Litigation

Sales of FIXED Annuities Through Banks 80% GREATER in Q3 2008 Than Q3 2007 and 4% GREATER Than Q2 2008

By John Darer

Beacon Research, an independent research organization and application service provider, supplying fixed annuity product information with search and reporting tools to banks, TPMs, insurance companies and other subscribers has information that may be surprising to some of the doom and gloomers.

Some of the Top 11 names Q3 2008 may surprise you

1. AEGON/Transamerica

2. AIG Annuity Insurance Company  (+11.1%)

3. New York Life Insurance Company

4. Principal Financial Group   (+6%)

5. Allstate Financial

6. Genworth Financial Companies (-9.1%)

7. Jackson National Life

8. Western and Southern

9. Sun Life Financial  (+9.5%)

10. John Hancock Life  (+5.3%)

11. Hartford Life Insurance Company (-11.1%)

According to the company press release, Jeremy Alexander, CEO of Evanston, IL based Beacon Research said "Bank sales of fixed annuities began to improve in fourth quarter, 2007 and have grown explosively ever since relative to the same period in the prior year," said  "Throughout 2008, we've seen double-digit growth in sales of all product types except indexed annuities. Conditions improved in third quarter. The yield curve spread widened, giving fixed rate annuities a competitive advantage over bank certificates of deposit, and credited rates were higher for most of the quarter. Given the current interest rate environment, fourth quarter's bank sales should be even stronger. But we'll see another increase only if risk-adverse bank customers continue to feel safe entrusting their money to the life insurance industry despite the well-publicized problems of some companies."

Full post as published by Structured Settlements 4Real on November 24, 2008 (boomark / email).