Brighthouse Financial Inc

We are organized into the following reportable segments: Annuities; Life; Run-off; and Corporate & Other. In addition to the discussion that follows, refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations — Segment Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 - Adjusted Earnings (Loss)” and Note 2 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding each of our segments. Substantially all of our premiums, universal life and investment-type product policy fees and other revenues originated in the U.S.

Assets under management (“AUM”) for each of our segments was as follows at:

Our Annuities segment consists of a variety of variable, fixed, index-linked and income annuities designed to address contract holders’ needs for protected wealth accumulation on a tax-deferred basis, wealth transfer and income security. In 2013, we began a shift in our business mix towards fixed products with lower guaranteed minimum crediting rates and variable annuity products with less risky living benefits while simultaneously increasing our emphasis on index-linked annuity products. Since 2014, our new sales have primarily consisted of Shield® Level Annuities (“Shield” and “Shield Annuities”), fixed annuities and variable annuities with simplified living benefits. We have launched new products and refined existing products as we continue to strive to innovate in response to customer and distributor needs and market conditions.

Insurance liabilities of our annuity products were as follows at:

(1)Excludes market risk benefit (“MRB”) liabilities for guaranteed minimum benefits (“GMxB”) and Shield embedded derivatives.

We seek to meet our risk-adjusted return objectives in our Annuities segment through a disciplined risk selection approach and innovative product design, balancing overall profitability with sales growth. We believe we have the underwriting approach, product design capabilities and distribution relationships that allows us to offer new products that meet our risk-adjusted return objectives and that such capabilities will enhance our ability to maintain market presence and relevance over the long-term. We intend to meet our risk management objectives by continuing to hedge significant market risks associated with our existing annuity products, as well as new business. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management Strategies.”

Products

Shield Annuities

Our flagship suite of Shield Annuities provides for accumulation of retirement savings or other long-term investments and combines certain features found in both variable and fixed annuities. Shield Annuities are registered index-linked annuity contracts that provide the contract holder with the ability to participate in the appreciation of certain financial markets up to a stated level, while offering protection from a portion of declines. Rather than allocating purchase payments directly into the equity market, the contract holder has an opportunity to participate in the returns of a specified market index. Shield Annuities also offer account value and return of premium death benefits. In addition, newer versions of Shield Annuities may also provide an opportunity for lifetime income through a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit feature.

To protect us from premature withdrawals, we impose surrender charges, which are typically applicable during the early years of the annuity contract and decline over time. Surrender charges allow us to recoup amounts we expended to initially market and sell such annuities. Newer versions of our Shield Annuities also have a provision that adjusts the amount available upon surrender or withdrawal that is intended to protect us against rising interest rates.

Fixed Deferred Annuities

Fixed deferred annuities are single premium deferred annuity contracts that are designed for growth and to address asset accumulation needs. Purchase payments under fixed deferred annuity contracts are allocated to our general account and interest is credited based on rates we determine for fixed rate annuities or the performance of an index or indices for fixed index annuities (“FIA”), subject to specified guaranteed minimums. Credited interest rates are guaranteed for at least one year. Our FIA offerings are individual single premium deferred annuity contracts that provide for the potential accumulation of retirement savings as well as an opportunity for lifetime income through an optional guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit rider.

To protect us from premature withdrawals, we impose surrender charges, which are typically applicable during the early years of the annuity contract and decline over time.

Income Annuities

Income annuities are annuity contracts under which the contract holder contributes a portion of their retirement assets in exchange for a steady stream of retirement income, lasting either for a specified period of time or the life of the annuitant. We offer two types of income annuities: immediate income annuities, referred to as “single premium immediate annuities” (“SPIA”), and deferred income annuities (“DIA”). Both products provide guaranteed lifetime income that can be used to supplement other retirement income sources. SPIAs are single premium annuity products that provide a guaranteed level of income, beginning within 12 months from the contract issuance date, to the contract holder for a specified number of years or the duration of the life of the annuitant(s). DIAs differ from SPIAs in that DIAs require the contract holder to wait at least 15 months before income payments commence. SPIAs and DIAs are priced utilizing the annuitant’s age, gender and, in the case of DIAs, the deferral period. DIAs provide a pension-like stream of income payments after a specified deferral period.

