Research & Reports
Rising Markets, Benefit Riders Helped Spur VA Sales During 4Q10
After reviewing fourth quarter variable annuity sales results of stock-traded insurers in our regular coverage group, we strongly suspect that the industry fared well during that time period as well. What remains to be seen...
An Agreeable Summer – Insurers Post Respectable VA Sales in Q3
As is our custom, we delved into the variable annuity business results of 10 stock-traded insurers we track, and, overall, came away with a pretty positive impression about the third quarter. We say this even...
Rising Tide – Variable Annuity Insurers See Deposits Lift in Q2
We were somewhat surprised to find that variable annuity deposits for most of the stock-traded life insurance companies we monitor regularly were quite strong in the second quarter. Therefore we now suspect the industry as...
Variable Annuity Sales from 1Q10 – Could The Industry Be Back on Track?
The fortunes of the variable annuity business are still largely dictated by the performance of companies with the most attractive guaranteed living benefits, and, based on some improvement we saw from a few insurers we...
Variable Annuity Sales from 4Q09 Reveal Uneven Patterns in the Industry
After reviewing fourth quarter variable annuity results of stock-traded companies we regularly monitor, we found a familiar mixed result – a few insurers did well while most others saw deposits decline – reflecting how the...
“Stealing the Show” – A Select Few VA Players Excel During 3Q09
During the third quarter we saw a familiar pattern that’s emerged lately in the variable annuity business, that of a minority of insurers – those still selling the richer guaranteed benefits – posting exceptional sales,...
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...
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...
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...