MYGA Sales Fall 10 percent in 2017

Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity sales were off in 2017, mainly due to low interest rates.

Multi-year guaranteed annuity (MYGA) sales fell 9.5 percent to $30.3 billion in 2017 compared to 2016 after insurers cut back on attractive rates due to the low interest rate levels, a market expert said.

Fourth-quarter 2017 MYGA sales rose 1.3 percent to $6.7 billion compared to the fourth-quarter 2016. Quarterly sales rose 1.2 percent compared to the third quarter, according to Wink’s Sales & Market Report.

“A couple of insurers in 2016 had attractive rates and had MYGA specials so MYGAs were coming off a strong 2016, but are now lower in 2017,” said Sheryl J. Moore, president and CEO of Moore Market Intelligence and Wink Inc., publisher of Wink’s Sales & Market Report.

MYGAs lock in rates for more than one year and typically issue rates anywhere from two to 10 years.

To guarantee those rates over long periods, insurers must set aside enough money in reserve to honor the contracts.

Other types of fixed annuities of shorter rate durations that declare interest annually are easier to manage from a reserving standpoint.

In the fourth quarter, New York Life was the No. 1 MYGA seller with a market share of 20 percent, Wink reported.

AIG moved into the No. 2 spot, followed by Global Atlantic Financial Group, Massachusetts Mutual Life and Security Benefit Life.

Global Atlantic’s SecureFore 3 fixed annuity was the best-selling MYGA in the fourth quarter in all sales channels combined, Wink said.

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Writer Cyril Tuohy has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. Cyril may be reached at [email protected]