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 > Life Insurance

2005 VL Sales Slid 4.6% From 2004

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

Full year 2005 variable life insurance sales of $2.595 billion were 4.6% lower than full year 2004 sales of $2.72 billion, according to the VALUE survey.

VL insurance sales with single premiums included at 10% for the 42 companies reporting in the VALUE survey for fourth quarter 2005 were $718 million, a 14.2% increase over third quarter 2005, exhibiting the typical seasonality trends of life insurance sales, but a 4% decrease from fourth quarter 2004 sales, which were $748 million.

(Sales include first-year annualized premium, drop-in premiums and 10% of single premiums.)

The market estimate for 2005 with single premiums included at 10% is $2.7 billion, down from $2.85 billion for the full year 2004.

Variable life sales with single premiums included at 100% for the 42 companies in the VALUE survey for fourth quarter 2005 were $727 million, a 14.3% increase over third quarter 2005, which had sales of $636 million, but a 4.6% decrease from fourth quarter 2004 sales, which were $762 million.

The market estimate for 2005 with single premiums included at 100% is $2.765 billion.

For 2005, the top five companies/fleets–IDS, Hartford Life, Pacific Life, MetLife and John Hancock–captured 43% of all VL sales (including single premiums at 10%), while the top 10 companies/fleets garnered 69% of VL sales.

For the companies in the survey, the number of flexible-premium contracts issued during 2005 decreased 11% from the number issued during 2004. The average face amount increased 8% to $365,369.

The single-premium VL market continues to suffer. The total premium for single-premium products for the six companies in VALUE for 2005 was $35 million, compared to $46 million for 2004.

The number of single-premium contracts issued during 2005 was 20% lower than the number issued during 2004. The average face amount increased 5% to $133,401, while the average premium decreased 6% to $52,259.

The total premium for second-to-die products issued during 2005 for the companies in the survey was $266 million, compared to $319 million during 2004.

The number of second-to-die contracts (including single-premium and flexible-premium products) issued during 2005 rose 4% from 2004. The average face amount decreased 9% to $2,132,225.

For the companies reporting sales by distribution channel for 2005, career agents and independent broker-dealer firms dominated flexible-premium variable life sales, capturing 56% and 35% of the market, respectively.

Career agents dominated single-premium variable life sales in 2003, capturing 52% of the market. Independent broker-dealer firms and regional firms captured 24% and 21% of the market, respectively, while wirehouses had 2%.

As of Dec. 31, 2005, total variable life assets for the companies reporting in VALUE were $110.5 billion, up 5% from $105.3 billion on Dec. 31, 2004. Of the total assets reported, 91% were held in a separate account.

VALUE classes funds into the following categories: growth, aggressive growth, growth and income, international stock, government bond, corporate bond, high-yield bond, international bond, money market, balanced and specialty (e.g., gold, real estate).

As of Dec. 31, 2005, approximately 78% of the variable life separate account assets were in stock funds; 9%, bond funds; 4%, money market funds; 6%, balanced funds; and 3%, specialty funds.

Fixed account interest rates on VL policies continue to decrease. The average one-year interest rate on Dec. 31, 2005, was 4.18%, down from 4.19% on Sept. 30, 2005. The average renewal rate on Dec. 31, 2005, decreased to 4.22% from 4.25% on Sept. 30, 2005.


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.