Research & Reports
On the Rebound? Plotting the Trajectory of the VA Industry in 2Q09
Now that the second quarter is wrapping up we figured we’d take a few moments to take quick stock of that period, how the variable annuity industry might have performed. It’s our opinion that when...
Continuing Our Coverage of Recent VA Contract and Rider Movements
This week we’re following up on our previous commentary with further notes on recent filings of variable annuity contracts and benefits. In monitoring what’s been going on we’re of the opinion that now more than...
Update: Summaries of New VA Contracts Filed in 2008
This is our final update of new variable annuity contracts filed with the SEC in calendar year 2008…
Digging Into the Details: Movements in VA Designs, Applications
As this week begins, we’ve been combing through variable annuity contract registrations – including ones from this year we haven’t commented on yet – and so far we’ve been finding interesting designs and approaches getting...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from April and May, 2009
It’s been rather busy around the industry in terms of tweaks to contracts and features, and by all accounts such activity is going to continue well into the summer. However we do need to stay...
Keeping Things Interesting – Further Variations In VA Product Offerings
Right now on the variable annuity scene insurers are still making changes and adjustments at a rather brisk pace, and we expect that pattern to continue well into the summer, even though it is usually...
Where Annuity Products Might Be Headed, Given the Current Environment
We hear there is a feeling around the industry that, due to the impact of the tumultuous markets, annuity insurers are “looking for the next business model” and are re-appraising their contracts, underlying funds, distribution...
Q1 Results Brought New Accounting Adjustments for the VA Business
First quarter earnings season concluded last week for the publicly-traded insurers we regularly monitor, and for most of them, variable annuity deposits and net flows declined, much as we expected. What surprised us were accounting...
The Pace of De-Risking Quickens, Changing the Outlook for the VA Business
A number of leading variable annuity insurers have started to take more drastic steps to trim their risk profiles, cut costs and otherwise regroup during this difficult period, and we expect more activity of this...