U.S. and Latin America

RGA solidified its position as a reinsurance and financial solutions partner of choice in the region, producing record-high revenues and solid earnings overall.

Life Reinsurance In Force

$1.6T

Total Revenues

$7.8B

Net Premiums

$5.8B

U.S. and Latin America

Robust new business growth, a strong rebound in group business, and exceptional financial solutions results helped generate $663 million in pre-tax income for U.S. and Latin America operations in 2019, a 24% increase over the previous year. In a year of higher-than-expected individual mortality claims, this significant earnings growth demonstrates the strength and resilience to market volatility built into RGA’s diversified portfolio of business. Principal business lines in this operating segment, RGA’s largest, include individual life and health; group life, health, and disability; and asset-intensive, capital-solutions, and longevity reinsurance.

Assumed new business volume totaled $119 billion in the region overall, a 12% increase over 2018. Industry leadership in facultative underwriting accounted for more than $16 billion in life reinsurance placed as U.S. underwriters reviewed more than 100,000 facultative cases for the 13th consecutive year.

RGA solidified its position as the market’s risk assessment leader with the launch of innovative data-driven solutions. A breakthrough Digital Health Data (DHD) Risk Scoring service offered clients a real-time platform to derive actionable underwriting risk scores from structured electronic medical records and medical claims data. The U.S. team also brought a new prescription history risk scoring model to market in 2019. Both solutions were integrated into RGA’s RiskDimensions^SM portfolio of risk assessment tools, which work together to provide clients with a more comprehensive view of an applicant’s risk profile.

In U.S. group business, RGA’s strong partnerships and value-added services remained a competitive advantage. Active portfolio management in response to market changes produced a solid year financially, with healthcare and disability excess lines delivering improved underwriting results. The Healthcare Stop Loss Turnkey solution launched in 2018 added multiple clients while generating significant cross-sell opportunities.

Global Financial Solutions (GFS) enjoyed unprecedented success in the U.S. in 2019, achieving a record-high $398 million in pre-tax income, an increase of 59% over 2018. Clients’ capital optimization and business growth needs required innovative financial solutions RGA was uniquely equipped to deliver. Earnings reflected excellent results in both new and in-force business, particularly within asset-intensive blocks. After executing the first-ever U.S. longevity swap in 2018, RGA continued to develop capabilities in the emerging U.S. pension risk transfer reinsurance market. Through additional data sources and dedicated resources, GFS is exploring opportunities to leverage RGA’s global expertise in longevity risk management.

Latin America operations’ traditional reinsurance business surpassed $100 million in total annual revenues for the first time in 2019. Innovation continued to drive new business as the team integrated digital tools into new products to help reach underserved consumers. Health initiatives, from condition-specific protection products to employer stop loss solutions, provided business expansion opportunities for clients and positioned RGA for continued growth in the region.

U.S. and Latin America Operations Net Premiums

(in millions USD)

Leadership Q&A

Michael L. Emerson

Executive Vice President, Head of U.S. and Latin American Markets

How is RGA positioned to meet the needs of insurers moving forward?

The industry continues to converge in a number of ways, bringing exciting possibilities. Tech startups are converging with incumbent carriers to develop a new generation of insurance products; the individual life and group life sectors are converging to share expertise and leverage innovation; traditional mortality data is converging with new data sources to create powerful underwriting insights – and that is just to name a few examples. RGA brings a decades-long commitment to client success, established expertise in diversified lines of business, and leading-edge capabilities in data science, technology integration, and risk assessment to help insurers navigate this convergence and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

In what ways is RGA working on behalf of the industry?

We continue to improve and expand our client education programs – through events, webinars, online resources, research, and customized trainings – to address industry challenges. Our seventh annual Fraud Conference, for example, drew record attendance in 2019 and remains the premier cross-discipline fraud event for the industry. We also continue to advocate for the industry with regulators and other government agencies. Above all, RGA leads by example. Our industry is built on trust, and as new data sources, technologies, and ways of doing business emerge, we remain relentless in moving forward carefully, transparently, and ethically with consumers’ best interest our primary consideration.

How does your team measure success?

While we appreciate industry recognition – RGA was named Life Reinsurer of the Year at the 2019 Reactions North America Awards and ranked #1 on NMG Consulting’s 2019 All Respondent Business Capability Index in both the U.S. and Mexico – we focus more on the number of clients who choose to partner with us year after year. Together with our clients, RGA helps provide financial security to tens of millions of people in the region. We believe the impact our work has on all those planning their retirement, dealing with a serious illness, or enduring the loss of a loved one is the truest measure of our success.