Insurance

Total sales of fixed indexed annuities reached $8.3 billion during the second quarter of 2009. This represents an increase of 18.3% from the previous quarter and an increase of 21.2% from the same period a year ago. The sales momentum comes despite industry headwinds which include fewer insurance companies and fewer product offerings. Aviva was the top insurance company in the space with a 20% market share while the top selling indexed annuity product was the MasterDex X from Allianz . Source:...

The UK pension market is in tough shape post financial crisis. According to a Bloomberg article, "about 87 percent of the U.K.’s 7,400 final salary pension plans are in deficit following the financial crisis." This crisis offers an unprecendented opportunity for companies that insure the pension liabilities of private corporations through bulk purchase annuities. “The bulk-purchase annuity market is going to continue to be a good market because companies want to get their pension...

The shares of Genworth Financial were under pressure after a Citigroup analyst downgraded Genworth to sell from hold. Genworth shares dropped 5.4% on Friday and are still down 47% over the past 12 months. The Citigroup analyst, Colin Devine, believes that Genworth's business strategy is fundamentally flawed: “Things will likely get worse before they get better,” Colin Devine, an analyst with Citigroup, said yesterday in a research note. “We believe management continues to...

Jackson National is the latest in a list of insurance companies to report strong earnings and annuity sales. Jackson National Life Insurance Company reported sales and deposits of $6.1 billion during the first six months of 2009. Variable annuity sales were $3.8 billion for the first two quarters. Fixed annuity sales were also strong at $1.9 billion. Source: Investment News Full Story