Research & Reports
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…
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...
Some Speculation on Q1 Performance of the VA Business – and Other Matters
Now that the first quarter has ended and we are well into the next one, we’ll share some thoughts on how we think the variable industry may have done so far this year. We think...
Insurers are Reshaping Annuities to Offer Unique Income-Focused Guarantees
The annuity industry is now in a period where it is seeking to develop new product types, using the lessons learned during the heady days of the variable annuity arms race. It is abundantly clear...
Thinking About Retrenchment – and Related Themes Affecting the VA Market
Variable annuity product filing has been a bit slow of late, so in this commentary we will take a step back and reflect on the subject of retrenchment within the industry, how most insurers are...
VA Insurers Are Picking Up Where They Left Off – With More Product Changes
As we get fully into 2013 we’re noticing that a few variable annuity insurers are getting right back into the swing of things, by touching up their product offerings and coming out with new designs…
A Season of Change: VA Sales Fall as Insurers Cut Back on Their Products
The year 2012 was a time when insurers made reductions to their variable annuity products: these moves included the trimming of guarantees, fee increases, closures of contracts and riders, installation of tighter investment restrictions, cuts...
MetLife’s New Index Annuity – An Example of Reverse Engineering
Last week we shared a rumor that a few insurers were planning to come out with renditions of AXA Equitable’s Structured Capital Strategies, a hybrid index/variable annuity, and said we had not seen a filing...
A Holiday Respite? VA Product Activity Seems to be Simmering Down
Over the past few weeks the pace of product filing in the variable annuity business has slowed, as has the amount of chatter coming through the rumor mill, and we attribute these conditions to the...