Tom Gallagher

Senior Managing Director & Analyst, Life Insurance, Evercore

Search every verified Tom Gallagher interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Tom Gallagher, Senior Managing Director and Analyst for Life Insurance at Evercore, appeared on Episode 64 of The Real Eisman Playbook podcast, hosted by Steve Eisman, to discuss the role of private equity in the life insurance sector. During the episode, Gallagher provided historical context for private equity's entry into life insurance and discussed risk-taking by firms such as Apollo and KKR. He stated that alternative managers take on more risk than traditional life insurers, citing an average private credit yield of 6.5% for alternative managers compared to 5.5% for traditional companies, attributing much of the difference to illiquidity risk. Gallagher also noted that large alternative insurers are generally comfortable in their risk posture, though he expressed concern about some smaller companies taking on excessive risk. Gallagher also addressed the sector's low valuations and the complexities of aggressive share buybacks. He said the life insurance sector is "bordering or entering into the realm of irrelevance for the broader market," noting that investors often prefer property and casualty insurers due to their larger market capitalizations and liquidity. He agreed that life insurers should be buying back stock aggressively but observed that they generally do not, which he attributed to persistent distrust of the sector following historical blowups in long-tail businesses such as long-term care and variable annuities.