore

Kerry Pechter

Barry James Dyke

Chris Tobe

Eddie Stone

Bobby Samuelson

Jerry Vanderzanden

Dick Weber

David Sterling