
Research & Reports
2Q09 Brought a Degree of Recovery for the Markets – and the VA Business
It’s once again time for us to offer our quarterly commentary on variable annuity sales for the stock-traded insurers we regularly monitor, and to discuss relevant themes facing the industry. We’ll start off by saying...
Early Impressions of 2Q09 VA Sales Results, Who is Gaining Momentum
Recently we’ve been soliciting opinions (and, we must admit, a few rumors) from our industry contacts on which variable annuity players got some sales momentum during the second quarter, to help us get some early...
An Ongoing Process – Finding Significance in VA Industry Product Changes
Because of the steady flow of tweaks and adjustments insurers have been making to their variable annuity offerings, it’s not easy to determine which changes are meaningful, and which are simply “noise.” In this commentary...
On the Rebound? Plotting the Trajectory of the VA Industry in 2Q09
Now that the second quarter is wrapping up we figured we’d take a few moments to take quick stock of that period, how the variable annuity industry might have performed. It’s our opinion that when...
Continuing Our Coverage of Recent VA Contract and Rider Movements
This week we’re following up on our previous commentary with further notes on recent filings of variable annuity contracts and benefits. In monitoring what’s been going on we’re of the opinion that now more than...
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...