EVANSTON, Ill., Sept. 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Second quarter's indexed annuity sales advanced 8.3% from the prior quarter and income annuities were up 6.1% according to the Beacon Research Fixed Annuity Premium Study. Both product types had their second-best quarter ever. Total fixed annuity sales increased 1% sequentially.
"Both indexed annuities with GLWBs and lifetime payout immediate/deferred income annuities provide much-needed guaranteed retirement income," said Jeremy Alexander, CEO of Beacon Research. "Carriers also may have emphasized sales of both product types over fixed rate annuities because their profitability was somewhat less affected by second quarter's record-low interest rates."
Total fixed annuity sales declined 17.2% from the year-ago quarter and 13.2% year-to-date despite stronger sales of indexed and income annuities.
| Estimated Fixed Annuity Sales by Product Type (in $ thousands) | |||||
| Total | Indexed | Income |
Fixed Rate Non-MVA |
Fixed Rate MVA1 |
|
| Q2 '12 | 17,106 | 8,845 | 2,287 | 4,783 | 1,191 |
| Q1 '12 | 16,943 | 8,166 | 2,156 | 5,253 | 1,368 |
| % change | 1.0% | 8.3% | 6.1% | -8.9% | -12.9% |
| Q2 '12 | 17,106 | 8,845 | 2,287 | 4,783 | 1,191 |
| Q2 '11 | 20,667 | 8,438 | 2,280 | 8,286 | 1,663 |
| % change | -17.2% | 4.8% | 0.3% | -42.3% | -28.4% |
| YTD 2012 | 34,049 | 17,011 | 4,442 | 10,036 | 2,559 |
| YTD 2011 | 39,241 | 15,936 | 4,033 | 16,082 | 3,190 |
| % change | -13.2% | 6.7% | 10.1% | -37.6% | -19.8% |
Allianz remained the leading company. New York Life and Aviva USA switched placed to come in second and third, respectively. American Equity continued in fourth place and Great American again came in fifth. Second quarter results for the top five Study participants were as follows:
| Total Fixed Annuity Sales (in $ thousands) | |
| Allianz Life | 1,437,004 |
| New York Life | 1,272,222 |
| Aviva USA | 1,129,323 |
| American Equity | 917,336 |
| Great American | 876,610 |
Lincoln National took the lead in direct/third party sales and Pacific Life was the new wirehouse channel leader. The other distribution channel leaders were unchanged from the prior quarter, as were the top issuers by product type.
A Security Benefit Life indexed annuity was among the top five for the first time, with Secure Income Annuity taking second place. New York Life's Lifetime Income Annuity remained the bestselling product. Indexed annuities issued by Allianz, Aviva USA and American Equity continued in the top five as well.
| Rank | Company Name | Product Name | Product Type |
| 1 | New York Life | NYL Lifetime Income Annuity | Income |
| 2 | Security Benefit Life | Secure Income Annuity | Indexed |
| (MVA and non-MVA versions) | |||
| 2 | Allianz Life | MasterDex X | Indexed |
| 3 | Aviva USA | Balanced Allocation Annuity 12 | Indexed |
| 4 | American Equity | Bonus Gold | Indexed |
"Indexed and income annuities should continue to do well," Alexander concluded. "But much will depend on the interest rate environment and the collective decisions by carriers to expand or pull back on sales."
About the Beacon Research Fixed Annuity Premium Study
The quarterly Study is the first and only source to track and analyze product-level fixed annuity sales on an ongoing basis, and the first to put a decade's worth of historical industry, company and product sales information in an easily-searchable online database at www.annuitymarketstudy.com.
About Beacon Research
Beacon Research tracks fixed, indexed and variable annuity sales, rates and features, and provides web-based systems at www.annuitynexus.com for distributors and insurance companies. Beacon also licenses information and software tools to other platforms. Beacon's fixed annuity benchmark series -- the industry's first - is available through Ibbotson Associates. Directly and through strategic alliances, Beacon information can be accessed by hundreds of financial institutions and other distributors, as well as thousands of advisors and agents.
The Beacon Research logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=509
1 Market Value adjustments (MVAs) pay a premium on withdrawals when interest rates fall and reduce withdrawals when rates rise. Fixed rate non-MVAs are also known as book value annuities.