“The extended period of historically low interest rates and volatile stock markets continues to negatively impact variable annuity (VA) writers,” according to the 1Q 2012 report from Ernst & Young’s Retirement Income Knowledge Bank (RIKB).
“During the first quarter of 2012, another large VA writer, Hartford Life, announced that it will no longer sell variable annuities. This follows Sun Life, Genworth and ING’s exit. Consequently, distributors are now very sensitive to the possibility that a company may not offer variable annuities in the future.
“During the first quarter of 2012, many of the remaining VA writers continued to refine their products and living benefits. Great West, Jackson National and Sun America introduced new VAs, while Allianz Life, MetLife and Ohio National introduced new living benefits. Interestingly, Elite Access, the new VA from Jackson National, does not offer any living benefits,” the report said.
© 2012 RIJ Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.
