Research & Reports

We think most of our readers would agree that the competition in the variable annuity business within Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits (GLWBs) constitutes the largest portion of the living benefits arms race, and this year...

Each year, February is a month with a high volume of new insurance fund filings and the number of amendments and changes is also quite high. This year was no different as we had another...

A significant number of variable annuity contracts and benefits will be rolling out over the next few months, and as we monitor the goings on, we’ll be watching to see whether new product ideas will...

Now that the appeal of variable annuity guaranteed living benefits has been firmly established – and has grown steadily over the past several years, greatly helping insurers sustain growth – it seems only natural that...

Due to the variable annuity living benefit arms race we’re seeing commoditization setting in among Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits (GLWBs), with numerous variations emerging not just due to the heat of competition but because insurers...

We’re just entering the season where new variable annuity product filings really begin to pick up, and there’s ample evidence that the guaranteed living benefit arms race is still being waged with great gusto. To...

Product creation in variable insurance funds these days is greatly influenced by the need for insurers to have their sub-accounts like up with the risk management programs backing up their living benefit guarantees, thus we’re...

Usually at the end of each year variable annuity sales rebound from the slow period of the summer, however the fourth quarter of 2007 contained a mixture of good and bad for the public insurers...

Based on what we’re seeing in regulatory filings and our discussions with industry contacts, the variable annuity business is steadily getting busier, and the heightened activity will surely continue straight through the May 1 prospectus...