Annuities & Beyond

Another failed experiment, Haven Life—a term life offering and former MassMutual favorite—was once a promising D2C brand but has gradually faded, leaving Blueprint Income, an annuity marketplace, as the last remaining MassMutual D2C initiative. Last month, Haven Technologies, the insurance SaaS provider owned by MassMutual, filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification with the New York Department of Labor, signaling its closure and the layoff of 65 employees—53% of its workforce. MassMutual confirmed that Haven Technologies will be fully integrated into its operations by early 2025, discontinuing any third-party services. 

Haven Technologies, launched in 2021, was designed to provide underwriting, policy administration, and other digital solutions for insurers but struggled to gain meaningful traction. MassMutual’s shift to a B2B focus contrasts with term-life companies like Ladder, which has maintained a steady approach, but mirrors others like Bestow and Ethos, which have significantly pivoted from their original propositions. 

• Bestow started as a D2C life insurance MGA but shifted to enterprise services after acquiring Centurion Life, later phasing out its carrier role to focus on B2B technology. Now, it partners with large insurers like Equitable and USAA, and in 2024, Sammons Financial Group announced plans to acquire Bestow Life, enabling Bestow to concentrate fully on its tech platform.
• Ethos initially criticized the commission model in life insurance but now collaborates with over 100,000 agents, including major agencies. It has evolved into a platform supporting term, whole, and indexed universal life (IUL) products, with an agent portal offering tools to simplify and speed up life insurance sales.
• Ladder (now also a Prudential partner) has remained consistent, offering digital life insurance with flexible programs such as Ladder for Advisors, Ladder for Affiliates, and Ladder @Work, plus partnerships with platforms like SoFi.

The lesson? You don’t have to be different to make a difference. What’s next? Annuities….