= Members Only Content
October 12, 2010
ABA Media Contact: Jonathan Snowling
E-mail: jsnowlin@aba.com
FIXED ANNUITY SALES BY BANKS $4.13 BILLION IN SECOND QUARTER 2010
WASHINGTON, October 12, 2010 – The American Bankers Insurance Association today announced estimated fixed annuity sales by banks and other depository institutions for second quarter 2010. Results were $4.13 billion, down 52 percent from the very strong second quarter of 2009. Quarter-to-quarter results declined 3.1 percent, with lower sales of all product types except income annuities. Market estimates are based on findings from the Beacon Research Fixed Annuity Premium Study.
Western National Life continued as the leading bank channel company among participants in the Beacon study. From first to second quarter 2010, two fixed annuity issuers left the top 10, and both CUNA Mutual and Great American joined. Second quarter 2010 results for the top 10 companies were as follows:
Company Name Bank Channel Sales (in thousands)
Western National Life 1,240,385
New York Life 686,484
Lincoln Financial Group 333,595
W&S Financial Group Distributors[1] 266,229
Protective Life 257,564
Principal Financial Group 175,614
Great American Financial Resources, Inc. 142,900
American National 115,209
Pacific Life 100,423
CUNA Mutual Insurance Society 78,296
Despite lower overall sales, 60 percent of the bank channel carriers participating in Beacon’s study reported improved quarter-to-quarter results, with double-digit percentage increases or more.
New York Life’s Preferred Fixed Annuity continued as the top bank channel product in second quarter 2010. Its Lifetime Income Annuity was the sole top 10 income annuity once more, moving from tenth to seventh place. Lincoln Financial Group’s Lincoln New Directions remained the only indexed annuity among the top 10, jumping from fifth to second place. Western National was again the issuer of five of second quarter’s bestsellers. Great American’s Assurance Plus 7 and Protective Life’s ProSaver Secure II joined the top 10 in eighth and ninth place, respectively.
Rank Company Name Product Name Product
1 New York Life NYL Preferred Fixed Annuity Book Value
2 Lincoln Financial Group Lincoln New Directions Indexed
3 Western National Life Proprietary Bank Product F Book Value
4 Western National Life Flex 7 Book Value
5 Western National Life Flex 5 Book Value
6 Western & Southern Life MultiRate Annuity Book Value
7 New York Life NYL Lifetime Income Annuity Income
8 Great American Financial Resources, Inc. AssurancePlus 7 Book Value
9 Protective Life ProSaver Secure II Book Value
10 Western National Life Proprietary Bank Product B Book Value
“The spread between fixed annuity and Treasury rates has widened since second quarter, suggesting a sequential sales increase of about 10 percent. But as always, actual results also will be a function of bank and insurance company decisions,” said Jeremy Alexander, president and CEO of Beacon Research. “Going forward, we expect the low interest rate environment to motivate increased bank interest in both indexed annuities and linked-benefit annuities, which provide long-term care insurance as well as tax-deferred accumulation value.”
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The American Bankers Insurance Association (ABIA) is the separately chartered insurance affiliate of the American Bankers Association (ABA) and is the only Washington, D.C.-based full service association for bank insurance interests. The ABIA’s mission is to develop policy and provide advocacy for banks in insurance and to support bank insurance operations through research, education, compliance-assistance and peer group networking opportunities. ABIA Membership consists of banks, and their affiliated agencies, insurance companies, marketing, and administrative services suppliers, non-bank lending organizations and other firms involved in the bank affiliated insurance industry. Additional information on the ABIA can be found on the Internet at www.theabia.com.
Beacon Research is an independent research company and application service provider founded in 1997 and based in Evanston, IL. Beacon tracks fixed and variable annuity features, rates and sales. Its quarterly Fixed Annuity Premium Study is the first and only source to analyze fixed annuity sales at the product level. Beacon lowers compliance risk and increases fixed annuity sales with 100% carrier-approved, comprehensive product profiles, spreadsheets and search tools for the advisor/rep websites of banks, TPMs, broker-dealers and marketing organizations. Financial institutions use its systems at www.annuitynexus.com for compliance review of 1035 exchanges, sales support, conservation and product research. Beacon also licenses information to other platforms, including Ebix, Ibbotson, Insurance Technologies, Interactive Data Corporation and Lipper (Thomson Reuters). Beacon is a member of National Financial’s Alliance program. Directly and through its licensees, Beacon information can be accessed by hundreds of financial institutions and distributors.
