Jackson Might Buy a Life Insurer
August 12, 2026 by Allison Bell
Wink’s Moore on the Market: Is Jackson going to buy a life insurance company?
Entering the life insurance market, after taking a decade-plus-long hiatus, is a very big deal.
The life insurance landscape is challenging right now; especially if you distribute via independent insurance agents.
Publicly-traded insurance companies aren’t typically the best avenue for finding whole life products that are competitive.
You have to sell A LOT of term to be profitable with the product line.
Universal life is a non-starter. Companies are trying to distance themselves from products with no lapse guarantees. And- cash accumulation sales utilizing universal life would be ridiculous.
Variable universal life (VUL) is an option, but sales of VUL are overshadowed by indexed life by more than 200%.
And indexed life?
To compete in this market, one must be prepared for an arms race.
From IUL Tik Toks to ridiculous illustrations, indexed life is not for the faint of heart.
Given all of this, it would be interesting what companies come to mind as it relates to a potential acquisition.
It will be interesting to see how Don Cummings‘ statement that Jackson “would certainly look very strongly at” an opportunity to acquire a life insurance writer (through an inorganic opportunity) will change the strategy for this behemoth in the variable annuity space.
Jackson currently has a 6.45% share of the $99.4 billion annuity market (as of 1Q2026). They exited the life insurance market nearly 15 years ago, but continue to sell fixed, indexed, structured, variable and single premium immediate annuities. -sjm
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Don Cummings — the man set to become the chief executive officer of Jackson Financial on Oct. 1 — said Tuesday that he likes the idea of the annuity market giant acquiring a life insurance company.
The idea came up while Cummings and other Jackson executives were talking about the company’s latest results during a public conference call with securities analysts. Cummings is now Jackson’s chief financial officer. Read via Think Advisor
