Research & Reports
Met’s Move – to Offer a New Edition of its Guaranteed Income Benefit
Enough new product initiatives have been happening around the variable annuity industry to make us curious as to how such ideas may translate into sales over the rest of the year. Last week we saw...
Varied Changes – Coming Soon to Variable Annuity Contracts, Benefits
We continue to see interesting adjustments and enhancements being introduced to variable annuity products, which we think shows that there are still stiff winds of competition around the industry, however muted from the arms race...
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...
Differing Priorities: For Industry Players Given the Current Environment
Right now we are attending the annual marketing conference of the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) in Washington, D.C., where we are comparing notes with people in the industry, to hear what themes and issues are...
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...
Shifting Directions – Industry Players are Adjusting to New Realities
At this early stage in the year, a growing number of variable annuity insurers are demonstrating a willingness to de-risk in one form or another. What’s not clear is whether these companies are experiencing specific...
Getting Started – What’s in the VA Product Pipeline for Early 2011
Already some interesting competitive moves are being unveiled around the variable annuity business for the first half of the New Year, both of a “de-risking” nature or otherwise. What we are not sure about is...
