Long term U.S. Treasury yields now sit near the highest levels seen in years, real rates are firmer, and inflation data looks more contained. That mix is reshaping how investors think about risk, returns, and where to put fresh cash to work. It also shines a spotlight on companies tied to long duration liabilities. This article walks through three U.S. life and annuity stocks that screen as potential beneficiaries of this new rate backdrop.

The stocks covered below are just a sample of the opportunities that clear this quality and balance sheet screen, and the full results surface 12 more U.S. life and annuity companies with similarly compelling stories tied to long term yields. To see the broader set, identify your own filters, and analyze which insurers line up best with your thesis, head straight into the U.S. Life Insurers and Long-Duration Liability Managers Benefiting from Higher Long-Term Yields screener.

Aflac (AFL)

Overview: Aflac is a supplemental health and life insurer that sells products such as cancer, medical, accident, and disability cover, mainly in Japan through Aflac Japan and in the U.S. through Aflac U.S. It focuses on helping individuals, families, and employers cover gaps left by core medical and life policies.

Operations: Aflac generates most of its revenue from Aflac Japan at about $8.9b and Aflac U.S. at about $7.0b, with additional corporate and investment related items making up roughly $1.2b.

Market Cap: $60.5b

Investors looking at Aflac today are weighing a large, established insurer whose long term liabilities and sizeable investment portfolio can benefit from higher U.S. Treasury yields against real questions about future growth and Japan concentration. The company is leaning into digital distribution and new products in both Japan and the U.S., while also returning a lot of capital through dividends and buybacks and working to steady investment income through diversification and hedging. At the same time, analysts see pressure on earnings and premiums, governance critics flag rich executive pay and limited board refresh, and Japan exposure adds currency risk. The key question is whether Aflac’s income, balance sheet strength, and rate backdrop are enough to offset those headwinds.

Capital returns, currency risk, and Japan dependence make Aflac a more complex story than it first appears. Get the full picture in the 3 key rewards and 1 important major warning sign

Build your own long duration income shortlist

Aflac and the two other insurers in this list all came out of the same Simply Wall St screen, but the real value for you is in tuning the filters yourself. Use our flexible Screener to mix valuation, balance sheet strength, income and risk metrics, or jump straight into our curated Investing Ideas for ready made starting points.

Kansas City Life Insurance (KCLI)

Overview: Kansas City Life Insurance is a long established U.S. insurer that sells individual life policies, final expense cover through its Old American unit, and group benefits such as life, dental, vision, disability, accident, and critical illness products across the United States and the District of Columbia.

Operations: Kansas City Life Insurance generates about $326 million from Individual Insurance, $92 million from Old American, and $71 million from Group Insurance, with all of its roughly $489 million in revenue coming from the United States.

Market Cap: $339 million

Investors watching long term yields climb may find Kansas City Life Insurance interesting because it is a pure U.S. life and annuity insurer whose investment portfolio and long duration liabilities are closely tied to the rate backdrop. The company has recently shifted back into profit, with Q2 2026 net income of $7.77 million after a loss a year earlier, yet its 5 year earnings trend has declined by 9.2% per year and return on equity sits at just 3.1%. A modest P/E discount to the broader U.S. market, ongoing dividends, and a seasoned management team are set against underperformance versus insurance peers and dividends that are not fully supported by free cash flow. The tension between improving results and these structural pressures is what matters most here.

Kansas City Life Insurance has a P/E discount, fresh profitability, and a long duration book that many investors may be overlooking. See how those threads come together in the analysis report for Kansas City Life Insurance

UTG (UTGN)

Overview: UTG is a U.S. insurance holding company that focuses on individual life insurance, both servicing existing policies and acquiring blocks of business, while also providing reinsurance services and administering life insurance for other entities. It supplements this core activity with a real estate and oil and gas royalty portfolio.

Market Cap: $185 million

UTG sits squarely in the group of life insurers that can be sensitive to higher long term Treasury yields, which is why it stands out in this screener. The stock trades on a low P/E multiple, even though H1 2026 net income reached $29.76 million and earnings per share more than doubled compared with a year earlier. At the same time, earnings fell over the past year, non cash items are high, and all liabilities stem from external borrowing, which lifts financial risk. Add in illiquid trading and a recent rise in executive pay while earnings declined, and you have a company where strong recent profitability and a seasoned management team sit alongside governance and funding questions that investors may wish to weigh carefully.

UTG’s strong recent net income and low P/E may be masking a very different risk reward profile than headline earnings suggest. See how the full story looks in the 1 key reward and 2 important warning signs (2 are major!)

Curious About Alternative Stock Paths?

Fresh ideas often move first. Some stocks are building quiet momentum while they are still under the radar for now.

• Scan a curated list of 11 dividend fortresses that aim to keep payouts flying while it matters to spot potential breakout income plays before yields shift again.
• Track fast moving themes in automation and industrial efficiency through a focused pool of 39 robotics and automation stocks that could catch real momentum before the crowd.
• Filter for sturdier opportunities in uncertain conditions by zeroing in on a hand picked list of solid balance sheet and fundamentals (49 results) and positioning around quality while prices are still dropping or overlooked.

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.