YTD Indexed Annuity Sales Greater Than Any Full Year But 2013

Wink, Inc. Releases Third Quarter, 2014 Indexed Sales Results

Pleasant Hill, Iowa. November 18, 2014 - Forty-seven indexed annuity carriers participated in the 69^th edition of Wink’s Sales & Market Report, representing 99.8% of indexed annuity production. Total third quarter sales were $11.4 billion. Third quarter indexed annuity sales were down 8.58% when compared to the previous quarter, and up 14.28% when compared with the same period last year. “Third quarter year-to-date sales of indexed annuities are greater than they have been in any full year with the exception of 2013’s record-setting sales!” exclaimed Sheryl J. Moore, President and CEO of both Moore Market Intelligence and Wink, Inc. She added, “This market is easily on-target to do over $45 billion in sales for 2014.”

Noteworthy highlights for the quarter include Allianz Life maintaining their position as the #1 carrier in indexed annuities, with a market share of 26.80%. American Equity Companies recaptured their prior ranking as the #2 carrier in the market; Security Benefit Life, Great American Insurance Group, and Athene USA followed-up in sales, rounding-out the top five. Allianz Life’s Allianz 222 Annuity was the #1 selling indexed annuity for the quarter.

For indexed life sales, 47 insurance carriers participated in Wink’s Sales & Market Report, representing 95.2% of production. Third quarter sales were $3.72.8 million. When evaluating third quarter indexed life sales, results were up 4.46% when compared with the previous quarter, and up 18.73% when compared to the same period last year. Ms. Moore commented, “Indexed life sales are likely to finish-out the year stronger than any prior year with the exception of 2012’s record-setting sales! As the matter of indexed life illustrated rates gets ‘hammered-out,’ we’re going to continue seeing more companies entering this now-mainstream product line.”

Items of interest in the indexed life market this quarter include Pacific Life Companies maintaining their #1 position in indexed life sales, with an 11.61% market share. Aegon held-on as the second-ranked company in the market; National Life Group, Minnesota Life, and Zurich American Life rounded-out the top five companies, respectively. Western Reserve Life Assurance Company of Ohio’s WRL Financial Foundation was the #1 selling indexed life insurance product for the third consecutive quarter. The average indexed UL target premium reported for the quarter was $7,119, an increase of nearly 12% from the prior quarter.

The staff of Moore Market Intelligence has combined experience of nearly three decades working with indexed insurance products. The firm provides services in speaking, research, training, product development, and marketing of indexed annuities and indexed life insurance. Their knowledge in product filing research and policy forms analysis, coupled with their unmatched resources in insurance distribution, give them the expertise to provide competitive intelligence that allows carriers to stay ahead of their competition.

Sheryl J. Moore is president and CEO of this specialized third-party market research firm and the guiding force behind the industry’s most comprehensive indexed life and indexed annuity due diligence tools, AnnuitySpecs and LifeSpecs distributed by Wink, Inc. Ms. Moore previously worked as market research analyst for top carriers in the indexed life and annuity industries. Her views on the direction on the indexed market are frequently heard in seminars and quoted by industry trade journals.

Ms. Moore is the author of the quarterly Wink’s Sales & Market Report. Serving as the insurance industry’s #1 resource of indexed insurance product sales since 1997, this report provides sales by product, company, crediting method, index, distribution, surrender charge period, and more.

Wink, Inc. is the company that distributes resources such as this sales report, along with the competitive intelligence tools AnnuitySpecs and LifeSpecs at www.LookToWink.com.