AM Best expects lower annuity sales in 2020
Drag from the low interest rate environment continues to hurt margins and stifle earnings growth, weakening the industry’s investment returns, an AM Best release said.
Life insurers
In private, life insurers express ‘concern’
'About one-third of companies expect a negative 10-year treasury rate at the end of 2020 in their worst case scenario,' according to a high level life insurance industry report.
BlackRock Makes a Bundle (with Annuities)
BlackRock, the giant asset manager, is adding a lifetime income dimension to its LifePath target date funds by partnering with Brighthouse, Equitable and Voya on a service that will...
Insurance companies impacted by equity slide: AM Best
'These losses contributed to capital and surplus declines of 11.9% for property/casualty insurers, 5.6% for life/annuity writers and 7.8% for health insurers,' the ratings agency said.
Stormy Weather for Life Insurers
Life insurers are buffeted by a perfect storm of falling interest rates, falling share prices and falling sales of annuities. But, according to David Paul of ALIRT Insurance Research,...
Life insurers hurt themselves, reader says
'It's hard to imagine a multi-trillion dollar industry that has done more to neuter its own influence over national economic policy,' writes David Macchia (in photo), CEO of Wealth2k,...
IPO reflects ongoing shift at Jackson National
'Jackson’s fixed indexed annuity sales jumped 1,293% in 2019, while their fixed-rate deferred annuity sales climbed 169%,' said the Secure Retirement Institute this week. (Photo: Jackson CEO Michael Falcon)
IPO Signals Strategic Shift at Jackson National
Jackson's UK parent, Prudential plc, seeks an equity capital infusion--to fuel its diversified growth strategy and to mollify mega-shareholder Dan Loeb.
Project LIMA Aims to Solve the Annuity Puzzle
Milliman, the actuarial consulting firm, envisions putting a multi-premium deferred income annuity inside a 401(k) managed account as a way to turn tax-deferred savings into lifetime income. It seeks...
Equitable completes spin-off from AXA
Equitable Holdings started toward independence in May 2018 with an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. In March 2019, AXA S.A. completed a secondary public offering...
RIJ Interview: Will Fuller of Lincoln Financial
In the third in our series of interviews with annuity industry leaders, we talk with Lincoln Financial Group executive VP Will Fuller. He was recently honored as an 'Industry...
A Look Back at (and Beyond) the ‘Stretch’ IRA
Under the new SECURE Act, most non-spouses must withdraw and pay taxes on inherited IRA assets within ten years instead of "stretching" the process over (possibly) decades. What will...
Size matters, Cerulli tells plan providers
With estimates that the 10-largest recordkeepers will represent more than 75% of recordkept 401(k) assets by year-end 2019, current market dynamics point to an 'oligarchy' of retirement plan providers,...
Big BBB debt rollover is just three years away: A.M. Best
The next downturn will be characterized more by ratings transitions than large-scale impairments, AM Best said, because the non-cyclical industries issuing much of the BBB debt often maintain stable...
How to Choose an Annuity Issuer
Shopping for an annuity, like shopping for a car, involves questions about the manufacturer of the product. Do their products perform as expected? Will service quality be high? Are...
Federal judge dismisses adviser suit against ONL
The judge rejected the claim that Ohio National Life was obligated by its distribution contract with LPL to keep paying trail commissions on the sale of variable annuities to...
Life insurers fined over annuity exchanges
'The settlements are part of an ongoing, industry-wide investigation into immediate annuity replacement practices in the state,' New York regulators said.
More up ratings than down among U.S. insurers: AM Best
AM Best cited an improvement in risk-adjusted capitalization stemming from the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, a modest increase in interest rates in 2018, and expense reductions.
40% of life insurers’ bank loans below investment grade: AM Best
'The benefit of floating interest rates on bank loans, which somewhat protects insurers from rapidly rising interest rates, is further diminished in a continued low interest rate environment,' the...
‘APIs’ and the Future of Annuities
Catching up with the 'application programming interface' technology train is essential for annuity issuers. APIs integrate annuities into advisor platforms, reduce NIGO applications, and give clients a fluid online...
