Research & Reports

This week we’re going to step away momentarily from our customary labors – sorting through contract and rider filings, categorizing them and summarizing them – to consider how the unique complexities of variable annuities have...

This report will wrap up our observations regarding second-quarter variable annuity sales results of major public insurers we normally monitor, and will also include some quick thoughts on new guaranteed living benefits that have been...

This report picks up where we left off last week in our monitoring of second-quarter variable annuity sales results for the publicly-traded insurers we track regularly. We found it significant that VA deposits increased for...

Each quarter, when we review variable annuity deposit and net flow results of publicly-traded insurers, we’re also trying to get some idea as to how the industry as a whole might be doing. We’ve performed...

Since the topic has been on the minds of our contacts and colleagues, in this report we’re going explore the topic of variable annuity net flows, a measurement somewhat controversial when introduced to the industry...

Distribution is, by its nature, the linchpin to the variable insurance space: if you know the channels an insurer sells in, you can get a good idea as to what products and riders it offers...

With this report we’re going to take a little time to consider what’s currently popular in variable annuity contract designs, based on our understanding of sales trends and our evaluations of new products filed this...

For the publicly-traded variable annuity insurers we track on a quarterly basis, 2007 seemed to start off on a slow note, at least on a sequential basis: a few companies saw modest increases in sales...

In this commentary we’re going to quickly give our perspective on news and developments related to variable annuities and defined contribution (DC) plans, especially 401(k)s, since many insurers perceive these programs to be a possible...