# North American Company for Life and Health Insurance

North American Company for Life and Health Insurance is an Insurance based in West Des Moines, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Insurance
- **Headquarters:** West Des Moines, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** West Des Moines, IA, United States
- **Founded:** 1886
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** nacolah.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/north-american-company-for-life-and-health

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The North American Company for Life and Health Insurance was founded in 1886. It is a US-based financial institution offering insurance products and services. Its sector focus includes biotech and life science investments.

## Sectors

- Insurance
- Private Credit
- Real Estate
- Infrastructure
- Secondaries & Special Situations

## Offices

- Sioux Falls, SD, United States

## People

- Esfand Dinshaw — Chairman and CEO, Sammons Financial Group

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at North American Company for Life and Health Insurance?

The firm's invested assets are managed within Sammons Financial Group, where Esfand Dinshaw serves as Chairman and CEO. Specific CIO or investment committee leadership details are not publicly disclosed. The parent, Sammons Enterprises, is employee-owned, meaning there is no external fund sponsor or private equity backer dictating portfolio decisions.

### Is North American structured as a traditional insurance company or does it operate more like an asset manager?

North American is a regulated life and health insurance carrier that operates a general account — meaning it invests policyholder premiums and its own statutory surplus to meet future liabilities. It is not an asset manager seeking third-party capital. The parent holding company, Sammons Financial Group, makes the asset allocation and investment decisions, with a heavy tilt toward buyouts, private credit, and commercial real estate.

### What role do life settlements play in North American's portfolio?

North American maintains a dedicated life-settlements portfolio, purchasing individual life insurance policies on the secondary market and collecting the death benefit as a return stream. This is a common strategy among life insurers seeking non-correlated yield, as the underlying asset's payoff is linked to mortality, not market cycles. The exact size of the portfolio is not publicly disclosed.

### How is North American related to Sammons Enterprises and Midland National Life?

Sammons Enterprises is the ultimate parent — an employee-owned holding company based in Dallas. Sammons Financial Group sits directly below it as the insurance-focused intermediate holding company. North American Company for Life and Health Insurance and Midland National Life Insurance Company are sister firms under Sammons Financial Group, both distributing life insurance and annuity products.

### What is the firm's known posture on co-investments alongside external managers?

As an insurance general account, North American participates in club deals and co-investment structures through its parent's buyout program. The firm does not operate an open co-investment platform for external investors; it deploys its own balance sheet. The absence of external limited partners means co-investment decisions are evaluated purely on risk-adjusted return relative to liability duration, without fund-formation constraints.

### Which asset classes does North American explicitly avoid?

Public disclosures are limited, but insurance general accounts of this type commonly avoid venture capital, early-stage technology, and other asset classes with extreme volatility or negative cash flow — such investments consume disproportionate regulatory capital under state insurance law. The Altss research record does not tag any venture, growth-equity, or pure-public-equity strategy.

### How does employee ownership affect North American's investment strategy?

Sammons Enterprises has no external equity holders — no quarterly earnings pressure, no private-equity exit clock. This lets the investment committee hold illiquid positions through entire credit cycles. It also reduces the mandate risk that public insurers face when a new CEO or activist investor demands strategic pivots. The trade-off is a lower public profile: the group discloses minimal financial data, making independent AUM estimates difficult to construct.

## Related profiles

- [Norfolk County Council Pension Fund](https://altss.com/profile/norfolk-county-council-pension-fund)
- [North American Wealth Advisors](https://altss.com/profile/north-american-wealth-advisors)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/north-american-company-for-life-and-health-insurance

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