Athene Announces Block Reinsurance Transaction with Sony Life
Athene, the leading retirement services company and subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, has announced that it intends to enter a block reinsurance transaction with Sony Life Insurance, a top-rated Japanese insurer. As part of this transaction, Athene will reinsure an in-force block of U.S. dollar denominated whole life insurance policies and will enter into an agreement with leading reinsurer Swiss Re to retrocede all mortality risk associated with the block.
The transaction was announced on the day that the spun-out Sony Financial, of which Sony Life constitutes the largest business, started trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Sony Financial stated that the impact of the Reinsurance on its consolidated earnings had been factored into the full-year consolidated earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026 announced the same day in the “Financial Results, etc. of Sony Financial Group Inc. in connection with Listing on Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market.”
Sony Life is taking steps to strengthen its financial base so that it can maintain an appropriate level of financial soundness even amid the fluctuations of the financial market. As part of these efforts, Sony Life has been continuously considering the use of external reinsurance to reduce risk exposure.
By ceding its US-dollar-denominated whole life insurance policies, Sony Life aims to establish a financial structure that is resilient to fluctuations in the financial markets, and to increase the stability of its future earnings and future cash flows.
The Reinsurance will transfer financial risk, but will not change the relationship between the policy-holding customers and Sony Life.
Going forward, Sony Life aims to further strengthen its financial position with a view to fulfilling its fundamental mission as a life insurance company of paying insurance benefits and so forth appropriately and reliably.
“Japanese insurers are increasingly turning to more tailored solutions and flexible capital to enhance their financial strength and advance policyholders’ goals,” said Katie Daly, EVP and Global Head of M&A, Reinsurance and Pensions at Athene. “Our retirement and capital expertise put us in a strong position to address needs unique to the Japan market.”
“Apollo and Athene’s growing presence in Japan is a direct result of our differentiated model’s ability to bring in capital to support Japanese policyholders,” said Yasuo Kashiwagi, Head of Japan at Apollo. “The combination of balance sheet strength and world-class asset management capabilities fits well with deeper shifts underway in Japan and enables us to provide safe yield solutions to Japanese retirees and savers in an aligned way.”
This transaction marks Athene’s eighth reinsurance transaction across seven cedents, and second block reinsurance transaction with Japanese insurers since entering the market five years ago. This brings the total transaction volume of Athene’s reinsurance transactions with Japanese cedants to approximately $19 billion. Athene’s robust balance sheet, strong capital profile, and alignment with Apollo help to make it a partner of choice to the Japanese retirement market.
Norbert Gehrke