Variable Annuities

We issue variable annuity contracts that offer contract holders a tax-deferred basis for wealth accumulation and rights to receive a future stream of payments. The contract holder can choose to invest purchase payments in the separate account or, if available, the general account investment options under the contract. For the separate account options, the contract holder can elect among several subaccounts that invest in internally and externally managed investment portfolios. Unless the contract holder has elected to pay for guaranteed minimum living or death benefits, as discussed below, the contract holder bears the entire risk and receives all of the net returns resulting from the investment option(s) chosen. For the general account options, we credit the contract’s account value with the net purchase payment and credit interest to the contract holder at rates declared periodically, subject to a guaranteed minimum crediting rate. The account value of most types of general account options is guaranteed and is not exposed to market risk, because the issuing insurance company (rather than the contract holder) directly bears the risk that the value of the underlying general account investments of the insurance companies may decline.

The majority of the variable annuities we issue have GMxBs, which we believe make these products attractive to our customers in periods of economic uncertainty. GMxBs provide the contract holder with protection against the possibility that a downturn in the markets will reduce the certain specified benefits that can be claimed under the contract. Variable annuities may have more than one type of GMxB. The primary types of GMxBs are those that guarantee death benefits payable upon the death of a contract holder (guaranteed minimum death benefits, “GMDB”) and those that guarantee benefits payable while the contract holder or annuitant is alive (guaranteed minimum living benefits, “GMLB,” which include guaranteed minimum income benefits (“GMIB”), guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits (“GMWB”) and guaranteed minimum accumulation benefits (“GMAB”)).

The guaranteed benefit received by a contract holder pursuant to the GMxBs is calculated based on a notional amount known as the benefit base (“Benefit Base”). The calculation of the Benefit Base varies by benefit type and may differ in value from the contract holder’s account value.

Variable Annuity Fees

We earn various types of fee revenue based on account value, fund assets and the guarantees for contracts that invest through a separate account. We earned fees and charges on our variable annuity contracts that invest through a separate account of $2.6 billion, net of pass-through amounts, for both years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. In addition to fee revenue, we also earn a spread on the portion of the account value allocated to the general account.

Mortality & Expense Fees and Administrative Fees. We earn mortality and expense fees (“M&E Fees”), as well as administrative fees on our variable annuity contracts. M&E Fees are calculated based on the portion of the contract holder’s account value allocated to the separate accounts and are expressed as an annual percentage deducted daily. These fees are used to offset the insurance and operational expenses relating to our variable annuity contracts. Additionally, the administrative fees are charged either based on the daily average of the net asset values in the subaccounts or when contracts fall below minimum values based on a flat annual fee per contract.

Surrender Charges. Most, but not all, variable annuity contracts (depending on their share class) may also impose surrender charges on withdrawals for a period of time after the purchase and in certain products for a period of time after each subsequent deposit, also known as the surrender charge period. A surrender charge is a deduction of a percentage of the contract holder’s account value prior to distribution to him or her. Surrender charges generally decline gradually over the surrender charge period, which can range from zero to ten years. Our variable annuity contracts typically permit contract holders to withdraw up to 10% of their account value each year without any surrender charge, however, their guarantees may be significantly impacted by such withdrawals. Contracts may also specify circumstances when no surrender charges apply, for example, upon payment of a death benefit.

