Berkshire Hathaway Annuity Review (2026)

Who is Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska?

Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska, usually shortened to BHLN, is a life and annuity subsidiary held through National Indemnity Company, part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. It does not chase retail attention the way most annuity brands do. Its business leans heavily on structured settlement annuities and single premium contracts sold through institutional relationships rather than a wide independent agent network.

Sitting inside one of the largest conglomerates on earth gives BHLN a level of financial backing few insurers can match. AM Best places it in the A++ tier, its top rating, and S&P rates the company AA+. That combination puts BHLN in rare company among U.S. life insurers.

If you are comparing MYGA rate sheets across a dozen carriers, BHLN will rarely show up. Its footprint concentrates in structured settlements, single premium deferred annuities, single premium immediate annuities, and a large reinsurance book that covers obligations for other insurance companies.

Berkshire Hathaway financial strength ratings

BHLN sits at the very top of the industry on both ratings it carries. AM Best's A++ is labeled "Superior," its highest of 13 categories, and S&P's AA+ falls in the "Very Strong" band, one step from the top.

For an annuity buyer, that combination matters most on long-duration guarantees. Picture comparing three carriers for a $150,000 income annuity: one rated A, one rated A+, and BHLN at A++. All three clear the bar most advisors treat as a floor, but the top-rated option gives you one more layer of comfort on a payout that could run 25 years or more.

A rating measures the company, not the product. It tells you how likely the insurer is to pay its obligations, not whether a particular annuity is a good fit for you.

Your state's guaranty association adds a second backstop up to a state-set limit. See our guide to state guaranty associations for the figure where you live.

What annuities does Berkshire Hathaway sell?

BHLN's product menu is intentionally narrow rather than the broad catalog you see from retail-focused carriers.

Structured settlement annuities

Structured settlements sit at the center of BHLN's annuity business. These are court-ordered or negotiated payment streams that come out of personal injury or workers' compensation cases, written through the company's Berkshire Hathaway Structured Settlements unit. BHLN issues roughly $1 billion in new structured settlement premium in a typical year, making it one of the largest writers of this product type in the country. Because these payment streams can run for decades, its top ratings carry extra weight here.

Single premium deferred annuities

BHLN also writes single premium deferred annuities, where a lump sum deposit grows tax-deferred at a fixed rate. That rate locks for an initial period, commonly 2, 3, or 5 years, and never falls below a guaranteed floor once a new rate is declared. This works much like the fixed annuities sold by other carriers, though BHLN places far fewer of them through independent agents.

Single premium immediate annuities

A single premium immediate annuity from BHLN turns a lump sum into guaranteed income that typically starts within 30 days of purchase. You can choose life-only payments, life with a period certain, or a joint-and-survivor option that keeps paying a spouse. Because the guarantee can run for as long as you live, the A++ rating standing behind it is among the strongest available anywhere in the retail market.

Reinsurance and institutional business

This side of the ledger reinsures other carriers' obligations rather than serving individual buyers: guaranteed investment contracts, pension risk-transfer deals struck with corporate plan sponsors, and blocks of variable annuity guarantees originally written elsewhere. It is not something a retail buyer touches directly, but it explains much of BHLN's scale and capital.

Berkshire Hathaway and the MYGA market

If a multi-year guaranteed annuity is what you are shopping for, BHLN is not where you will typically find one today. The company was more active in retail fixed annuities in earlier years, but it has pulled back from competing on rate in the independent MYGA channel, and you generally will not see it on current rate comparison pages.

That pullback is not a sign of weakness. Berkshire Hathaway's investment culture, shaped by Buffett's approach to underwriting, favors discipline over chasing premium volume with the highest posted rate. BHLN would rather compete in structured settlements and institutional business, where its A++ rating is the real selling point, than lead MYGA rate sheets.

If a competitive MYGA rate is your priority, look at carriers that are actively pricing to win that business right now. Use the rate box on this page for current numbers, and compare how MYGA rates stack up by term before you commit.

Who is Berkshire Hathaway best for?

• If a structured settlement is coming your way from an injury claim or a workers' compensation case, BHLN sits among the best-rated issuers you can find, and that strength holds up across payout schedules stretching 30 to 50 years.
• If you are a retiree turning $100,000 or more into a single premium immediate annuity and financial strength outweighs squeezing out the last basis point, BHLN deserves a look.
• If you represent a pension plan or an institution shopping for risk transfer or a guaranteed investment contract, BHLN's scale and top ratings fit that kind of work.
• If the Berkshire Hathaway name itself gives you confidence, that is a fair reason to prefer it. Reputation is not everything, but it is not nothing.

Who should look elsewhere?

• If you are rate shopping a MYGA, carriers like Athene and Midland National consistently post more competitive 3, 5, and 7 year rates than BHLN does.
• If you want a fixed index annuity with market-linked crediting, BHLN does not offer one. Our fixed index annuity guide covers carriers that do.
• If you want one carrier with a wide menu, from MYGAs to income riders to life insurance, BHLN's retail lineup is thinner than what Massachusetts Mutual or Athene offer.

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