US insurers’ exposure to CLOs rises to $276.8bn

Written by Adam Cadle

04/12/2025

US insurers’ exposure to CLOs, collateralised by broadly syndicated loans (BSLs) and middle market (MM) loans, increased by about 2% to $276.8bn in BACV at year-end 2024, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

The increase in US insurers’ CLO investments was mainly driven by a 5% increase in BSL CLO exposure, as insurers’ exposure to MM CLOs decreased by around 10%.

Overall, US insurers’ CLO investments have kept pace with the growth rate of U.S. insurers’ bond investments and total cash and invested assets at approximately 5% of total bonds and 3% of total cash and invested assets, respectively.

As in previous years, at year-end 2024, about 80% of US insurers’ CLO investments were predominantly investment grade and higher (i.e., rated at least BBB), including about 40% rated AAA.

Three-quarters of US insurers’ CLO investments were held by large life companies, i.e., those with at least $10bn in invested assets, many of which have CLO asset manager subsidiaries.

Private equity-owned insurers accounted for about 20% of US insurers’ total CLO exposure at year-end 2024.

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