Investment Management Fees. We charge investment management fees for managing the proprietary funds managed by our subsidiary, Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC (“Brighthouse Advisers”), that are offered as investments under our variable annuities. Investment management fees are also paid on the non-proprietary funds managed by investment advisors unaffiliated with us, to the unaffiliated investment advisors. Investment management fees differ by fund. A portion of the investment management fees charged on proprietary funds managed by subadvisors unaffiliated with us are paid by us to such subadvisors. Investment management fees reduce the net returns on the variable annuity investments.

12b-1 Fees and Other Revenue. We earn monthly or quarterly fees for providing certain services to customers and distributors (“12b-1 fees”). 12b-1 fees are paid by the mutual funds selected by our contract holders and are calculated based on the net assets of the funds allocated to our subaccounts. These fees reduce the returns contract holders earn from such funds. Additionally, mutual fund companies with funds which are available to contract holders through the variable annuity subaccounts pay us fees consistent with the terms of administrative service agreements. These fees are funded from the fund companies’ net revenues. See Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on 12b-1 fees.

Death Benefit Rider Fees. We may earn fees in addition to the base M&E fees for promising to pay GMDBs. The fees earned vary by generation and rider type. For some death benefits, the fees are calculated based on account value, but for enhanced death benefits (“EDB”), the fees are normally calculated based on the Benefit Base. In general, these fees were set at a level intended to be sufficient to cover anticipated expenses related to claim payments and hedge costs associated with these benefits. These fees are deducted from the account value.

Living Benefit Rider Fees. We earn these fees for promising to pay guaranteed benefits while the contract holder is alive, such as for any type of GMLB (including GMIBs, GMWBs and GMABs). The fees earned vary by generation and rider type and are typically calculated based on the Benefit Base. In general, GMLB fees calculated based on the Benefit Base are more stable in market downturns compared to fees based on the account value. These fees are set at a level intended to be sufficient to cover anticipated expenses related to claim payments and hedge costs associated with these benefits. These fees are deducted from the account value.

Pricing and Risk Selection

Product pricing reflects our pricing standards and guidelines. Annuity pricing is based on the expected payout of account value or guarantees, which is calculated using our assumptions for mortality, sales mix, expenses, policyholder behavior and investment returns, as well as certain macroeconomic factors (e.g., inflation, volatility and interest rates). Our product pricing models consider additional factors, such as hedging costs, reinsurance premiums and capital requirements.

Rates for annuity products generally include pricing terms that are guaranteed for a certain period of time. Such products generally include surrender charges for early withdrawals and fees for guaranteed benefits. We periodically reevaluate the costs associated with such guarantees and may adjust pricing levels accordingly. We may also reevaluate the type and level of guarantee features being offered from time to time.

We regularly review our pricing guidelines, models and assumptions in light of applicable regulations and experience in an effort to ensure that our policies remain competitive and aligned with our marketing strategies and profitability goals.

Evolution of our Annuity Business

Our in-force annuity block reflects a wide variety of product offerings, reflecting the changing nature of these products over the past three decades. The changes in product features and terms over time are driven partially by customer demand and also reflect our continually refined evaluation of product guarantees, their expected long-term claims costs and the most effective market risk management strategies.

We introduced our first variable annuity product over 50 years ago and began offering GMIBs, which were our first living benefit riders, in 2001. Beginning in 2009, we began taking actions to reduce our risk exposure to GMIBs, and, in 2016, we ceased offering GMABs and GMIBs for purchase. In 2015, we shifted our marketing focus from GMIBs to GMWBs with the release of FlexChoice SM, a GMWB with lifetime payments. In 2018, we launched an updated version of FlexChoice SM, “Flex Choice Access,” to provide financial advisors and their clients more investment flexibility.

We introduced Shield Annuities in 2013 and sales have continued to increase due to growing consumer demand. Shield Annuities have historically provided us with a risk offset to the GMxBs offered in our traditional variable annuity products, and we historically managed our variable annuities and Shield Annuities on a combined basis. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management Strategies.”

In July 2024, we launched updated versions of our suite of Shield Annuities, which we manage separately from our variable annuities and first generation Shield Annuities.

