Research & Reports
Protective Registers New VA Contract with Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit
Not long ago we saw a variable annuity filed by Protective Life which contained a new guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) whose elements will be subject to change via rate sheet – a first for...
New Structured Annuities on the Way – Plus Notes from Other Filings
In this commentary we’ll get caught up with recent developments in structured annuities – there was a new registration and the launch of one that had been in the pipeline – and we’ll also cover...
Earnings Review: Several Insurers Saw Stronger VA Sales in 2Q19
Late yesterday we concluded our review of results of selected stock-traded insurers and our main takeaway is that some of them experienced growth in their variable annuity businesses in the second quarter, although we are...
John Hancock Files New Variable Annuity Benefit Buyback Program
This year we’ve seen a number of variable annuity guaranteed benefit buyback offers, and in this report we’ll cover one filed not long ago by John Hancock. It is tentatively scheduled to commence in the...
More Thoughts on VA Living Benefits – and Clarifying an RMD Provision
In this report we’ll discuss industry trends in election rates of guaranteed living benefits (GLBs), citing data from LIMRA, and make a correction to our coverage last week of a new lifetime withdrawal benefit from...
An Update on VA Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits and Rate Sheets
In this commentary we’ll review a new variable annuity guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) filed recently by Nationwide, and touch on some recent trends in rider rate sheets, which seem to point to a de-risking...
Yet More Thoughts on New VAs and Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits
This week we’ll once again weigh in on patterns we’re seeing in variable annuity product development, which will serve as an accompaniment to our updates of Featured Research tables covering new contracts and guaranteed lifetime...
Notes From the VA Contract Pipeline – And Some New Rider Filings
In this report we’ll get caught up with recent developments along the variable annuity product pipeline and touch on pre-effective amendments to new contracts that have launched or will soon, as well as some new...
Random Thoughts Regarding 1Q19 Results for the VA Business
As we were expecting, variable annuity industry sales declined in the first quarter of this year while production of fixed and fixed-index annuities rose, and we suspect those patterns will persist over the rest of...