Athene life insurance

Overview

Athene is one of the largest annuity companies in the United States, and it is owned by the investment firm Apollo Global Management. Its main U.S. insurer, Athene Annuity and Life Company (NAIC code 61689), is based in West Des Moines, Iowa, and issues annuities in every state except New York. A separate company, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York, issues contracts in New York. Athene says it had the No. 1 market share for U.S. annuity sales in 2025, based on LIMRA's survey.

Athene is on this list because of the life insurance it services rather than life insurance it sells. Apollo's NAIC group ranked #91 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with about $153.6 million in premiums and a 0.10% market share. Those premiums come from older life policies that Athene's companies picked up when they bought other insurers. Athene's website today offers annuities only.

The NAIC group, filed under Apollo's name, lists four insurers: Athene Annuity and Life Company, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York, Athene Life Insurance Company of New York and Venerable Insurance and Annuity Company. Venerable is not an Athene brand. It is the former Voya Insurance and Annuity Company, bought in 2018 by an investor group led by Apollo affiliates, Crestview Partners and Reverence Capital Partners, and it runs a closed block of variable annuities. Its presence in the group reflects Apollo's investment, not a shared customer operation.

Athene's business is built on the "spread": it invests premiums and aims to earn more on those assets than it credits to customers. Besides retail annuities sold through financial professionals, it takes on pension obligations from employers, writes funding agreements for institutional investors and reinsures other insurers' annuity blocks. Athene reported $35.4 billion of new funding agreement inflows in 2025.

History

Apollo founded Athene in late 2009, hiring Jim Belardi, a former president of SunAmerica, to run it. Athene grew by buying annuity businesses. Between 2010 and 2013 it bought Liberty Life Insurance Company, Presidential Life, Investors Insurance Corporation and Aviva USA. The Aviva USA deal, effective October 2, 2013, was the largest; Aviva USA Corporation was renamed Athene USA Corporation, and Athene still services contracts issued under the Aviva Life and Annuity Company name.

Aviva USA came with a large life insurance business that Athene did not want. In 2013 Athene sold most of it to Accordia Life and Annuity Company, a subsidiary of Global Atlantic. Athene kept administering those policies for a transition period, and the last ones moved to Accordia in January 2016. Some smaller life blocks stayed with Athene and are still serviced from Iowa (see the service numbers below).

In June 2018, Athene took part in Voya Financial's exit from annuities. The Apollo-led investor group bought Voya's variable annuity company, renamed Venerable, and Athene reinsured Voya's fixed and fixed indexed annuities. Athene also made a $75 million minority investment in Venerable.

Athene went public in 2016. Apollo then merged with it, and the deal closed on January 1, 2022, making Apollo the owner of 100% of Athene's common shares. Athene Holding Ltd. is domiciled in Bermuda and owns Bermuda reinsurers, Athene Life Re Ltd. and Athene Annuity Re Ltd. Our guides on private equity's push into life insurance and Offshore reinsurance and Bermuda: why it matters to policyholders explain why that model draws attention from regulators and critics.

Life insurance products

Athene does not sell new life insurance. Its product menu lists only annuities. If you have a life policy serviced by Athene, it is most likely an older policy from a company Athene bought. Athene lists service lines for several legacy policy types:

• ExpressTERM, LevelTERM, indexed universal life (policy numbers beginning with MU), traditional life and whole life or universal life policies: 800-866-9933
• Life policies of Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York (formerly Presidential Life): 800-926-7599
• Accidental death, mortgage life and disability income policies: 800-845-9265
• Mortgage protection policies: 877-218-3293
• Cancer expense and critical illness policies: 800-551-8354
• Variable life insurance: 800-423-9398

Former Aviva USA life policies that moved to Accordia Life are no longer serviced by Athene. Athene's contact page directs those owners to Accordia, a Global Atlantic company, at 877-462-8992. The guide when your life insurance policy is sold to another company explains what does and does not change when your policy moves to another insurer: the contract's guarantees and premiums stay the same.

