Heads up: how the 100 largest life insurers performed

“The 100 largest U.S. life insurance companies, comprising 84% of industry assets, reported net capital losses of $77 billion in the first 9 months of 2008, equal to 25% of their $307 billion of total surplus funds at the beginning of 2008,” according to Frederick S. Townsend and Laurie Dallaire in a December 15, 2008 National Underwriter article.

Townsend, who is president of Townsend Independent Actuarial Research Alliance, Wolcott, Conn., and Dallaire, who is president of Insurance Consulting & Analysis, LLC, Windsor, Conn., also reported that:

“For 9 months of 2008, The Townsend 100 Companies partially offset the $77 billion of net capital losses with $41 billion of new surplus paid-in and $15 billion of net operating gains, writes the president of Townsend Independent Actuarial Research Alliance, Wolcott, Conn.