AMERICAN EQUITY INVESTMENT LIFE HOLDING CO

(a)Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

In accordance with the Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e), our management, under the supervision of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report on Form 10-K. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2023 in recording, processing, summarizing and reporting, on a timely basis, information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act.

(b)Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

The management of the Company is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in the Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

The Company's management assessed the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 based upon criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on the assessment, management has determined that we maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023.

The Company's independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, who audited the consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K, has issued an attestation report on the effectiveness of management's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023. This report appears on page F-2 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

(c)Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.