Long term U.S. Treasury yields are climbing, the federal debt load is heavy, and bond markets are demanding higher compensation for risk. That combination is reshaping how investors think about income, growth, and balance sheet strength. It can reward some stocks while making others more fragile. This article walks through three U.S. life insurers and annuity providers that appear well exposed to these forces and explains what that might mean for your portfolio.

The three stocks below are just a starting sample. The full screen surfaced 10 more U.S. life insurers and annuity providers with equally compelling narratives that are not covered in this article. If you want to go deeper right now, head straight to the U.S. Life Insurers and Annuity Providers screener to identify, filter, and analyze the ideas that best fit your own conviction.

Primerica (PRI)

Overview: Primerica is a U.S. and Canadian financial services company that focuses on selling term life insurance, annuities, and investment products to middle-income households, where protection gaps are often largest. While it is heavily distribution driven, Primerica’s life and annuity offerings still depend on how effectively it invests long-term premiums into fixed-income assets, which ties it directly to the screener theme of life insurers that can benefit when long-term rates rise.

Operations: Primerica generates most of its revenue from Term Life Insurance at about US$1.8b, with a further US$1.4b from Investment and Savings Products and roughly US$233 million from Corporate and Other Distributed Products.

Market Cap: US$9.5b

Primerica provides exposure to rising long-term yields through a business that combines high-margin term life insurance with an investment and savings platform for middle-income households. The company reports strong profitability, with high return on equity and solid margins, and its recent results show double-digit growth in net income while assets under management in investment products reach record highs. At the same time, investors need to weigh funding and leverage risks, a heavy reliance on external liabilities, and softer life insurance volumes. For those interested in how these factors interact with a higher-rate environment and in assessing whether any current valuation gap to intrinsic value models appears attractive, Primerica may warrant closer review.

Primerica’s high return on equity and record investment assets suggest that the current story might only be half told. To see what the market could be pricing in, and what key risks might be hiding in the details, start with the 3 key rewards and 2 important warning signs

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F&G Annuities & Life (FG)

Overview: F&G Annuities & Life is a U.S. insurer focused on fixed indexed and registered index linked annuities, pension risk transfer deals, multi year guarantee annuities and indexed universal life, all of which rely on investing long term premiums into bond portfolios and earning a spread over what is promised to policyholders.

Operations: F&G Annuities & Life generates all of its reported US$6.1b in revenue from life insurance products, booked out of Bermuda.

Market Cap: US$3.5b

For investors looking for direct exposure to higher long term U.S. Treasury yields, F&G Annuities & Life sits very close to the theme. Its annuity and pension risk transfer business depends on the gap between portfolio yields and what it credits to customers, and recent results show a large, growing in force block and nearly US$75b of assets under management that can be reinvested as rates shift. At the same time, revenue is expected to decline, return on equity is in single digits, and the company relies heavily on external funding rather than deposits, which ties it closely to credit markets. With leadership changes and a move toward more fee based, less capital intensive business, there is more to unpack here than a simple “rate play.”

F&G Annuities & Life is growing a large, rate sensitive annuity and pension block. Yet the real story may be how those US$75b of assets are put to work. Get the full context in the analysis report for F&G Annuities & Life

Pekin Life Insurance (PKIN)

Overview: Pekin Life Insurance is a U.S. life, accident, and health insurer that collects long term premiums and invests them mainly in bonds to support policies such as life cover, annuities, funeral preplanning, and Medicare supplement products. It also writes auto, home, and business insurance sold through independent agents. The core link to this screener is its life operations, where investment spreads between bond returns and guaranteed policy liabilities are sensitive to long term interest rates.

Operations: Pekin Life Insurance currently reports its Insurance, Life and Health segment in the United States as a loss of about US$72 million, highlighting pressure in its core life and health book.

Market Cap: US$201 million

Investors looking at Pekin Life Insurance are really asking whether a traditional, long duration bond based life insurer with a small US$201 million market cap can turn rising long term yields into healthier investment spreads without being tripped up by its own weak profitability. Recent net margins have turned from a small profit into a loss and return on equity sits close to zero. This raises questions about execution, efficiency, and capital allocation, even as management talks up conservative, investment grade portfolios and careful asset liability matching. The story here combines potential rate tailwinds, a modest valuation anchored to book value, and balance sheet and governance questions that may merit closer inspection before you decide how it might fit alongside larger peers in this screener.

Pekin Life Insurance appears to be a small insurer where weak profitability might be masking something more interesting on the balance sheet. Before you decide it is too risky or too early, scan the Pekin Life Insurance financial health report

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.