The Atlanta Life Insurance Company today provided an update on its strategic objectives, plans and progress. It also announced the decision to end its relationship with A.M. Best Co. as its rating agency.

Founded in 1905 by former slave Alonzo Franklin Herndon, Atlanta Life’s current leadership, led by Roosevelt Giles since 2017, is repositioning the business to ensure financial strength and flexibility and invest in long-term sustainable performance and profitability. With a unique and visionary corporate structure, put in place by Alonzo Herndon and his son Norris Herndon, the majority owner of Atlanta Life is the Herndon Foundation. With this ownership structure, Atlanta Life and the Herndon Family were at the forefront of stakeholder capitalism, using visionary tenets of corporate governance to fund the unique social mission of the Herndon Foundation with its long-standing commitment to supporting under-represented communities in need nationwide, to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit in the Black community and to train the next generation of diverse corporate leaders.

In sharing his strategic vision for Atlanta Life, Giles stated that “Our vision is to grow our reinsurance business with corporate customers who seek a competitive partner of choice and a way to multiply the impact of their economic contributions to Black-owned businesses; and to offer personal insurance policies in conjunction with financial literacy education to be part of the solution in increasing financial security and reducing economic disparities in historically disadvantaged communities.”

Atlanta Life’s current strategy has delivered growth in net premiums in 2020 with continued (net) premium growth in the first quarter of 2021. The company has executed notable group life reinsurance treaties with several leading insurance carriers on behalf of approximately twenty new corporate, government and association clients during the past two quarters. Atlanta Life maintains a risk-based capital ratio well in excess of all regulatory requirements. With an ongoing focus on optimizing the capital structure of Atlanta Life to match the strategic opportunities, Giles stated that “Our growth strategy includes a continued focus on strategic and financial partnerships with various companies and financial institutions that recognize the differentiated value proposition to all stakeholders given the unique social mission and the exciting commercial opportunities that exist for Atlanta Life today.”

Over the past year, Atlanta Life has undergone a corporate governance review and board refreshment process that has established a strong and engaged Board of Directors with a diverse representation of talent and skills to take the Company forward. Atlanta Life is in the process of expanding the executive management team to help strengthen its organizational infrastructure, processes, and capacity to scale its impact in the marketplace and by extension the community.

According to Giles, “We will continue to focus our efforts and resources on investing in Atlanta Life’s long-term success in a way that is consistent with serving our corporate customers and a broad definition of stakeholders. Atlanta Life will continue to work with organizations that understand and seek to help the Company advance our unique social mission of community reinvestment and skills-based empowerment.”