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Capital source

Life company loans: the lowest long-term fixed rates for your best stabilized assets

Life insurance company loans are permanent, non-recourse mortgages priced off Treasuries — typically the lowest long-term fixed rates available for high-quality, stabilized core properties. North Bay Capital sources and places this capital for borrowers who fit the box; we are the broker, not the lender.

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What it is

Life insurance companies hold long-dated liabilities (the policies they write), so they invest in long-dated, low-risk assets — and high-quality commercial mortgages fit that mandate perfectly. They lend directly off their own balance sheet, which means no securitization, no rating-agency process, and a relationship that holds steady through the life of the loan. The trade-off is selectivity: life companies want the best stabilized, well-located, institutional-quality assets at conservative leverage, and in return they offer the lowest fixed rates and clean non-recourse terms. North Bay Capital is a commercial mortgage brokerage — we maintain the life-company correspondent relationships and place your deal with the carrier whose appetite, geography, and asset focus actually fit it.

Ideal for
  • Stabilized, well-leased multifamily, industrial, grocery-anchored retail, or Class A office in primary or strong secondary markets
  • Borrowers who want the lowest possible long-term fixed rate and will accept conservative leverage (often 55–65% LTV) to get it
  • Investors seeking long fixed terms — 10, 15, 20, even 25 years — with long amortization and modest or no balloon risk
  • Sponsors who value non-recourse debt from a balance-sheet lender that holds the loan rather than selling it into a CMBS servicing structure
  • Long-term holders refinancing maturing bank or agency debt who plan to keep the asset for a decade or more
Typical terms
Typical loan size
~$5M to $100M+ (most life-co's start around $5M; some have small-balance buckets near $2M–3M)
Leverage
Conservative — generally 55–65% LTV, occasionally to 70% for premier assets; sized to a debt yield often in the 8–10% range
Rate type
Fixed, priced as a spread over the matching-term Treasury; among the lowest fixed rates in the CRE market
Term / Amortization
10–25 yr fixed terms on 25–30 yr amortization (so most carry a balloon); occasionally fully self-amortizing on the longest terms; interest-only available
Recourse
Non-recourse with standard bad-boy carve-outs
Speed
Deliberate — roughly 45–75 days; rate lock typically at application or commitment
Worth weighing
  • Selectivity is the price of the rate. Life companies want core, stabilized, institutional-quality assets — value-add, transitional, lease-up, or tertiary-market deals usually don't fit and are better placed with bridge, bank, or debt-fund capital.
  • Leverage is conservative. If you need 75%+ LTV or maximum cash-out, agency (for multifamily) or a bank/bridge program will almost always go higher than a life company will.
  • Prepayment is rigid. Most life-co loans carry yield maintenance or defeasance for much or all of the term, so they reward long-term holders and penalize an early sale or refinance.
Frequently asked

Life insurance company loans — questions

Are life insurance company loans really the lowest CRE rates?

For the right asset, usually yes. Because life companies lend off their own balance sheet against long-dated liabilities and target only high-quality stabilized properties at conservative leverage, they price fixed-rate permanent debt tighter than almost any other source — typically a low spread over the matching-term Treasury. The catch is you have to fit their box: core asset, strong sponsor, modest leverage. We shop your deal against agency and bank quotes so you can see the real rate-and-leverage trade-off side by side.

What kinds of properties do life companies finance?

Stabilized, institutional-quality income property: multifamily, industrial and warehouse, grocery-anchored and credit retail, Class A and well-located Class B office, and sometimes self-storage or medical office. They favor strong primary and secondary markets, low vacancy, and quality tenancy. Hospitality, construction, heavy value-add, and special-use assets are generally a poor fit and are better matched to other capital sources we work with.

Are life company loans non-recourse?

Yes, the vast majority are non-recourse with standard 'bad-boy' carve-outs for fraud, bankruptcy, misapplication of funds, and similar acts. That non-recourse structure, combined with long fixed terms and balance-sheet certainty, is a big part of why long-term holders prefer life-co debt over recourse bank loans.

How does North Bay Capital fit in if you're not the lender?

North Bay Capital is a commercial mortgage brokerage. We don't lend our own money — we maintain relationships with life insurance company lenders and their correspondents, identify which carrier's current appetite fits your asset and business plan, package the deal to their underwriting standards, and negotiate terms on your behalf. Because life-co allocations and asset preferences shift quarter to quarter, having a broker who knows where the appetite is at any given moment is what gets a deal placed at the best execution.

Have a deal?

Let's find the right capital for it.

Tell us about the asset and the business plan — we'll source and place the financing across our lender network.

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