Going forward, we intend to focus on selling our new suite of Shield Annuity products, along with variable annuities with GMWBs and GMDBs only.

Deposits for our Shield Annuities and variable annuities were as follows:

Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefits

Since 2001, we have offered a variety of GMDBs to our contract holders, which include the following:

•Account Value Death Benefit. The Account Value Death Benefit returns the account value at the time of the claim with no imposition of surrender charges.

•Return of Premium Death Benefit. The Return of Premium Death Benefit, also referred to as Principal Protection, pays the greater of (i) the account value at the time of the claim or (ii) the total purchase payments, adjusted proportionately for any withdrawals.

•Annual Step-Up Death Benefit. The Annual Step-Up Death Benefit, an election made for an additional fee, allows the contract holder the option to “step-up” or lock-in the high-water mark on their guaranteed death benefit on any contract anniversary. This benefit pays the greater of (i) the account value at the time of the claim, (ii) the total purchase payments or (iii) the highest anniversary “step-up” value, adjusted proportionately for any withdrawals.

•Combination Death Benefit. The Combination Death Benefit, which we no longer offer, consists of the Compounded-Plus Death Benefit and the Enhanced Death Benefit. The Compounded-Plus Death Benefit pays the greater of (i) the account value at the time of the claim, (ii) the highest anniversary “step-up” value or (iii) a roll-up Benefit Base, adjusted proportionately for any withdrawals. The Enhanced Death Benefit pays the greater of (i) the highest anniversary “step-up” value or (ii) a roll-up benefit which allows for dollar-for-dollar withdrawals up to the permitted amount for that contract year and proportional adjustments for withdrawals in excess of the permitted amount.

•Interval Reset Death Benefit. The Interval Reset Death Benefit, which we no longer offer, pays the greater of (i) the account value at the time of the claim, (ii) the total purchase payments or (iii) the interval reset value, a guaranteed death benefit on the interval anniversary date with this level of death benefit being reset (either up or down) on the next interval anniversary date, adjusted proportionately for any withdrawals.

In addition, we currently also offer an optional death benefit for an additional fee with our FlexChoice SM riders, available at issue through age 65, which has a similar level of death benefit protection as the Benefit Base for the living benefit rider. However, the Benefit Base for this death benefit is adjusted for all withdrawals.

Our variable annuity account values and Benefit Base by type of GMDB were as follows at:

(1)Many of our annuity contracts offer more than one type of guarantee and therefore certain death benefit guarantee amounts included in this table may also be included in the GMLBs table below.

(2)Includes Compounded-Plus Death Benefit, Enhanced Death Benefit, and FlexChoice SM death benefit.

Guaranteed Minimum Living Benefits

Our in-force block of variable annuities consists of three varieties of GMLBs, including variable annuities with GMIBs, GMWBs and GMABs. Based on total account value, approximately 75% and 76% of our variable annuity block included living benefit guarantees at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

GMIBs. GMIBs are our largest block of living benefit guarantees based on in-force account value. Contract holders must wait for a defined period, usually ten years, before they can elect to receive income through guaranteed annuity payments.

Contract holder behavior around choosing a particular option cannot be predicted with certainty at the time of contract issuance or thereafter. The incidence and timing of benefit elections and the resulting benefit payments may differ materially from those we anticipated at the time we issued a variable annuity contract with a GMIB. As we observe actual contract holder behavior, we periodically update our assumptions with respect to contract holder behavior and take appropriate action with respect to the amount of the reserves we establish for the future payment of such benefits. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Guarantees within certain of our annuity products may decrease our earnings, decrease our capitalization, increase the volatility of our results, result in higher risk management costs and expose us to increased market risk” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates.”

