Athora

What Athora does

Athora is a European savings and retirement services group that acquires and manages closed life insurance books and writes new pension risk transfer business. Founded in 2014 (as AGER) and rebranded in 2018, the group operates licensed insurance entities in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the UK, alongside a Bermuda-based reinsurance subsidiary, Athora Life Re Ltd. Its core proposition for incumbent insurers is capital relief through portfolio transfer transactions, while for individual policyholders it provides traditional life, savings (Tak 21/23/26), and pension products. Athora's investment platform is overseen by Apollo Global Management, which is also its cornerstone equity investor alongside Athene, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala, and other institutional shareholders. Headcount is 3,000+ group-wide, including approximately 800 staff in London and an additional 220 in Belgium and 200 in Germany.

The business model is built on long-duration insurance liabilities funded by policyholder float. Athora collects recurring life insurance premiums and pension risk transfer fees, then invests the float in higher-spread, still investment-grade portfolios, including a €9.3 billion private credit sleeve that has generated cumulative realised losses of only €129 million over eight years. Distribution is multi-channel: institutional direct sales for UK bulk annuities (via Pension Insurance Corporation, acquired March 2026), an exclusive broker network of 500+ in Belgium, the Zwitserleven brand in the Netherlands, and corporate/portfolio M&A transactions across Europe. Pro forma the £5.7 billion PIC acquisition, Athora holds €139 billion in assets under management and administration and serves 3.1 million policyholders, ranking it among the top-5 guaranteed savings and retirement services groups in Europe. The group plans to relocate its corporate and legal headquarters from Bermuda to the UK by late 2027 under PRA supervision.

Name

Athora

Legal name

Athora Holding Ltd.

Website

https://athora.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Athora is a European savings and retirement services group that acquires closed life insurance books, writes pension risk transfer business, and serves 3.1 million policyholders across Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, and Bermuda reinsurance, backed by Apollo Global Management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Insurance & Retirement Services

NAICS

Direct Life Insurance Carriers (524113), Direct Life, Health, and Medical Insurance Carriers (52411)

SIC

Life Insurance (6311)

akta.pro primary industry

Universal Life (UL) Insurance (FSAIABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Annuity & Insurance-Based Retirement Solutions Advisory (FSAEABAH)

Keywords

• Life insurance services
• Pension risk transfer
• Retirement savings products
• Closed-book acquisitions
• Reinsurance solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

Bermuda

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Life Insurance Premiums: Athora collects insurance premiums from policyholders across its life insurance operations in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, and UK. Revenue is generated through traditional life insurance, pension, and savings products.
2. Investment Returns on Policyholder Float: Athora generates returns by investing policyholder float into higher-spread, still investment-grade portfolios while managing long-duration liabilities. This spread-based revenue is central to the run-off model.
3. Pension Risk Transfer Fees: Athora earns fees from pension risk transfer transactions, including bulk annuities where the company takes on liability for defined benefit pension schemes. Completed two Dutch PRTs totalling approximately €1.1 billion in 2025.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Athora is a European savings and retirement services group that acquires and manages closed European life insurance books and writes pension risk transfer / bulk annuity business. Across country-specific subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK, it sells life insurance, savings (Tak 21, Tak 26), unit-linked (Tak 23) and pension products, with reinsurance routed through Athora Life Re in Bermuda. Investment management for the resulting policyholder float is outsourced to Apollo Global Management.

Product overview

Athora is a European savings and retirement services group offering a portfolio of life insurance, pension, and reinsurance products across multiple European markets and Bermuda. The company's product architecture consists of country-specific sub-brands (Athora Belgium, Athora Netherlands, Athora Germany, Athora Life Re) plus the acquired Pension Insurance Corporation for UK operations. Product offerings include traditional life insurance (Tak 21), unit-linked products (Tak 23), guaranteed savings products (Tak 26), and pension risk transfer solutions. The group has expanded through acquisitions including VIVAT in the Netherlands, NN Insurance Belgium's closed-book portfolio, Amissima Vita in Italy, and PIC in the UK. The company focuses on providing competitive and stable returns to policyholders within a robust risk management framework.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Athora Life Re: Reinsurance business operating in Bermuda
• Athora Ireland
• Athora Pensionskasse

