Research & Reports
Some Thoughts on a Very Active Fixed-Index Annuity Pipeline
Lately we’ve started to cover fixed-index annuities (FIAs) more closely, and in so doing noticed that part of the market has been quite active in terms of product development, this despite a decline in sales...
Q1 Earnings Review – Annuity Sales Improved For Some Insurers
For most of the public insurers we regularly track, annuity gross sales improved in the first quarter, building on momentum the industry generated over the latter part of 2020. Net flows for several carriers were...
Some Springtime Storylines for the U.S. Annuity Business in 2021
Now that spring is upon us, the worst of the COVID-19 crisis hopefully over, and the first quarter of the year is drawing to a close, we have started to get a handle on where...
The Year 2020 Was Fraught With Challenges for Annuity Insurers
This will be our customary year-end report, based on what we know from U.S. annuity industry data through the third quarter. It certainly goes without saying that 2020 was a trying one for us all,...
Most Stock-Traded Insurers’ Annuity Sales Grew – Sequentially – in Q3
As we do each quarter, we reviewed business results of stock-traded insurers we watch regularly and discovered that for most of them, annuity sales improved slightly compared to the prior quarter, but were still lower...
Stock-Traded Insurers’ VA Sales Held Up in Q1, Despite Market Drop
First quarter variable annuity sales for most stock-traded insurers we track regularly improved compared to the prior year, once again due to lower interest rates making the product look better than fixed and indexed annuities....
Stock-Traded Insurers’ VA Sales in 4Q19 Reflected the Industry’s Rise
Variable annuity sales for most of the stock-traded insurers we track regularly improved in the fourth quarter of last year, in line with how the industry as a whole performed...
Wrapping Up Coverage of Variable Annuity Product Filings from 2019
This report contains our closing thoughts on variable annuity product filings from 2019, a period that, in our view, was lively in terms of competition among insurers, who engaged in further innovation among emerging product...
Taking an Inventory of Recent Annuity Benefit Rate Sheet Updates
In this report we’ll get up to date on variable and structured annuity benefits whose elements are set periodically by rate sheet – a risk mitigation approach that has gotten increased usage in recent years…