Fortitude Re buys Dayforward to launch annuity platform
Fortitude Re has agreed to purchase substantially all assets of Dayforward, a digital insurance-technology firm founded in 2020, through a new entity that will be renamed Fortitude Life. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Acquisition Details
The transaction transfers Dayforward’s end-to-end annuity platform, distribution agreements, intellectual property, a licensed agency and its employees to the new subsidiary. Legacy insurance entities, existing policies and associated liabilities remain with the seller.
The newly formed unit will operate separately from the existing Fortitude Life Insurance & Annuity Company, one of the reinsurer’s current subsidiaries. The management team will continue to lead the business.
Platform Capabilities
Dayforward’s technology supports the full annuity policy lifecycle, from agent onboarding and application processing to issuance, commission payments and in-force servicing. The system is built for distribution partners seeking a digital sales route.
“We founded Dayforward to modernize how annuities are issued, administered and delivered to consumers,” said Aaron Shapiro, CEO of the tech firm. “Joining Fortitude Re gives us the capital foundation and institutional expertise to scale that vision at a pace we could not have achieved on our own.”
He added that the platform’s capabilities “perfectly complement our underwriting, ALM and investment expertise.”
Willkie Farr & Gallagher advised the buyer on the deal.
Strategic Shift Toward Origination
The acquisition highlights a tension in the reinsurer’s growth model. Since its 2020 spin-out from AIG, the Bermuda-based firm has completed more than a dozen transactions, building over $100 billion in reserves.
Its largest single deal was a $31 billion assumption of legacy variable annuities from Prudential Financial in 2022, followed by a $28 billion block from Lincoln Financial Group in November 2023. Such block deals are episodic and highly competitive.
When Fitch revised the rating outlook to positive in November 2024, it identified flow reinsurance as a more predictable volume source and suggested expanding those arrangements would be viewed favorably. Rather than waiting for cedants to bring blocks to market, the firm is building a channel that can generate business directly.
In the broader industry, private-equity-backed reinsurers are moving upstream, buying origination capability instead of relying solely on block acquisitions.
Earlier this year, the company raised $500 million through a funding-agreement-backed note issuance and launched a $700 million Asia reinsurance sidecar with Carlyle. In July, it announced a $3.8 billion long-term care reinsurance agreement with Unum Group. That announcement prompted AM Best to move its outlook to stable while affirming an A (Excellent) rating.
This move completes a suite that already includes administration capability acquired from AIG in 2022 and a US reinsurance platform.
