Guaranteed Pain for Insurers from Annuities (Wall Street Journal)

Variable annuities are coming back to bite insurers. Shares in ING Group fell 5% Wednesday after it booked a €1 billion ($1.34 billion) charge to cover higher-than-expected liabilities on U.S. variable annuities. ING isn’t the first insurer to be wounded by such products—and it’s unlikely to be the last.