Insurance

Insurance companies in the United States are highly regulated.

A mutual insurance company is owned by its policyholders and operates on a cost basis.  In other words, any profit or surplus is distributed to policyholder owners rather than shareholders.

Laddering is a term that refers to staggered purchases over time. 

All states have what are referred to as state guarantee funds.  Operated by departments of insurance, guarantee funds are insurance funds that receive contributions from carriers that operate in the state.

Insurance companies take in huge amounts of money from policyholders.  Part of the purpose of an insurance company is to invest the massive amount of policyholder funds.

Much of the money is invested in bonds or fixed income, some can be invested in stocks or equities, and portions can be invested in real estate, hedge funds, venture capital, etc.