Independent Life Insurance Company 2024 Growth Report
John Darer • March 16, 2025
7 Year Old Gets Good Marks |Room for Improvement
In the structured settlement annuity (SSA) industry, dominated by many of the largest life insurers in the United States, Independent Life Insurance Company (ILIC) achieved significant milestones in 2024.
Not only did the "pre-pubescent" life insurance company, that only issues structured settlement annuities, surpass $1 billion dollars in funded premium since it began to write business in 2018, it also made national headlines in the insurance press as one of the Fastest-Growing Small to Medium Annuity Issuers, Q3 2024, in the United States. Independent Life realized many accomplishments across key metrics, reinforcing its position as a continually emerging force in the SSA industry.
Independent Life insurance Company Key 2024 Financial Milestones:
- Annual Production grew from $312.7M in 2023 to $451.7M in 2024, a 44.5% increase.
- Total Production Since Inception climbed from $909.1M in 2023 to $1.36B in 2024, a 49.7% increase.
- Market Share Expansion: ILIC's share of the SSA industry rose from 3.60% to 4.73%.
- Policies Issued expanded from 721 in 2023 to 905 in 2024, exhibiting strong demand and customer trust.
- Court Approvals (Since Inception) reached 1,755, up from 1,365, reinforcing ILIC's track record of success.
- Assignors (Since Inception) rose from 465 to 545, reflecting nationwide expansion.
Source: Independent Life
The term "Assignors" in the Independent Life press release is believed to refer to Defendants, Respondents or Insurers who agreed to assign their obligation to pay future periodic payments to Independent's qualified assignment company. What is a Qualified Assignment?
Pluses
- Seasoned industry professionals, including a co-author of the seminal industry textbook, Structured Settlements and Periodic Payment Judgments.
- Independent Life is the only structured settlement annuity issuer that only issues structured settlement annuities.
- Independent Life Insurance Company advertises a Payee Protection Policy to help protect its annuitants from abusive factoring. I have asked Independent Life to provide an ongoing status report of activity in this area as it was promised when the company started writing structured settlement annuity business.
- Independent Life currently has the industry's only uncapped index linked structured settlement annuity which is marketed under the name I-Structure.
- According to Independent Life "The Company's focus for 2025 will be strongly linked to ongoing new business growth, introduction of one or more market-based structured settlement annuity solutions" Very strong competition is on the horizon with Pacific Life, although the competing product is not coming onto the market until later this year at the earliest.
- Independent Life offers its appointed brokers a unique in industry 2%-4%-6% duration based compensation schedule, born when short term interest rates were much lower. See Duration Based Structured Settlement Compensation Model
- Independent Life issues policies lightening fast.
Concerns and Room for Improvement
- Questions over possible concentration of sources of inbound premium
- Concerns of how HanoverRe, is represented by certain appointed brokers in sales presentations. Independent Life has SRO Tier 1 ratings, but unlike its competition, it is not rated by A. M. Best, Moodys, Standard & Poors or Fitch. Independent Life has been clear about what the reinsurance is all about. See my April 24, 2024 updated of my April 22, 2021 post Independent Life's Reinsurance with Hannover Life Re | What It Is and Isn't.. But one wonders to what extent it monitors and/or oversees how it is being portayed by certain brokers.
- It will be interesting to see how Independent copes with Athene, ANICO and purportedly as many as two other industry newcomers in 2025, all of whom have A.M. Best ratings and others.
- Weiss Rating. There has been some improvement but needs more.
The cap rate on index linked structured settlement annuities is a limit set by the insurance company on the maximum interest rate that can be credited to the annuity based on the performance of the underlying index that also helps provide the downside prtection..
Do your financial resources give you enough road, or will the road run out before you do? A structured settlement annuity helps mitigate the risk of outliving your savings, no matter how long you live. A structured settlement can inlcude one or more customized payment streams and types.
USAA Life Insurance Company, an A++ rated insurance company, issues structured settlement annuities with 1%, 2% and 3% COLAs. USAA Life structured settlements are exceptionally compatitive on lifetime benefit payments with long duration certain periods for ages under 35.
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A qualified assignment is part of the process to establish a structured settlement that enables a Defendant, Insurer, or Qualified Settlement Fund, to achieve a complete novation of the future periodic payment claim established by suit or agreement, through a substitution of obligors.
An annuity and a structured settlement walked into a bar, how do you tell them apart? 4structures' John Darer reviews the differences for you right here.
A lifetime structured settlement annuity turns part of your settlement recovery into guaranteed income you can’t outlive that is contractually guaranteed by a regulated life insurance company. A lifetime annuity is sometimes referred to as longevity insurance.
Structured settlement annuities can be very helpful to the budgeting process by providing guaranteed income streams and deferred lump sum payments tailored to specific budget needs and time frames identified in the settlement planning process.
Structured settlement receivables are often deceptfully marketed to investors as annuities. When the originating structured settlement factoring company buys structured settlement payments in a structured settlement factoring transaction, they are buying a receivable not an annuity.
Avoid constructive receipt if a structured settllement or structured attorney fee is to be established. Care must be taken to avoid constructive receipt.
