Research & Reports
Odds and Ends – Catching Up on Product Filings, Tweaks Around the Business
The prospectus update season might have been quieter than usual, but in recent weeks we’ve seen an interesting assortment of variable annuity product and feature filings, most of which will take effect during July and...
Variable Annuity Sales from 1Q10 – Could The Industry Be Back on Track?
The fortunes of the variable annuity business are still largely dictated by the performance of companies with the most attractive guaranteed living benefits, and, based on some improvement we saw from a few insurers we...
A Bit of a Disconnect? A Near-Term Outlook on VA Industry Results
When fourth quarter variable annuity sales results come out, we’re convinced they will reflect a lack of participation by the industry in the improving equity markets – much as was the case in the prior...
Reflecting on the VA Industry in 2009: A Time of Shifting Realities
It’s become our custom to dedicate our last commentary each year to looking back at how the variable annuity business performed, to get the evaluation process started before fourth quarter data are released. Thus in...
“Stealing the Show” – A Select Few VA Players Excel During 3Q09
During the third quarter we saw a familiar pattern that’s emerged lately in the variable annuity business, that of a minority of insurers – those still selling the richer guaranteed benefits – posting exceptional sales,...
Spanning the Seasons – VA Product Launches Scheduled for Summer and Fall
As we commence the third quarter – usually a pretty slow period for variable industry sales – the pace of de-risking seems to be settling down a bit, but the process is not over by...
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...
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...
Sliding Finish to a Volatile 2008 as Downward Markets Jolt VA Players
Fourth-quarter earnings season has almost concluded and in this report we’ll offer our customary review of variable annuity operating results for selected publicly-traded insurers. As we expected, most companies went through a difficult time during...