Axcelus Financial life insurance

Overview

Axcelus Financial is a Philadelphia-based specialist in private placement life insurance (PPLI) and private placement variable annuities (PPVA): custom-built variable policies and annuities that let very wealthy families, trusts and institutions hold investment portfolios inside an insurance contract. Until January 2024 it was called Lombard International US & Bermuda. It does not sell term, whole life or any coverage for ordinary households.

Its NAIC group, "AXL Wealth Acquisition," is the holding vehicle set up when BroadRiver Asset Management bought the business in 2023. It contains two U.S. insurers: Axcelus Financial Life Insurance Company, domiciled in Pennsylvania, and Axcelus Financial Life Insurance Company of New York. The company also has Bermuda insurers and offices in New York, Miami and Hamilton, Bermuda. The group ranked #54 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with $572.5 million and a 0.37% share. As with other private placement carriers, those premiums come from a relatively small number of large deposits into investment-oriented policies rather than from mass-market sales.

Axcelus says it held more than $18 billion of assets under administration at the end of 2025, up 15% from 2024, and more than $19 billion by June 30, 2026. It describes itself as the largest PPLI provider by assets among carriers reporting in the 2026 Lion Street PPLI Market Report.

History

Axcelus traces its roots to Philadelphia Financial, a private placement insurer whose leaders say it was founded more than 30 years ago. Co-founder John Fischer, now senior executive vice president and international head of distribution, has said the company first planned to serve institutions but built its reputation with high-net-worth individuals before returning to the institutional market and forming Bermuda insurers. The U.S. insurer took the name Philadelphia Financial Life Assurance Company effective January 6, 2011, according to Missouri's insurance department records.

In mid-2015 the parent of Lombard International Assurance, a Luxembourg-based wealth insurer, completed its purchase of Philadelphia Financial's life insurance companies. The U.S. company was renamed Lombard International Life Assurance Company effective December 7, 2015, and operated as Lombard International's U.S. and Bermuda arm.

On November 30, 2023, a group led by BroadRiver Asset Management, a firm that invests in insurance-related and uncorrelated assets, completed the purchase of Lombard's U.S. and Bermuda business, which then had about $12 billion of assets under administration. Pacific General, a New York investment firm, co-invested. Lombard, by then owned by Blackstone funds, kept its European, Asian and Latin American business. On January 22, 2024, the U.S. and Bermuda companies rebranded as Axcelus Financial, with Michael Farrell as CEO.

Life insurance products

Axcelus sells only private placement products. A PPLI policy is a variable universal life contract negotiated for each client, typically owned by a trust. Premiums go into a separate account invested through insurance-dedicated funds or separately managed accounts. Axcelus says its platform includes more than 160 asset and wealth management firms, giving access to hedge funds, private credit and other alternatives. If the policy meets the federal definition of life insurance under Section 7702 and the owner does not control the specific investments, gains build up without current income tax and the death benefit is generally income-tax-free. It also avoids issuing the owner a K-1 for each underlying investment.

Policies are sold only to accredited investors and qualified purchasers, usually as part of an estate plan with trusts. Axcelus does not publish premiums, fees, minimums or issue ages; those are set case by case through the client's advisors. Underwriting reviews medical history, finances and the purpose of the coverage.

Other products

Private placement variable annuities are a major line. Axcelus offers them to families, for example in dynasty trust planning, and to institutional asset managers whose U.S. and non-U.S. investors want a tax-efficient way to hold U.S. private credit, real estate, infrastructure and hedge fund strategies.

Buying and service

You cannot buy from Axcelus directly as an individual consumer. Cases come through family offices, registered investment advisors, private banks, wirehouses and specialist insurance professionals, who work with Axcelus's distribution team and legal and tax counsel on the design. In 2025 Axcelus announced a technology partnership with SS&C Technologies to support its mid- and back-office operations.

Existing policyholders can reach client support at 866-873-1641 or [email protected]. The main Philadelphia office number is 484-530-4800.

Claims

Axcelus does not publish a separate claims process online. Trustees, beneficiaries or advisors should contact client support at 866-873-1641 or [email protected] to report a death. Because most policies are owned by trusts, the trustee usually files the claim with a certified death certificate and claimant forms; the claims guide covers the general steps.

Ratings and reputation

Axcelus says AM Best rates it A- (Excellent) as of November 26, 2025, a financial strength rating the business also held under Lombard when it was sold in 2023. It does not publish S&P, Moody's or Fitch ratings.

Axcelus was not ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, which covers consumer brands. As a private company, it does not file annual reports with the SEC.

Who it suits

Axcelus is relevant only to ultra-wealthy families, family offices and institutional investors who, with experienced tax and estate counsel, want to wrap investments in a life insurance or annuity contract. For that market it offers scale, a long track record and an open investment platform. For anyone shopping for family protection, final expense coverage or a policy bought online, it is not an option.

• Strengths: one of the largest private placement carriers, with more than $19 billion under administration in mid-2026; more than 30 years in the niche; A- (Excellent) AM Best rating; a separate New York company and Bermuda options for international clients.
• Weaknesses: open only to accredited investors and qualified purchasers; no published pricing or claims process; owned by an investment firm since 2023 after earlier ownership by Blackstone funds; the tax benefits depend on rules (investor control, Section 7702) that Congress or the IRS could tighten.

How to contact Axcelus Financial