Athene vs Global Atlantic

Verdict

Athene and Global Atlantic are close counterparts: two annuity-focused insurers owned by large private-equity firms (Apollo and KKR), each with Bermuda reinsurance affiliates and a history of buying blocks of business from other insurers. Neither is a place to shop for term, general-market whole life or other traditional coverage, and neither sells directly to consumers.

They are linked by history. In 2013 Athene bought Aviva USA, kept the annuities and sold most of the life insurance side to Accordia Life and Annuity Company, which is now part of Global Atlantic. Athene's own profile tells owners of former Aviva life policies to call Accordia at 877-462-8992. If your old Aviva policy now carries one of these names, the contract's terms and guarantees do not change; the guide when your life insurance policy is sold to another company explains what does.

Where they differ is the current product mix. Athene sells only annuities: fixed indexed, RILAs, multi-year guaranteed, immediate, structured settlement and pension group annuities, and says it held the top U.S. annuity sales position in 2025 (per LIMRA). Global Atlantic sells fixed, fixed indexed, income, variable and RILA annuities through its Forethought Life company, and it also sells preneed funeral insurance, a whole life policy bought together with a funeral home contract, through about 2,400 funeral homes. It stopped writing new indexed universal life on July 1, 2023.

On ratings, Athene's insurers hold A+ (Superior) from AM Best as of August 2025, and A+ from S&P and Fitch. Global Atlantic holds A (Excellent) from AM Best as of October 2025, with S&P and Fitch at A. Both rate below the largest mutual insurers. Athene is also named in the background of pension risk transfer lawsuits against employer clients (Athene itself is not a defendant).

Choose Athene if

• You are looking for an annuity and want the higher agency ratings of the two.
• You want a broader menu of fixed-annuity types, including multi-year guaranteed and immediate annuities, from one issuer.
• You want published claims timelines: verification in 5 to 7 business days and payment in 8 to 10 business days after complete paperwork.
• You own an older Liberty Life, Presidential Life or Aviva annuity serviced by Athene.

Choose Global Atlantic if

• You are pre-planning a funeral at a home that uses Forethought preneed insurance.
• Your bank or broker offers a Forethought annuity, including a RILA or variable annuity option.
• You own an older Accordia, Commonwealth Annuity or First Allmerica policy and need its service numbers.
• You are comfortable with KKR ownership and its Bermuda reinsurance affiliates.

Key differences

Before you decide

Treat these as retirement-income or funeral-planning purchases, not life insurance shopping, and compare the exact product each adviser proposes, including surrender charges and what is guaranteed; fixed indexed annuities: caps, participation rates and trade-offs and burial insurance vs final expense vs preneed are good starting points. Check rating dates in AM Best, S&P, Moody's and Fitch ratings explained, and read private equity's push into life insurance to understand how ownership by an investment firm affects these companies.