Research & Reports
Summer Moves on the VA Scene – a Mix of Innovation and De-Risking
This summer has been slow in terms of variable annuity product filings – as usually is the case for the time of year – however we have seen enough interesting things come through to give...
Update on Hartford’s Initiative: Some of Our Suspicions Have Been Confirmed
In our last few commentaries we’ve shared our suspicion that, based on language in some recent SEC filings, four state insurance departments might not allow some or all of Hartford’s planned sub-account restrictions on certain...
More Summer Product Initiatives Are Arising on the Variable Annuity Scene
In this commentary we will return to a few storylines from around the variable annuity business that we have been tracking of late, and weigh in on new ones that we have seen emerge…
An Update on Variable Annuity Contract and GLWB Filings in 2013
We have been sifting through recent filings of variable annuity contracts and lifetime withdrawal benefits and, while we haven’t been seeing quite as much activity in the pipeline as in past years, we did catch...
VA Insurers Say They Are Managing Benefit Risks – But Still Want to Trim Them
It’s been a while since we checked in on variable annuity guaranteed benefit risk levels, and we were reminded of that fact by MetLife’s recent investor day, where the topic was discussed at length. We...
VA Sales Appear to Have Continued Their Downward Movement in 1Q13
We have just completed our review of variable annuity results for publicly-traded insurers we watch regularly and, based on the performance of those companies, we suspect the industry saw a drop in deposits in the...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from March, 2013
This March we didn’t see a great deal of variable insurance fund filings with the SEC. Most of the activity revolved around manager changes and the trimming down of fund platforms through mergers and liquidations…
Jackson National Jumps to Top of VA Industry Sales Standings for 4Q12
From some of our sources we heard that Morningstar was to report final fourth-quarter 2012 variable annuity sales data today, and, if early indications prove correct, we think Jackson National took the No. 1 spot...
“What’s Working?” – Thoughts On the Industry As it Awaits Q4 Sales Data
In this report we’ll try to break from our usual preoccupation with product nuances to raise questions as to where the variable annuity business is headed. It’s clear that most insurers are moving beyond offering...