Products and services

• Athora Belgium life and savings insurance Belgian life insurance offering savings and investment insurance solutions (Tak 21 and Tak 23 products) for individuals and self-employed professionals, distributed through a network of over 500 independent brokers and financial advisors.
• Athora Netherlands pension and savings products Dutch life insurance and pension products including guaranteed savings, unit-linked products, and pension risk transfer solutions, distributed under brands such as Zwitserleven serving around 2.2 million life policyholders.
• Athora Germany life and pension insurance German life insurance covering life, occupational disability and retirement planning for individual and group customers, administered from Wiesbaden.
• Athora Life Re reinsurance Reinsurance solutions provided from Bermuda to Athora's group insurance entities, centralising long-duration liability and capital management.
• Pension Insurance Corporation UK bulk annuities and pensioner policies UK bulk annuity and pensioner policy solutions for trustees and sponsors of defined benefit pension schemes, providing full liability transfer and ongoing pension payments.
• Safe Horizon 3 (Belgian Tak 26 product) Belgian Tak 26 (branch 26) life insurance product with a 3-year guaranteed interest rate term and a 99-year contract duration, allowing the contract to continue after 3 years without additional charges.
• Safe Horizon 5 (Belgian Tak 26 product)

Quantifiable outcome

• Deployed €9.3 billion in private credit over 8 years with cumulative realised losses of just €129 million
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2026PIC became Athora's UK insurance business following £5.7 billion acquisition in March 2026. PIC has a portfolio of £54.8 billion of assets representing approximately 45% of Athora's AuMA, serving nearly 450,000 policyholders. PIC will continue operating under its existing brand.
• Cardano GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 October 2021Athora Netherlands sold ACTIAM asset manager to Cardano Group and entered a ten-year exclusive strategic partnership where Cardano provides asset management services to Athora Netherlands' unit-linked business. Cardano's LDI and advisory capabilities complement ACTIAM's sustainable investment expertise.
• Amissima VitaminorOthers · 23 September 2021Athora acquired Italian life insurer Amissima Vita from Apollo Global Management in 2022, subject to regulatory approval. Deal expected to close in first half of 2022.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Rothesay Life: UK specialist pension risk transfer provider and bulk annuity writer, owned by Goldman Sachs. Rothesay is the most direct comparable to Athora's PRT business via PIC, competing in the same UK bulk annuity market with a similar focus on long-duration liability management.
• Just Group: UK specialist annuity and retirement income provider offering guaranteed lifetime pensions and bulk annuity solutions. Just competes directly with PIC in the UK DB de-risking market and shares Athora's focus on long-duration, asset-intensive liabilities.
• Phoenix Group: UK-listed closed-life consolidator with £300+ billion of assets under administration across multiple European heritage brands. Phoenix is the most directly comparable business model — a specialist European closed-book life consolidator with cross-border M&A execution capability.

Broad incumbents

• Legal & General: Large UK life insurer and asset manager with a market-leading UK bulk annuity franchise (LGRe) and broader retail/pensions business. Comparable to Athora as both operate PRT and individual retirement businesses, though Legal & General is significantly larger and more diversified.
• Aviva: Major UK/European life and pensions group with bulk annuity, workplace pensions, and retail savings operations. Aviva is comparable as a multi-country European life consolidator, though its scale and breadth make it a broader incumbent rather than a pure run-off peer.
• Swiss Re: Global reinsurance giant with significant life and health reinsurance operations. Comparable to Athora's Athora Life Re Bermuda reinsurance business and to its overall long-duration liability investment approach, though Swiss Re operates at a vastly larger scale and broader scope.
• Munich Re: World's largest reinsurer, with life reinsurance and primary insurance operations across Europe. Comparable to Athora as a long-duration liability investor and reinsurance counterparty to European life insurers seeking capital relief.
• Zurich Insurance Group: Global insurer with substantial European life and savings operations, including bulk annuity capability in the UK. Comparable as a multi-country European life/savings operator with PRT ambitions, though considerably larger and more diversified.
• Aegon: Dutch-headquartered life and pensions group with operations across Europe and the US. Aegon's Dutch life book and European pensions footprint overlap with Athora's continental operations, and it has historically engaged in portfolio transactions relevant to the run-off market.
• NN Group: Dutch life and pensions insurer with European and Japanese operations. NN Group sold a €3.3 billion closed-book Belgian life portfolio to Athora in 2022, demonstrating direct counterparty activity with Athora in the European run-off market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/athoragroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Athora