Fixed annuities Second-quarter fixed-annuity sales rose 10% to $27.8 billion, Beacon Research reports
Book-value fixed annuities led the pack with $14 billion, the firm says
Source:By Darla Mercado
August 31, 2009, 12:50 PM EST
Overall sales of fixed annuities hit $27.8 billion during the second quarter, up 10% from a year earlier but down 20% from the first quarter this year, according to data from Beacon Research Publications Inc.
Book-value fixed annuities, which pay a declared rate of interest over a period of time, dominated total sales during the second quarter with an estimated $14 billion in sales, according to the Evanston, Ill., research firm. That was up from $12 billion in the second quarter of 2008.
Index annuity sales hit $8.2 billion, up from $6.9 billion a year earlier.
Market-value-adjusted fixed annuities, which adjust the value of surrenders or withdrawals according to interest rate fluctuations, fell to $3.5 billion, down slightly from $3.6 billion a year earlier. Finally, fixed-income annuities brought in $2.2 billion in sales, up 10% from a year earlier.
New York Life Insurance Co. led its peers as the company with the most in total fixed-annuity sales, jumping from second place in the first quarter. The carrier sold $2.85 billion in fixed annuities.
Aviva USA Corp. of Des Moines, Iowa, climbed to second place, from third, with $1.67 billion in fixed-annuity sales, while Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America rounded out the top three with $1.55 billion in total fixed-annuity sales.
The first quarter’s sales leader MetLife Inc. of New York dropped to seventh place with just $950 million in fixed-annuity sales during the second quarter.
New York Life also had the top-selling product, with its NYL Preferred Fixed Annuity, a book-value product. Allianz Life came in second with its index annuity, the MasterDex X, while New York Life was third with the NYL Fixed Annuity, another book-value product.
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A fixed annuity helps stabilize the income from investments and is generally used by people who are preparing for retirement.
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