Scott Perry, CEO, AmeriLife
In an interview with Invest:, Scott Perry, CEO of AmeriLife, shared strategies to adapt to market volatility and regulatory changes, explained how providing holistic financial and healthcare solutions helps build trust with clients, and highlighted the company’s remarkable growth, noting that a, “recently announced a transaction that will add another $200 million in revenue, putting us well over $1 billion in net revenue for 2025.”
What have been some significant milestones and achievements for AmeriLife over the last 12 to 18 months?
We have grown the business significantly in the last 18 months, particularly in the last 12 months. We have grown both our top line and our bottom line by over 20%. We have also added new affiliates to our network. When I talk about affiliates, I am referring to partnerships in distribution organizations across the nation where we have ownership. We have completed over 25 acquisitions during this 12 to 18-month period nationwide. About half of these acquisitions have been part of our health organization, and the other half have been part of our wealth organization.
The health segment is primarily geared toward distributing products to the Medicare-age population, protecting them against unplanned healthcare expenditures. The wealth segment is primarily geared toward pre- and post-retirees, helping them plan and live in retirement, as well as plan for any final expenses or efficiently transfer their estate to beneficiaries. This has allowed us to grow the business from approximately $200 million to over $322 million in operating income. We achieved almost $1 billion in net revenue in 2024, up from about $750 million in 2022, evidencing the significant growth that we have experienced over the last two years. Additionally, we have recently announced a transaction that will add another $200 million in revenue, putting us well over $1 billion in net revenue for 2025. Lastly, we have seen our employee base grow significantly as well. In 2020, we had approximately 1,500 employees. Today, we have over 3,000. In the Tampa Bay and Clearwater area alone, our employee base has grown from about 500 to over 800. While we have expanded nationally, we have also seen significant growth in the Bay area.
How do you approach building and maintaining relationships based on trust to help address potential headwinds and challenges?
It all starts with recognizing that consumers are increasingly seeking holistic advice and services. We have built a platform that provides our advisers with access to a broad range of capabilities for nearly any consumer need, pre-retirement and in retirement. AmeriLife has built strong relationships with local advisers and insurance agents, who have nurtured trust within their communities over the years as they are crucial in delivering these holistic solutions.
When individuals enter retirement, or even before they retire, they have several key concerns. First, they worry about healthcare. Once their employer no longer provides coverage, they need to determine how to secure healthcare and cover expenses that traditional healthcare plans may not include, such as long-term care. Second, they are concerned about whether they have accumulated enough assets to support them after they stop working. They want to save more while managing market volatility. The challenge is to reduce risk while continuing to grow their nest egg as they approach and enter retirement. Third, once they retire, they need to convert their assets into a reliable income stream that can replace their employment income. Lastly, they think about estate planning. While they acknowledge that they will likely live longer than expected, they also recognize that they will not live forever. They want to ensure that whatever remains of their assets can be efficiently passed on to their children, grandchildren, church, or other organizations they wish to support.
Our platform offers products and services that address these four core needs. As a result, our agents and advisers can provide comprehensive, holistic advice tailored to each client’s specific situation. Building trust starts with relationships.
How are you advising clients to navigate any potential headwinds?
The volatility is especially important when you are young and have years of investing ahead. You can live through the ups and downs and, in some cases, even take advantage of market downturns. However, as your investment horizon shrinks, you need to be more sensitive and mitigate the peaks and valleys, especially the valleys. We use products that are generally more conservative and geared toward removing some of the volatility that exists. Instead of investing in individual stocks, our advisers recommend ETFs. Our advisers also use fixed indexed annuities to reduce market volatility. Fixed annuities provide a guarantee of principal, meaning you can never lose your initial principal; you can only gain upside. Recognizing that there will always be uncertainty and volatility in the market is key. While volatility sometimes rises, we are probably experiencing a higher level now than before. There are investment products, and then there are insurance and protection products. The latter removes a lot of uncertainty. For example, when you purchase a $100,000 life insurance benefit, it is a very certain outcome. You pay your premiums, and if you pass away, your beneficiaries receive that amount. As market volatility increases, we see an enhanced interest in protection-oriented products such as life insurance and fixed annuities. We also see people place more value on health insurance products that cover gaps in their existing policies. We offer ancillary health insurance products that cover extra costs, such as out-of-pocket expenses from major medical plans or Medicare programs. We sell hospital indemnity programs, cancer insurance, and accident insurance. These products tend to gain more interest when there is market volatility or uncertainty.
Is there anything on the regulatory or policy front that you are keeping an eye on that might impact the insurance and financial services sector?
There are many changes happening in the regulatory world, and we are closely following developments from the new administration. The two primary regulatory bodies we pay attention to on the health insurance side are the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Labor (DOL). CMS regulates the Medicare Advantage program and other Medicare-related programs we are involved with. There are many changes happening in that space, and we are monitoring them carefully. Overall, we feel that their objectives align with ours: ensuring consumers have choice, receive accurate information, and get matched with the plan that best meets their needs. We feel very confident that what we do aligns with these regulatory goals. Another area we follow closely is the Department of Labor (DOL). They have been looking at regulating how some of our products are sold. We are supportive of increased consumer protection, provided it is reasonable. We work closely with industry associations, the DOL, and state insurance departments to ensure proper regulation of how insurance agents and advisers engage with consumers. However, we also want to ensure that regulations are not overly restrictive and do not limit the options available to consumers. Additionally, we are monitoring the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC is appropriately examining advertising practices, especially those targeting retirees. Some advertising can be overwhelming, confusing, or lack full disclosure. We support efforts to improve transparency, but we also want to balance oversight to avoid unintended consequences that could limit consumer choices.
