Reinsurer Wilton Re will pay $220M to acquire Allstate Life Insurance Company of New York (ALNY) from parent company Allstate.

Why should we care?
Allstate has been moving away from life insurance and annuities in favor of the expansion of property and casualty products. The sale of ALNY marks the final transaction along this trajectory, after the company announced in January that it was selling Allstate Life Insurance Company (ALIC) to entities managed by Blackstone for $2.8B. The sale of these units is part of a strategy to pivot away from underperforming lines of business. The divestitures of ALIC and ALNY will result in an estimated net loss for Allstate of $4B. As insurers sell off life insurance and annuities businesses, other financial companies – including private equity and asset management firms – have rushed to acquire these units in recent years. ALIC reported a net loss of $23M for the first nine months of 2020. “Allstate is deploying capital out of lower growth and return businesses while continuing to execute our strategy to grow market share in personal property-liability and expand protection solutions for customers,” Tom Wilson, chair, president and CEO of Allstate said in January as the acquisition of ALIC was announced. In January 2021, Allstate closed a $4B acquisition of National General Holdings Corporation, a transaction which helped advance its goal of growing market share and distribution in personal lines insurance.