
Research & Reports
Hartford Launches New VA Products – at an Interesting Time for the Industry
Today Hartford announced the launch of new variable annuity contracts and benefits as part of an initiative to re-energize its sales in the U.S. In this commentary we’ll give our thoughts on this move, given...
“In Sync” – VA Sales in 1Q11 Followed Flow of the Financial Markets
Variable annuity sales for stock-traded insurers we cover regularly were split down the middle in the first quarter of this year, one half reporting some measure of improvement sequentially while the rest did not fare...
Results for 2010 are In, Reflecting a Rebound – But Is It Sustainable?
Final variable annuity sales figures for last year were released not long ago, and, much as we expected, the industry showed improvement. The question foremost in our minds is whether the upward trend can continue...
Rising Markets, Benefit Riders Helped Spur VA Sales During 4Q10
After reviewing fourth quarter variable annuity sales results of stock-traded insurers in our regular coverage group, we strongly suspect that the industry fared well during that time period as well. What remains to be seen...
GLWB Update – Taking Stock of Trends in Benefit Design, Function
Our last commentary was rather product focused, but the same will hold true this week, as we continue to get caught up with our coverage of variable annuity Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits (GLWBs). We would...
Wading Back – Into Variable Annuity Living Benefit Competition
We firmly believe that, over the near term, most leading variable annuity players will need strong guaranteed living benefits to maintain their current sales levels – if not capture more market share. We say this...
2010 – For the Variable Annuity Industry, a Time of Renewed Risk Taking
It’s become our custom with the last report of December to offer reflections on how the variable annuity business performed over the past year, and suggest issues to watch in the future. We admit that...
Mixed Messages – Can VA Insurers Hope for a Strong Showing in Q4?
We have a somewhat positive outlook for variable annuity industry sales in the fourth quarter, even though things tend to slow down during that time period, there has not been a great deal of product...
Matching Up – VA Insurers Plan Moves to Answer Competitors
We have been noticing some rather interesting variable annuity product filings lately, which we think hint at strategic directions insurance companies will be taking, both now and into next year. The catch is that in...