Indexed Sales Continue Record-Setting Growth!
Wink, Inc. Releases Second Quarter, 2015 Indexed Sales Results
Pleasant Hill, Iowa. September 9TH, 2015- Fifty-two indexed annuity carriers participated in the 72nd edition of Wink’s Sales & Market Report, representing 99.8% of indexed annuity production. Total second quarter sales were $12.2 billion. Second quarter indexed annuity sales were up nearly 8.0% when compared to the previous quarter, and down over 2.0% when compared with the same period last year. “Indexed annuity continued their momentum in 2015 with sales greater than any other second quarter has in the history of the product line!” exclaimed Sheryl J. Moore, President and CEO of both Moore Market Intelligence and Wink, Inc. She added, “There is no doubt that 2015 is going to be a record-setting year for indexed annuity sales!”
Noteworthy highlights for the second quarter include Allianz Life as the #1 carrier in indexed annuities, with a market share of 17.3% and American Equity Companies as the #2 carrier. Great American Insurance Group, American General Life Companies and Athene USA round-out the top five carriers in the market, respectively. Allianz Life’s Allianz 222 Annuity was the #1 selling indexed annuity for the second consecutive quarter.
Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) utilization declined for the third consecutive quarter, making the highest one-quarter-drop since Wink began tracking the data. Still, the 6.5% decline in election leaves 58.7% of eligible contracts electing a GLWB. Experience data pointed to trends in rider elections and income commencement, which were consistent with expectations. Moore pointed-out, “Again, I’m still not surprised to see another drop in GLWB election rates. Income sales continue to take a backseat to accumulation sales, due to recent development of hybrid indices that give distributors the ability to promote ‘uncapped’ crediting methods.”
For indexed life sales, 46 insurance carriers participated in Wink’s Sales & Market Report, representing 95.3% of production. Second quarter sales were $458.0 million. When evaluating second quarter indexed life sales, results were up more than 20.0% when compared with the previous quarter, and up nearly 28.0% when compared to the same period last year. “Indexed life sales continued their 2015 momentum too; this quarter was greater than any other second quarter in the history of this product line. It will be interesting to see if the increased sales continue, amidst implementation of AG49 in the third quarter.” commented Ms. Moore.
Items of interest in the indexed life market this quarter include Transamerica maintaining the #1 ranked company in indexed life sales, with a 15.3% market share. Pacific Life held the second-ranked position; while National Life Group, Minnesota Life, and Zurich American Life rounded-out the top five companies, respectively.
Transamerica Premier Financial Foundation IUL (formerly known as Western Reserve Life Assurance Company of Ohio’s WRL Financial Foundation) was the #1 selling indexed life insurance product for the sixth consecutive quarter. The average indexed UL target premium reported for the quarter was $7,517, an increase more than 8.0% from the prior quarter.
For more information go to www.LookToWink.com
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’s Sales & Market Report expanded to cover all fixed deferred annuity products in 2015.
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.
September 9th, 2015
Pleasant Hill, IA
(855) ASK-WINK