Before we ceased offering GMIBs for purchase in 2016, we employed several risk exposure reduction strategies at the product level. These include reducing the interest rates used to determine annuity payout rates on GMIBs from 2.5% to 0.5% over time. In addition, we increased the setback period used to determine the annuity payout rates for contract holders from seven years to ten years. We also reduced the guaranteed roll-up rates from 6% to 4%.

Additionally, we introduced limitations on fund selections inside certain variable annuity contracts and introduced managed volatility funds to our fund offerings in conjunction with the introduction of our last generation GMIB product “Max.” Approximately 28% and 29% of GMIB total account value at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, was invested in managed volatility funds. The managers of these funds seek to reduce the risk of large, sudden declines in account value during market downturns by managing the volatility or draw-down risk of the underlying fund holdings by rebalancing the fund holdings within certain guidelines or overlaying hedging strategies at the fund level. We believe that these risk mitigation actions at the fund level reduce the amount of hedging or reinsurance we require to manage our risks arising from guarantees we provide on the underlying variable annuity separate accounts.

GMWBs. GMWBs have a Benefit Base that contract holders may roll up for up to ten years. If contract holders take withdrawals early, the roll-up may be less than ten years. This is in contrast to GMIBs, in which roll-ups may continue beyond ten years. Therefore, the roll-up period for the Benefit Base on GMWBs is typically less uncertain and is shorter than those on GMIBs. Additionally, the contract holder may receive income only through withdrawal of their Benefit Base. These withdrawal percentages are defined in the contract and differ by the age when contract holders start to take withdrawals. Withdrawal rates may differ if they are offered on a single contract holder or a couple (joint life). GMWBs primarily come in two versions depending on if they are period certain or if they are lifetime payments.

GMABs. GMABs guarantee a minimum amount of account value to the contract holder after a set period of time, which can also include locking in capital markets gains. This can protect the value of the annuity from market fluctuations.

Our variable annuity account value and Benefit Base by type of GMLB were as follows at:

(1)Many of our annuity contracts offer more than one type of guarantee and therefore certain living benefit guarantee amounts included in this table may also be included in the GMDBs table above.

(2)Total account value includes investments in the general account totaling $3.8 billion and $4.3 billion at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Net Amount at Risk

The net amount at risk (“NAR”) for the GMIB is the amount (if any) that would be required to be added to the total account value to purchase a lifetime income stream, based on current annuity rates, equal to the minimum amount provided under the guaranteed benefit. This amount represents our potential economic exposure to such guarantees in the event all contract holders were to annuitize on the balance sheet date, even though the guaranteed amount under the contract may not be annuitized until after the waiting period of the contract.

The NAR for the GMWB is the amount of guaranteed benefits in excess of the account values (if any) as of the balance sheet date and assumes utilization of benefits by all contract holders as of the balance sheet date. Only a small portion of the Benefit Base is available for withdrawal on an annual basis.

The NAR for the GMAB is the amount of guaranteed benefits in excess of the account values (if any) as of the balance sheet date and assumes utilization of benefits by all contract holders as of the balance sheet. The NAR for the GMAB is not available until the GMAB maturity date.

The NAR for the GMDB is the amount of death benefit in excess of the account value (if any) as of the balance sheet date. It represents the amount of the claim we would incur if death claims were made on all contracts on the balance sheet date and includes any additional contractual claims associated with riders purchased to assist with covering income taxes payable upon death.

Our variable annuity account value and NAR by type of GMxB were as follows at:

(1)The “Death Benefit NAR” and “Living Benefit NAR” are not additive at the contract level.

(2)In-the-money is defined as any contract with a living benefit NAR in excess of zero.

Reserves

Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), variable annuity guarantees are classified as MRBs, measured at estimated fair value, and are reported in market risk benefit assets and liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets, with changes reported in change in market risk benefits on the consolidated statements of operations, except for changes related to nonperformance risk, which are reported in other comprehensive income on the consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss). Additionally, the index protection and accumulation features of Shield Annuities are accounted for as embedded derivatives, measured at estimated fair value, and are reported in policyholder account balances on the consolidated balance sheets, with changes reported in net derivative gains (losses) on the consolidated statements of operations. The Shield embedded derivative liabilities were valued at $10.9 billion at December 31, 2024.

