Close Close
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
ThinkAdvisor

Life Health > Annuities

Protective Reports Higher Profits, Sharply Lower Fixed Annuity Sales

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

NU Online News Service, Aug. 6, 2003, 5:08 p.m. EDT – Protective Life Corp., Birmingham, Ala., has joined the long list of life insurers that have complained this quarter about the difficulties of selling fixed annuities at a time when insurers’ own investment yields are painfully low.

The company is reporting $59 million in net income for the second quarter on $526 million in revenue, up from $54 million in net income on $471 million in revenue for the second quarter of 2002.

Sales of variable universal life fell to $1.1 million, from $1.9 million, but sales of term life increased to $33 million, from $10 million, and sales of universal life increased to $9.4 million, from $7.2 million.

Sales of variable annuities increased to $94 million, from $84 million.

But sales of immediate and deferred fixed annuities sank to $47 million, from $276 million.

The drop is due to “the company’s continued focus on earning adequate returns in a challenging interest rate environment,” Protective says.

Eventually, “rising interest rates may rekindle consumer demand for fixed annuity products,” says Protective Chairman John Johns.


NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.