The head of Atlantic Coast Life Insurance and its captive reinsurer have pushed back hard and fast against the South Carolina insurance director’s move to push the companies into rehabilitation, charging that the regulatory action is reckless and was done in bad faith.
“Director Michael Wise has tried three times to prove that Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company and Southern Atlantic Re, Inc. … are in financial distress. He has failed three times. On September 15, 2026, he took his accusations to the public instead,” reads the complaint in a lawsuit filed last week in a South Carolina court.
After warning that Wise may ask the court to seal the documents in the case, Atlantic Coast itself filed a motion urging the court to keep the case out of the public eye due to “confidential and proprietary” information that may be exposed.
Wise’s office referred inquiries to a Columbia, South Carolina, law firm representing the Department of Insurance. An attorney with the firm could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Atlantic Coast lawsuit asks for damages and requests a judge to bar Wise and the DOI from disseminating further public information about the insurers. It is the latest twist in a three-year battle of wills between Wise and Advantage Capital Holdings, the parent of the life insurance company.
A-Cap, as it is known, is led by CEO Kenneth King, and has been accused of having too much invested in or loaned to 777 Partners, the famous private equity firm known for its holdings in soccer teams and airlines, and which has been accused of fraud by some investors.
A spokesperson for Advantage Capital, an investment firm based in New Orleans, said the firm is not affiliated with A-Cap, the insurance holding company. The firms have different ownership and executives, company information and filings show.
The DOI petition comes after years of legal skirmishing in another life insurance-regulatory dispute in neighboring North Carolina. NCDOI regulators had raised concerns that businessman Greg Lindberg had diverted millions of dollars from his life insurance companies’ reserves, to be used for his other businesses.
The Atlantic Coast lawsuit complaint can be seen here. Wise’s petition can be seen here.
Update: This article has been updated to show that A-Cap and an investment firm with a similar name are not related.
Read more: A-Cap Insurers Face South Carolina Claim They’re ‘Financially Hazardous’
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