Our variable annuity MRBs by type of GMxB were as follows at:

The estimated fair value of these guarantees can change significantly due to changes in interest rates, equity indices, market volatility and variations in actuarial assumptions, including policyholder behavior, mortality and risk margins related to non-capital markets inputs, as well as changes in nonperformance risk. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Differences between actual experience and actuarial assumptions may adversely affect our financial results, capitalization and financial condition” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Guarantees within certain of our annuity products may decrease our earnings, decrease our capitalization, increase the volatility of our results, result in higher risk management costs and expose us to increased market risk.”

Life

Our Life segment consists of insurance products, including term, universal, whole and variable life products designed to address policyholders’ needs for financial security and protected wealth transfer, which may be on a tax-advantaged basis. While our in-force book reflects a broad range of life products, we are currently focused on term life products and universal life products with index-linked benefits, concentrating on design and profitability over volume. By managing our in-force book of business, we expect to generate future revenue and profits from premiums, investment margins, expense margins, mortality margins, morbidity margins and surrender fees. We aim to maximize our profits by focusing on efficiency in order to continue to reduce the cost basis and underwriting expenses.

Insurance liabilities of our life insurance products were as follows at:

The in-force face amount and direct premiums received for our life insurance products were as follows:

Products

Term Life

Term life products are designed to provide a fixed death benefit in exchange for a guaranteed level premium to be paid over a specified period of time. In 2020, we launched a new term product with 10-, 20- or 30-year level premium term options, which we plan to cease offering during the first half of 2025. We also offer a one-year term option. Our term life products do not include any cash value, accumulation or investment components. As a result, they are our most basic life insurance product offering and generally have lower premiums than other forms of life insurance. Term life products may allow the policyholder to continue coverage beyond the guaranteed level premium period, generally at an elevated cost. Some of our term life policies allow the policyholder to convert the policy during the conversion period to a permanent policy. Such conversion does not require additional medical or financial underwriting.

Whole Life

We currently offer a non-participating conversion whole life product that is available for term and group conversions and to satisfy other contractual obligations. We have a significant in-force book of both participating and non-participating whole life policies. Whole life products provide a guaranteed death benefit in exchange for a guaranteed level premium for a specified period of time in order to maintain coverage for the life of the insured. Whole life products also have guaranteed minimum cash surrender values. Our in-force whole life products provide for participation in the returns generated by the business, delivered to the policyholder in the form of non-guaranteed dividend payments. The policyholder can elect to receive the dividends in cash or use them to increase the paid-up policy death benefit or pay the required premium. They can also be used for other purposes, including payment of loans and loan interest. The versatility of whole life allows it to be used for a variety of purposes beyond just the primary purpose of death benefit protection. With our in-force policies, the policyholder can withdraw or borrow against the policy (sometimes on a tax favored basis).

Universal Life

We have a significant in-force book of universal life policies and currently offer two universal life products with index-linked benefits. Universal life products typically provide a death benefit in return for payment of specified annual policy charges that are generally related to specific costs, which may change over time. To the extent that the policyholder chooses to pay more than the charges required in any given year to keep the policy in-force, the excess premium will be added to the cash value of the policy and credited with a stated interest rate. This structure gives policyholders flexibility in the amount and timing of premium payments, subject to tax guidelines. Consequently, universal life policies can be used in a variety of different ways. Brighthouse SmartCare®, our index-linked universal life product launched in 2019, which we market as a hybrid life insurance and long-term care policy, allows policyholders to pay for qualified long-term care expenses by accelerating a significant portion of the face amount of the policy over a period of time. After that period of time, the policyholder may continue to receive benefits up to their maximum monthly amount for up to four additional years. Brighthouse SmartGuard Plus®, our index-linked universal life product launched in 2023, offers a guaranteed distribution rider that ensures a minimum amount of distribution payments will always be payable, regardless of policy performance, through policy loans. With positive policy performance, the amount of guaranteed distribution payments available may increase over time.

