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Life Health > Life Insurance

Indexed annuity, life sales rise in Q2

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Overcoming a first-quarter slump, indexed annuity and indexed life sales bolted upward in the second quarter. According to the most recent Wink’s Sales & Market Report from Wink, Inc., total sales of indexed annuities hit $9.2 billion in Q2. That tally represents a 17 percent jump in production when compared to the previous quarter and a 5.5 percent increase from the same quarter a year earlier.

Sheryl J. Moore, president and CEO of Wink Inc. and Moore Market Intelligence, points out that the Q2 2013 total is nearly 5 percent above the previous quarterly record set in the third quarter of 2010. Year-to-date, indexed annuity sales were up 1.5 percent over the first six months of 2012.

For the quarterly study, 42 indexed annuity carriers representing 99.8 percent of indexed annuity production participated.

Also on the rebound are guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits (GLWBs), which were elected in 67.3 percent of all indexed annuity contracts sold that offered that rider. The second quarter, Moore notes, marked a record for GLWB elections.

Allianz Life held onto the top spot for indexed annuity carriers with a 13.62 percent market share. Security Benefit Life and American Equity maintained their positions as the second and third top companies in the market, while Great American and EquiTrust rounded out the top five, respectively. Security Benefit Life’s Total Value Annuity was the No. 1 selling indexed annuity for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Indexed life on upswing

Sales of indexed life were also on the upswing in the second quarter, with total sales reaching $336.7 million. When compared to the previous quarter and a year ago, sales were up 1 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Further, year-to-date sales of IUL rose nearly 20 percent from the year-ago period. Moore attributes that increase to new entrants’ distributions becoming more comfortable with the product. If there was one downer it was that the average indexed UL target premium reported for the quarter was $5,770, a drop of nearly 50 percent from the prior quarter.

Forty-eight carriers representing more than 95.2 percent of production contributed to the Q2 Wink report.

Pacific Life Cos. took over the number-one spot for IUL sales with a 13.73 percent market share. AXA Equitable ascended to become the second-ranked company in the market, while National Life Group (LSW), Aegon, and Minnesota Life rounded out the top five companies, respectively. AXA Equitable’s Athena Indexed UL was the top selling indexed life insurance product for the ninth consecutive quarter.

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