
Research & Reports
Where Annuity Products Might Be Headed, Given the Current Environment
We hear there is a feeling around the industry that, due to the impact of the tumultuous markets, annuity insurers are “looking for the next business model” and are re-appraising their contracts, underlying funds, distribution...
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...
The Pace of De-Risking Quickens, Changing the Outlook for the VA Business
A number of leading variable annuity insurers have started to take more drastic steps to trim their risk profiles, cut costs and otherwise regroup during this difficult period, and we expect more activity of this...
The “De-Risking” Process Ramps Up Around the Variable Annuity Business
We’re figuring that the myriad reductions variable annuity insurers have been making to their benefits and features signal the potential for reduced deposits and net flows for the industry, not to mention big shifts in...
A Discussion of Variable Annuity Industry Hot Topics as 2Q09 Gets Underway
Just as we were this time last year, we’re very curious about the performance of the variable annuity business in the first quarter – especially given the kind of difficult market conditions we’re in –...
Uncovering Meaning in Recent Rounds of VA Industry Repositioning
Since the second half of last year, the variable annuity business has been in transition, and a nearly constant stream of adjustments have been made to contracts, riders, not to mention other things, these certainly...
Various Stressors Are Impacting the VA Business as Spring is on the Way
We have a feeling this spring will be a busy one for the variable annuity business because in addition to submitting annual prospectus updates, most insurers will be looking to adjust their contract and benefit...
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...