Research & Reports
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from March, 2013
This March we didn’t see a great deal of variable insurance fund filings with the SEC. Most of the activity revolved around manager changes and the trimming down of fund platforms through mergers and liquidations…
Thinking About Retrenchment – and Related Themes Affecting the VA Market
Variable annuity product filing has been a bit slow of late, so in this commentary we will take a step back and reflect on the subject of retrenchment within the industry, how most insurers are...
VA Insurers Are Picking Up Where They Left Off – With More Product Changes
As we get fully into 2013 we’re noticing that a few variable annuity insurers are getting right back into the swing of things, by touching up their product offerings and coming out with new designs…
A Season of Change: VA Sales Fall as Insurers Cut Back on Their Products
The year 2012 was a time when insurers made reductions to their variable annuity products: these moves included the trimming of guarantees, fee increases, closures of contracts and riders, installation of tighter investment restrictions, cuts...
A Holiday Respite? VA Product Activity Seems to be Simmering Down
Over the past few weeks the pace of product filing in the variable annuity business has slowed, as has the amount of chatter coming through the rumor mill, and we attribute these conditions to the...
Industry VA Sales Look Steady for Q3 – But Earnings Results Were Mixed
After reviewing the variable annuity business results of the group of stock-traded insurers we track regularly, we’re figuring that third quarter industry sales were flat to slightly up sequentially, and probably got a little lift...
Hartford Introduces Rider Buyback Program to Accelerate VA Runoff
As the year is winding down we have been thinking that more insurers would consider coming out with guaranteed benefit buyback programs to trim their risk profiles. Late last week we got evidence that such...
Regarding Risk – and How VA Insurers’ Methods Are Evolving to Manage It
This year has been one of rapid change, as variable annuity insurers of all sizes have sought to reduce their product-related risks in one form or another, and we’re sure that anyone looking at all...
Reviewing VA Guaranteed Benefit Assets, NAR Movements From Q2
At different points in the past we have combed through quarterly financials of stock-traded insurers for data related to variable annuity guarantees, in an effort to gain insight on how such benefits might be impacting...