Company Description
CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) is a financial services company in the finance and insurance sector. According to the company, CNO "secures the future of middle-income America" by offering life and health insurance, annuities, financial services and workforce benefits solutions. It focuses on helping individuals, families and businesses protect their health, income and retirement needs.
CNO operates as a holding company for a group of insurance businesses and related services. Based on the available information, its activities span life insurance, health insurance, annuity products, and other financial services. The company reports that it manages millions of insurance policies and tens of billions of dollars in total assets, reflecting the scale of its operations in the direct life and health insurance market.
Business focus and customer base
CNO states that its core focus is on middle-income consumers in the United States. Its offerings are designed to help customers who "work hard to save for the future" protect against financial risks related to illness, accidents, loss of life, and retirement income needs. The company also notes that it serves businesses through workforce benefits solutions, indicating a presence in the worksite benefits market.
CNO highlights that its distribution model combines exclusive agents, independent partner agents and direct marketing. The company reports thousands of associates, exclusive agents and independent partner agents who guide customers through a lifetime of financial decisions. This mix of distribution channels supports both consumer-focused and worksite-focused sales.
Brands and segments
CNO delivers its products and services through a family of brands that it identifies as including:
- Bankers Life
- Colonial Penn
- Optavise
- Washington National
In its public communications and financial reporting, CNO refers to a Consumer Division and a Worksite Division. The Consumer Division focuses on individuals and families, while the Worksite Division is associated with benefits offered through employers and related services. CNO also discusses a Direct-to-Consumer channel and emphasizes insurance sales in both its Consumer and Worksite Divisions.
The company’s financial disclosures describe product lines that include annuity, health and life insurance. CNO also reports an investment and fee revenue component in its results, reflecting income that is not allocated directly to specific insurance product lines. Management highlights "income from insurance products" as a key measure, covering annuity, health and life segments.
Insurance and annuity products
Based on the information provided, CNO’s insurance operations encompass:
- Life insurance – policies aimed at providing financial protection to beneficiaries in the event of the insured’s death.
- Health insurance – products that help policyholders manage the financial impact of health-related events.
- Annuities – products that involve collected premiums and account values, with references to fixed indexed annuities and traditional fixed-rate annuities in the company’s financial discussions.
The company’s financial summaries refer to fixed indexed annuities, traditional fixed-rate annuities and single-premium immediate annuity products. CNO reports annuity collected premiums and annuity account values as key metrics, and discusses the impact of embedded derivative liabilities and market risk benefits related to its fixed indexed annuities.
Distribution and operations
CNO emphasizes a multi-channel distribution approach. It reports that customers are served through phone, online, mail, face-to-face interactions with agents, and other sales channels. The company cites the role of:
- Exclusive agents associated with its brands
- Independent partner agents who distribute its products
- Direct-to-consumer channels for certain offerings
CNO’s Worksite Division has included fee-based services in addition to insurance products. In its financial reporting, the company distinguishes between income from insurance products and fee income, and it has disclosed plans to exit the fee services side of the Worksite business in order to focus on its core insurance offerings. This illustrates an emphasis on insurance margins and underwriting performance as primary drivers of its business.
Financial reporting and capital management
CNO regularly reports quarterly results and furnishes them to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission via Form 8-K. These reports include:
- Net income and net operating income (a non-GAAP measure used by management)
- Income from insurance products by annuity, health and life lines
- Fee income and investment income not allocated to product lines
- Operating earnings before taxes and related income tax expense
The company also discusses return on equity (ROE) and operating ROE, book value per share, and book value per share excluding accumulated other comprehensive loss. Management commentary refers to sales growth, underwriting margins, and investment income as important components of performance. CNO has described projects such as "TechMod" to modernize elements of its technology and has disclosed reinsurance transactions with a wholly owned Bermuda reinsurance company related to supplemental health reserves.
CNO’s capital management activities, as described in its financial summaries, include returning capital to shareholders through share repurchases and common stock dividends. The company has announced recurring quarterly cash dividends on its common shares. It also reports statutory risk-based capital ratios for its U.S.-based insurance subsidiaries and provides detail on its fixed maturity investment portfolio by asset class and credit quality.
Community and sponsorship activities
CNO participates in community and sponsorship initiatives that align with themes of health and financial security. The company is the title sponsor of the CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, a marathon, half marathon and 5K event in Indianapolis. This sponsorship has been in place for multiple years and is described as reflecting a shared commitment to health, wellness and the central Indiana community. The event draws thousands of participants and includes charity-focused programs.
Regulatory filings and governance
As a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CNO, CNO Financial Group files periodic and current reports with the SEC. Recent Form 8-K filings have covered quarterly financial results and investor presentations, such as a Consumer Division briefing. These filings typically attach press releases, financial supplements and additional financial information as exhibits.
CNO’s governance structure includes a board of directors with members who have experience in financial services and related industries. Public disclosures from other companies reference CNO as a nationwide life and health insurer and financial services provider, reflecting its role in the broader financial services landscape.