Episode 320: Where Do Life Insurance Companies Put the Money? with Mary Ward

Not Your Average Financial Podcast™

In this episode, we ask:

• Have you ever seen How It’s Made?
• How do insurance companies operate?
• How do insurers manage their finances, so they enough money to pay claims?
• How do insurance companies put your money to work?
• How have they managed to do this for well over a century without fail?
• How do they manage challenges, like pandemics?
• Who is Mary Ward, SVP and CFO from the Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York?
• What is a mutual life insurance company?
• What about the culture?
• What about the team?
• Why is it important to work with a mutual owned company (vs. a publicly traded company)?
• What about dividends?
• What about assumptions?
• What are the options?
• What about a return of premium?
• What are the goals?
• Who does the insurer want to please?
• How long has SML been in business?
• How have they paid dividends for 132 years, even through the Great Depression and Covid?
• What happens when mortality levels go up?
• How many dividend paying stocks have paid out over 132 years? Do you know of any?
• Where do insurance companies put the money?
• What about invested assets?
• What about liabilities?
• What is the risk appetite?
• Why are insurers risk averse?
• What about regulations and stress testing?
• How do the investments line up with mortality rates?
• What about NAIC rankings?
• What about diversification?
• Why do insurers steer clear of stocks?
• What about real estate and infrastructure debt?
• What was happening with the banking trouble?
• Why didn’t we hear about insurance company trouble?
• Who pays death claims every day?
• What about New York State testing?
• What if you have extreme mortality?
• How often must SML prove their capacity to manage extreme mortality events?
• What about permanent products, such as whole life insurance?
• What about cash value?
• What is the value of having life insurance in place?
• What are the key performance indicators for Security Mutual?
• What about $3B in assets in 2022, despite Covid?
• What about Houston, Texas?
• What is a capital to asset ratio? Why does it matter?
• How does capital grow?
• What about risk based capital?
• What about being strategic and managing reserve capital?
• What about long-range thinking?
• What about a new facet on the gem?
• What about the opportunity and flexibility of working with whole life insurance?
• What about questions?
• What are the takeaways?
• What about choosing a reliable, secure provider?
• What about exploring whole life insurance?
• What about researching before you make a decision?
• What about the track record and history of these companies?
• How long have they been paying guarantees and dividends?
• What about seeking out professional advice?
• Would you like to meet with Mark or one of Mark’s colleagues?

Mary Ward is the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, where she oversees the Company’s fiscal functions, including strategic initiatives, financial reporting, expense management, and relationships with rating agencies and regulatory bodies, and is also Co-Chair of the Enterprise Risk Management Committee.

Outside of work, she enjoys outdoor activities, and spending time with her family. Mary received her Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting, and Business Management from St. Bonaventure University.