Variable Life

We have a significant in-force book of variable life policies, but do not currently offer variable life policies. Variable life products operate similarly to universal life products, with the additional feature that the excess amount paid over policy charges can be directed by the policyholder into a variety of separate account investment options. In certain separate account investment options, the policyholder bears the entire risk of the investment results. We collect specified fees for the management of the investment options in addition to the base policy charges. In some instances, these investment options are managed by third-party asset management firms. The policyholder’s cash value reflects the investment return of the selected investment options, net of management fees and insurance-related charges. With some products, by maintaining a certain premium level, policyholders may also have the advantage of various guarantees designed to protect the death benefit from adverse investment experience.

Pricing and Underwriting

Pricing

Life insurance pricing at issuance is based on the expected payout of benefits calculated using our assumptions for mortality, morbidity, premium payment patterns, sales mix, expenses, persistency and investment returns, as well as certain macroeconomic factors, such as inflation. Our product pricing models consider additional factors, such as hedging costs, reinsurance programs, and capital requirements. Our product pricing reflects our pricing standards and guidelines. We regularly review our pricing guidelines in light of applicable regulations and to ensure that our policies remain competitive and aligned with our marketing strategies and profitability goals.

We have established important controls around management of underwriting and pricing processes, including regular experience studies to monitor assumptions against expectations, formal new product approval processes, periodic updates to product profitability studies and the use of reinsurance to manage our exposures, as appropriate.

Underwriting

Underwriting generally involves an evaluation of applications by a professional staff of underwriters and actuaries who determine the type and the amount of insurance risk that we are willing to accept. We employ detailed underwriting policies, guidelines and procedures designed to assist the underwriters to properly assess and quantify such risks before issuing policies to qualified applicants or groups.

Insurance underwriting may consider not only an insured’s medical history, but also other factors such as the insured’s foreign travel, vocation, alcohol, drug and tobacco use, and the policyholder’s financial profile. We generally perform our own underwriting; however, certain policies are reviewed by intermediaries under guidelines established by us. Requests for coverage are reviewed on their merits and a policy is not issued unless the particular risk has been examined and approved in accordance with our underwriting guidelines.

The underwriting conducted by our corporate underwriting office and intermediaries is subject to periodic quality assurance reviews to maintain high standards of underwriting and consistency. The office is also subject to periodic external audits by reinsurers with whom we do business.

We believe we have established oversight of the underwriting process that facilitates quality sales and serves the needs of our customers, while supporting our financial strength and business objectives. Our goal is to achieve the underwriting, mortality and morbidity levels reflected in the assumptions in our product pricing. We seek to accomplish this by determining and establishing underwriting policies, guidelines, philosophies and strategies that are competitive and suitable for the customer, the agent and us.

We regularly review our underwriting guidelines (i) in light of applicable regulations and (ii) to ensure that our practices remain competitive and aligned with our marketing strategies, emerging industry trends and profitability goals.

Run-off

Our Run-off segment consists primarily of products that are no longer actively sold and are separately managed, including ULSG, structured settlements, pension risk transfer contracts, certain company-owned life insurance policies and certain funding agreements.

Insurance liabilities of our annuity contracts and life insurance policies reported in our Run-off segment were as follows at:

Our Corporate & Other segment consists of activities related to funding agreements associated with our institutional spread margin business, excess capital not allocated to the other segments, interest expense related to our outstanding debt, and preferred stock dividends, as well as expenses associated with certain legal proceedings and income tax audit issues. Corporate & Other also includes long-term care business reinsured through 100% quota share reinsurance agreements. See Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on funding agreements.