Venerable Insurance and Annuity Company and Corporate Solutions Life Reinsurance Company Receive BBB+ Ratings from KBRA

KBRA has assigned a rating of "BBB+" with a Stable Outlook to $175 million 7.75% surplus notes due 2045 issued by Venerable Insurance and Annuity Company and Corporate Solutions Life Reinsurance Company. The notes are deeply subordinated and payments are subject to the prior approval of the Iowa Division of Insurance. Venerable Holdings, Inc. owns and manages legacy variable annuity business, including variable annuities acquired from other entities.

Corebridge Financial, Inc. has successfully closed a significant portion of its reinsurance agreement with Corporate Solutions Life Reinsurance Company, an insurance subsidiary of Venerable Holdings, Inc. The deal, valued at $2.8 billion, involves reinsuring all Individual Retirement variable annuities issued by American General Life Insurance Company (AGL) [1].

The transaction, which represents approximately 90% of the total value, includes the entire in-force book of AGL-issued Individual Retirement variable annuities, as well as an ongoing flow reinsurance agreement for new variable annuity contracts issued by AGL. This flow reinsurance portion is expected to generate approximately $1.25 billion in sales annually [1].

Corebridge President and CEO Keving Hogan described the deal as "transformative," noting that it will help the company focus on other areas and accelerate its capital management objectives. A substantial portion of the proceeds will be returned to shareholders through share repurchases, with a $2 billion increase to the company’s share repurchase authorization approved in connection with the deal [1].

The reinsurance transaction will add approximately $48 billion to Venerable’s assets under risk management, growing its total assets from $67 billion to $118 billion on a pro forma basis as of March 31, 2025 [1]. David Marcinek, Chairman and CEO of Venerable, expressed excitement about the commencement of flow reinsurance and the potential for offering this capability more broadly as part of Venerable's suite of risk transfer solutions [1].

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb-” (Good) for Corporate Solutions, reflecting its strong balance sheet and marginal operating performance [2]. The company has been assessed at the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and maintains a conservative investment portfolio [2].

KBRA has assigned a rating of "BBB+" with a Stable Outlook to $175 million 7.75% surplus notes due 2045 issued by Venerable Insurance and Annuity Company and Corporate Solutions Life Reinsurance Company [3]. The notes are deeply subordinated and payments are subject to the prior approval of the Iowa Division of Insurance.

The remaining elements of the transaction, including the reinsurance of Individual Retirement variable annuities issued by The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York (USL) and the sale of a related investment adviser and manager (SAAMCo), are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025 [1].

References:
[1] https://www.reinsurancene.ws/corebridge-closes-largest-portion-of-variable-annuity-reinsurance-deal-with-venerable/
[2] https://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?altsrc=23&refnum=234186
[3] https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/lumen-subsidiary-level-3-plans-125-bln-notes-offering-refinance-debt