Insurance Separate Account
A separate account is segregated insurance capital tied to a specific mandate or product guideline set. Allocator behavior is driven by investment guidelines, compliance, and reporting precision.
An Insurance Separate Account is an investment account segregated from the insurer’s general assets, often linked to a specific product or mandate with defined investment guidelines. Separate accounts may be managed internally, by external managers, or through sub-advisory relationships, but they are typically governed by tight rules.
Separate accounts can appear more flexible than general accounts, yet the real constraint is usually guideline compliance: ratings bands, duration ranges, liquidity, concentration limits, and reporting cadence.
How separate accounts allocate
Typical drivers include:
- Mandate guidelines (risk, ratings, duration, liquidity, leverage)
- Product design and policyholder behavior expectations
- Operational capability and reporting requirements
- Role clarity: who is the “buyer” (investment platform vs product team)
OSINT signals
- New product launches that require new mandate exposures
- Announced changes to investment platforms or sub-advisory relationships
- Hiring around credit, structured products, or mandate management
- Disclosures about guideline changes or platform expansion
What slows decisions
- Guideline ambiguity or inability to map exposures cleanly
- Insufficient reporting depth (insurance buyers expect precision)
- Operational setup friction (accounting, compliance, data delivery)
Key diligence questions for GPs
- What are the exact guidelines and constraints?
- Who signs off (CIO platform, product team, risk, compliance)?
- What are data/reporting requirements and delivery timelines?
- Is the mandate benchmarked? Against what risk metrics?
- What is the expected holding period and liquidity tolerance?
Key Takeaways
- Separate accounts are “rules + reporting” capital
- Speed improves dramatically when buyer/decision owner is explicit
- Guideline mapping is the fastest qualification step