The following summarizes reinsurance amounts (in millions) recorded on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss), excluding amounts attributable to the indemnity reinsurance agreements with Protective and Swiss Re:


	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2023		2022		2021
Direct insurance premiums and fee income	$	13,782	$	13,607	$	13,415
Reinsurance assumed	90		98		94
Reinsurance ceded (1)	(4,733)		(2,015)		(1,853)
Total insurance premiums and fee income	$	9,139	$	11,690	$	11,656

Direct insurance benefits	$	10,829	$	10,345	$	10,592
Reinsurance ceded (1)	(4,691)		(1,866)		(2,089)
Total benefits	$	6,138	$	8,479	$	8,503

Direct market risk benefit (gain) loss	$	(2,309)	$	(3,517)	$	(4,011)
Reinsurance ceded	45		271		258
Total market risk benefit (gain) loss	$	(2,264)	$	(3,246)	$	(3,753)

Direct policyholder liability remeasurement (gain) loss	$	(224)	$	3,294	$	(162)
Reinsurance ceded	72		(528)		(21)
Total policyholder liability remeasurement (gain) loss	$	(152)	$	2,766	$	(183)

Our insurance companies cede insurance to other companies. The portion of our annuity and life insurance risks exceeding each of our insurance companies’ retention limit is reinsured with other insurers. We seek reinsurance coverage to limit our exposure to mortality losses and to enhance our capital management. Reinsurance does not discharge us from our primary obligation to contract holders for losses incurred under the policies we issue. We evaluate each reinsurance agreement to determine whether the agreement provides indemnification against loss or liability.

As of December 31, 2023, the policy for our reinsurance program was to retain up to $20 million on a single insured life. As the amount we retain varies by policy, we reinsured 27% of the mortality risk on newly issued life insurance contracts in 2023.

We focus on obtaining reinsurance from a diverse group of reinsurers, and we monitor concentration as well as financial strength ratings of our reinsurers. Significant reinsurance agreements are discussed below.

Effective October 1, 2023, we entered into two reinsurance agreements with Fortitude Re, an authorized Bermuda reinsurer with reciprocal jurisdiction reinsurer status in Indiana, to reinsure certain blocks of in-force UL with secondary guarantees (“ULSG”), MoneyGuard® and fixed annuity products, including group pension annuities. Fortitude Re represents our largest reinsurance exposure as of December 31, 2023.

The first agreement is structured as a coinsurance treaty between us and Fortitude Re for the ULSG and fixed annuities blocks. As significant insurance risk was transferred for ULSG products and life-contingent annuities, amounts recoverable from Fortitude Re were $10.5 billion as of December 31, 2023. We recorded a deferred loss on the transaction of $2.7 billion, of which $11 million was amortized during 2023. Annuities that are not life-contingent do not contain significant insurance risk; therefore, we recorded deposit assets for these contracts of $4.2 billion as of December 31, 2023.

The second agreement is structured as coinsurance with funds withheld for the MoneyGuard block; however, as we retained significant insurance risk under the agreement, we recorded deposit assets of $7.8 billion as of December 31, 2023. In this coinsurance with funds withheld reinsurance agreement, we as the ceding company withhold, and therefore retain, the assets backing the deposit assets. We held investments with a carrying value of $9.9 billion in support of reserves associated with the Fortitude Re transaction in a funds withheld arrangement as of December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the portfolio included fixed maturity AFS securities, other investments, cash and invested cash and accrued investment income that had carrying values of $8.9 billion, $759 million, $141 million and $103 million, respectively. See “Realized Gain (Loss)” in Note 21 for information on reinsurance-related embedded derivatives.

Effective October 1, 2021, we entered into a reinsurance agreement with Security Life of Denver Insurance Company (a subsidiary of Resolution Life that we refer to herein as “Resolution Life”) to reinsure liabilities under a block of in-force executive benefit and universal life policies. The agreement is structured as coinsurance for the general account reserves and modified coinsurance for the separate account reserves. Amounts recoverable from Resolution Life were $5.0 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Resolution Life has funded trusts, the balances of which change as a result of ongoing reinsurance activity to support the business ceded, that totaled $3.8 billion and $4.1 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We recognized a realized gain of $635 million in 2021 for the coinsurance portion of the transaction upon the transfer of a portfolio of assets to Resolution Life.

The sale of individual life and individual and group annuity business acquired from Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston completed May 1, 2018 resulted in amounts recoverable from Protective of $9.1 billion and $9.6 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Protective has funded trusts, of which the balance in the trusts changes as a result of ongoing reinsurance activity, to support the business ceded, which totaled $10.5 billion and $11.5 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Protective represents our second largest reinsurance exposure as of December 31, 2023.

Effective October 1, 2018, we entered into a modified coinsurance agreement with Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) to reinsure fixed annuity products, which resulted in a deposit asset of $2.7 billion and $3.8 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We held assets in support of reserves associated with the Athene transaction in a modified coinsurance investment portfolio, which consisted of the following (in millions):


	As of December 31,
	2023		2022
Fixed maturity AFS securities	$	177	$	474
Trading securities	1,556		2,644
Equity securities	58		60
Mortgage loans on real estate	288		487
Derivative investments	43		39
Other investments	41		42
Cash and invested cash	582		26
Accrued investment income	23		35
Other assets	6		2
Total	$	2,774	$	3,809

The portfolio was supported by $77 million of over-collateralization and a $83 million letter of credit as of December 31, 2023. Additionally, we recorded a deferred gain on business sold through reinsurance related to the transaction with Athene and amortized $33 million, $25 million and $26 million of the gain during 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. See “Realized Gain (Loss)” in Note 21 for information on reinsurance-related embedded derivatives.

Our reinsurance operations were acquired by Swiss Re in December 2001 through a series of indemnity reinsurance transactions. As such, Swiss Re reinsured certain liabilities and obligations under the indemnity reinsurance agreements. As we are not relieved of our liability to the ceding companies for this business, the liabilities and obligations associated with the reinsured policies remain on the Consolidated Balance Sheets with a corresponding reinsurance recoverable from Swiss Re, which totaled $1.6 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Swiss Re has funded a trust, with a balance of $656 million and $710 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, to support this business. In addition to various remedies that we would have in the event of a default by Swiss Re, we continue to hold assets in support of certain of the transferred reserves. These assets consist of those reported as trading securities and certain mortgage loans.

In connection with our recognition of an allowance for credit losses for reinsurance-related assets, we perform a quantitative analysis using a probability of loss approach to estimate expected credit losses for reinsurance recoverables, inclusive of similar assets recognized using the deposit method of accounting. Our allowance for credit losses was $81 million and $317 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decrease was primarily attributable to the release of the allowance for credit losses related to a third-party reinsurer, Scottish Re (U.S.) Inc. (“Scottish Re”), where liquidation proceedings commenced during the third quarter of 2023. Effective September 30, 2023, reinsurance coverage terminated and all business ceded to Scottish Re was therefore recaptured. See Note 21 for additional information.