Research & Reports
More Rate Sheets – And Fee-Based Contracts – Entering the VA Space
A number of interesting new contracts and optional guaranteed benefits were filed with the SEC recently, leading us to believe the industry is sprucing up its products in sort of a “back to school” mode...
VA Industry Sales Remained Weak in Q2 – And May Drop Further
Leading industry research firms released second-quarter 2016 annuity sales data not long ago, and results for variable annuities were down substantially over last year, while some fixed annuity product types did fairly well…
Hard to Determine a Clear Direction for VA Industry Sales in 2Q16
Based on our review of results of publicly-traded insurers we watch regularly, variable annuity sales fell for most, with at least one bright spot. Thus we are unsure whether the recent downward movement in industry...
Reflecting on the GMIB – And Its Current Place in the VA Industry
While the number of guaranteed minimum income benefits (GMIBs) has dropped dramatically from years past, a few still remain for sale, and in this report we will discuss them, and share thoughts on how they...
Impressions on the Second Quarter – And Notes on Recent VA Filings
Second quarter earnings season is now underway and insurers will be reporting their results, thus we are starting to formulate our own thoughts on where variable annuity sales might have moved during that time period....
Another New Contract From Jackson – and Other Recent VA Filings
In this report we’ll comment on a new variable annuity filed by Jackson National – another that will be marketed to fee-based advisors – plus we’ll touch on product filing activity we found interesting from...
Voya Files an Annuitization Offer Again – Plus Notes from Other VA Filings
This will be a rather brief commentary because variable annuity filing activity remains slow around the industry, which is not unusual for this time of year. We will touch on probably the most notable development...
New VA Contracts and Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits on the Way
Over the past couple of weeks we have seen a few interesting new variable annuity contracts and riders come through the pipeline – some of which will be launching soon – and in this report...
Concerning Changes – That are Being Made to VA Products This Year
In this report we’ll touch on the kind of tweaks and adjustments insurers have been making to their variable annuity products lately. Most of the changes follow patterns we have seen around the industry the...