Other products

Annuities are Athene's main business. Through financial professionals it sells fixed indexed annuities, which credit interest based partly on a market index and protect against loss from market declines, and registered index-linked annuities, which offer more growth potential in exchange for some downside risk. It also offers fixed annuities, including its MaxRate multi-year guaranteed annuities, immediate annuities that turn a lump sum into income, and structured settlement annuities.

For employers, Athene writes pension group annuities in pension risk transfer: when your pension becomes an annuity deals. It takes over a company's pension obligations and pays retirees directly. Retirees with numeric certificate numbers call 877-813-4240; those whose certificate numbers start with "A" call 833-480-8672.

Buying and service

Individuals cannot buy directly from Athene. Its annuities are sold through financial professionals, including bank-affiliated advisers, independent marketing organizations and broker-dealers, who earn commissions. Before you sign, check the surrender charge schedule and how interest is credited. Our guide to annuity surrender charges and free withdrawals explains what to look for.

Contract owners can register for an online account on Athene's website. Customer service is at 888-266-8489 (888-ANNUITY), 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday, and by fax at 866-709-3922. Older contracts from acquired companies have their own lines: Investors Insurance Corporation annuities, 866-626-1161; Liberty Life or RBC Insurance annuities whose numbers do not begin with MA, 800-234-5514; Presidential Life annuities, 800-926-7599; variable annuities, 800-423-9398; structured settlements, 800-525-7133.

Claims

Beneficiaries can start a death claim with an online form on Athene's website. You enter the deceased person's details and contract number and your relationship to them. Athene says it verifies the claim within 5 to 7 business days. If a benefit is payable, it mails a claim packet with the claim form, a letter showing the benefit amount and the payout options. After it receives all claim requirements in good order, Athene says payment is processed within 8 to 10 business days. Completed forms can be returned by email, fax or mail to P.O. Box 1555, Des Moines, IA 50306-1555. For legacy life policies, call the matching service line above. Our claims guide lists the documents most insurers ask for.

Ratings and reputation

In August 2026 AM Best affirmed the A+ (Superior) financial strength rating and "aa-" long-term issuer credit rating of the members of Athene Group, which include Athene Annuity and Life Company, with a stable outlook, citing very strong balance sheet strength and strong operating performance. Athene's website also shows A+ from S&P (August 2025), A+ from Fitch (August 2026) and A1 from Moody's (July 2025). Athene Holding's own credit rating is A- from S&P and Fitch and a- from AM Best. Athene was not among the brands ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study.

Athene's pension business is the subject of active litigation. Starting in March 2024, plan participants filed about 10 class actions against large employers that had moved pension obligations to Athene. The suits claim the employers breached their duties under ERISA by choosing a riskier, private-equity-backed annuity provider. Athene itself is not a defendant. On March 28, 2025, two federal courts split: the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the suit against Alcoa for lack of standing, while the District of Maryland let the suit against Lockheed Martin proceed.

Who it suits

Athene suits savers who want a fixed or fixed indexed annuity from a large, highly rated issuer and are comfortable buying through a commissioned adviser. It is not a place to buy life insurance. Its Apollo ownership, Bermuda affiliates and use of affiliated investments are a concern for some buyers, even though its rating agencies currently score it in the A+ range.

• Strengths: A+ financial strength ratings from AM Best, S&P and Fitch and A1 from Moody's; the top U.S. annuity seller by its own 2025 LIMRA ranking; a published online death claim process with stated turnaround times; separate service lines for each legacy block.
• Weaknesses: No new life insurance of any kind; sold only through commissioned financial professionals; private-equity ownership and Bermuda reinsurance draw regulatory and legal scrutiny, including pension risk transfer lawsuits against its clients; legacy Aviva life policies moved to another insurer.

How to contact Athene