Amanda M. Todd

AMANDA TODD is a co-leader of Sidley’s global Insurance practice, co-head of the firm’s M&A and Private Equity group in Chicago and Miami, and member of the firm's Executive Committee. Amanda focuses her practice on the insurance industry and helping her clients in their most critical transactional matters.

Notably, Amanda has helped structure a number of carve-out M&A transactions involving the innovative use of reinsurance to accomplish clients’ objectives. She represents insurance companies and financial institutions in a wide variety of insurance industry matters, including M&A, reinsurance transactions, corporate finance and capital markets, and corporate governance.

Amanda is known as one of the leading insurance corporate lawyers in the U.S., having been ranked in Chambers USA for Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory Nationwide (2024–2025) and in Illinois (2009–2011, 2022–2025). She was one of only five Law360 Insurance “MVPs” in the U.S. nationally in 2019.

Amanda has been recognized for her dedication to clients and for providing exceptional service. In the 2023 edition of Chambers USA, clients describe her as “very sharp and an effective communicator and negotiator” and go on to note that she is “very talented and gives sound, practical advice in dealing with sophisticated issues.” In the 2022 edition, sources note that she “makes a great effort to understand her clients” and “makes herself an integral part of the team.” In 2024, Crain’s Chicago Business named Amanda to its “Notable Women in Law” feature. Amanda was shortlisted for “Insurance & Reinsurance” at the 2023 Women in Business Law Americas awards. In 2022, 2021, and 2018, Amanda received Lexology’s “Client Choice Award” for Insurance and Reinsurance in Illinois. This award recognizes the “ability to add real value to clients’ business above and beyond the other players in the market” and winners may only be nominated by corporate counsel. Amanda has previously been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Euromoney LMG in 2015, an “Up and Coming” lawyer in Illinois by Chambers USA (2009–2011), and a top insurance lawyer in Legal 500 U.S. in 2011 and 2025.

Examples of Amanda’s experience include representation of:

M&A and Reinsurance

• Dearborn Group, a national provider of ancillary benefits and subsidiary of Health Care Service Corporation, in the sale of Dearborn’s group life and disability business to Symetra Life Insurance Company (pending).
• National Western Life in its US$1.9 billion acquisition by an affiliate of Prosperity Life.
• Lincoln Financial in the reinsurance of approximately US$28 billion of in-force universal life with secondary guarantee (ULSG), MoneyGuard®, and fixed annuity products to Fortitude Re.
• American National Insurance in its US$5.1 billion acquisition by Brookfield Asset Management Reinsurance Partners.
• Lincoln Financial in the reinsurance of approximately US$9.4 billion of in-force executive benefit and universal life reserves to Resolution Life.
• Prosperity Life in the reinsurance of US$1.7 billion of statutory reserve liabilities from National Western Life on a coinsurance with funds withheld basis.
• Lincoln Financial in connection with the strategic transfer, through reinsurance, of approximately US$7.7 billion of annuity risks to Athene Life Re.
• Swiss Re Life & Health America in the acquisition through reinsurance of certain individual life business of Security Life of Denver in connection with the Irish scheme of arrangement and related Chapter 15 restructuring of Ballantyne Re.
• Lincoln Financial Group as co-counsel in Lincoln’s US$3.3 billion acquisition of Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston from Liberty Mutual.
• A highly rated mutual insurance company in connection with the sale, through reinsurance, of multiple blocks of its annuity liabilities with an aggregate reserve transfer of approximately US$2.2 billion.
• CUNA Mutual in its sale of Producers Ag Insurance Group to HCC Group.

Corporate Finance and Capital Markets

• CSAA Insurance Exchange in its offering of US$500 million in surplus notes.
• Health Care Service Corporation in the issuance of US$2.5 billion in senior unsecured notes.
• Mutual of Omaha in the issuance of US$300 million aggregate principal amount of surplus notes.
• Jackson Financial in the issuance of US$1.6 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes.
• TruStage Financial Group in the issuance of US$600 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes.
• Health Care Service Corporation in the issuance of US$2 billion (in the aggregate) in senior notes.
• MassMutual in the issuance of more than US$4.3 billion aggregate principal amount of surplus notes.
• MassMutual in its exchange offer for approximately US$840 million of four outstanding series of its surplus notes for new surplus notes.
• Brighthouse Life Insurance Company in the establishment of its US$5 billion funding agreement-backed note program.
• Global Atlantic (Fin) Company, a subsidiary of Global Atlantic Financial Group, in the issuance of US$650 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes and US$750 million aggregate principal amount of fixed-to-fixed rate subordinated debentures.
• Forethought Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Global Atlantic Financial Group, in the establishment of its US$10 billion funding agreement-backed note program.
• Credit Suisse and the other purchasing agents in New York Life’s US$1.25 billion surplus notes offering.
• Wells Fargo and the other dealers in connection with Great-West Financial’s US$700 million senior notes offering.
• Nationwide Financial Services in connection with its issuance of US$400 million in 30-year senior notes.
• Global insurers and reinsurers in over US$15 billion of reserve financing transactions.

• Board of Directors, March of Dimes – Chicago Market