Imran Siddiqui appointed CEO of Bermuda-based life reinsurer

Bermuda-based life insurance company Talcott Financial Group has appointed former Apollo Group dealmaker Imran Siddiqui as chief executive officer.

The appointment of Siddiqui, who has been serving as interim president since 2022, comes as Talcott’s Connecticut based subsidiaries had their financial strength ratings upgraded to A-, the same as its Bermuda-based subsidiary Talcott Life Re.

Talcott said Siddiqui is a proven industry executive with extensive experience leading and growing life insurance and annuity companies, as well as other financial services businesses, and he has played a key role in strengthening Talcott’s capabilities as a scaled partner to the insurance sector.

Siddiqui is a former partner of Apollo Group and helped to build its life insurance holdings which include industry leader Athene, became embroiled in a fierce legal battle with Apollo when he founded a rival company, Caldera Holdings.

Since Sixth Street’s acquisition of Talcott in 2021, it has completed six transactions with leading life insurance and annuity providers, reinsuring over $50 billion of assets through block and flow reinsurance.

Michael Muscolino, co-founder and partner at Sixth Street, said: “The board’s decision reflects our strong conviction that Imran is the right person to lead Talcott as it continues to be a responsible steward of capital for policyholders and reliable solutions provider for companies across the life insurance and annuity sector.

“Imran has already been leading Talcott for the past year and a half as interim president, and he brings decades of experience in the industry having formed and grown well-respected financial services companies. We are confident that he, in collaboration with executive chairman Mike Smith, will continue to steer Talcott on the path of further success.”

Siddiqui said: “It has been a privilege to lead Talcott’s team of talented professionals, and I am honoured to be appointed chief executive officer.

“We are dedicated to providing lasting value to our policyholders while furthering our journey of growth, innovation, and success. I look forward to partnering with Mike Smith in building upon Talcott’s robust foundation.”

“Imran’s leadership and deep experience in the insurance and financial services industry have already benefited Talcott through our business development activity,” said Smith. “We will continue to execute on Talcott’s focused growth strategy and shape the life insurance and annuity industry as its premier risk partner.”

Prior to joining Talcott, Siddiqui was an independent consultant for companies across the financial services sector. He previously was a senior partner at Apollo Global Management and held roles at Oak Hill Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs.

Siddiqui holds a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard and a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Chicago.

Am Best said it affirmed the A-financial strength rating of Bermuda-based Talcott Life Re, citing the parent company’s balance street strength.

AM Best concurrently upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A- from B++ for Hartford, Connecticut-based Talcott Resolution Life Insurance Company and Talcott Resolution Life and Annuity Insurance Company.

The outlook for all of the companies, which are collectively referred to as Talcott Financial Group, is stable.

AM Best said: “The ratings reflect TFG’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

It added: “TFG has established itself quickly as a major player in the life and annuity reinsurance space with several large transactions completed since the group was acquired by Sixth Street, a global investment firm, in June 2021.

“The group has remained in a favourable risk-adjusted capital position, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), bolstered further by a strong liquidity framework that can provide substantial funds under several key economic stress scenarios. AM Best notes that TFG’s ERM framework is well-established and continues to evolve with emerging risks.”

It said the growth provided by deals over the previous two years had the group managing approximately $123 billion in assets with operational gains beginning to be realised when removing for asset value fluctuations driven by the rise in interest rates.

“While TFG operates in a very competitive market environment, AM Best believes that TFG will remain well-capitalized and will maintain its current business strategy of growing its platform by providing risk-transfer solutions to the insurance industry through reinsurance or legal entity acquisitions,” Best said.