Displaying items by tag: annuities

A new insurance company plans on selling non-variable annuities directly to consumers. Former Global Bankers Insurance Group executives teamed up to start Pillar Life by forming Pillar Insurance LLC and using the entity to acquire Continental Life Insurance Company. Pillar Insurance renamed Continental Life to Pillar Life last year. The company plans on building a web-based self-service process by April 2023. The insurer has already posted guides to multi-year guaranteed annuity contracts and single-premium immediate annuities on its website. The Interstate Insurance Compact, which is an organization that helps states review product and rate filings, has approved Pillar Life forms for an SPIA contract and a single-premium deferred annuity contract. Pillar Life will also offer life insurance and supplemental health insurance products. For clients, this means they will have more ways to buy annuities on their own. For advisors, however, it will likely make it more difficult to go through the paperwork to find out what clients own.

Finsum:Pillar Life plans on offering non-variable annuities direct to consumers through a web-based self-service model.

A slam dunk of a fixed income stream can sound pretty appetizing to any consumer -- including retirees. Consequently, guaranteed rate annuities can be just the ticket for them, according to  annuityexpertadvice.com.

That said, before John Hancocking the dotted line, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the contract terms. After all, you want to circumvent locking into an investment that yields less than satisfactory returns, the site continued.

The sales of multi year guaranteed annuities have surged this year, according to lifehealth.com. First quarter sales chimed in at $14.5 billion, a hike of 30.1% compared to the quarter before.

According to industry surveys, seeing the money well run dry’s the top fear among most retirees, stated winkintel.com.

“Annuities play a critical role as a safe money alternative for so many seniors, especially in our current environment of market volatility,” said Chris Conroy, IAMS’ executive vice president and general counsel.

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) has put its support behind a lawsuit challenging the Labor Department’s subsequent guidance on the fiduciary rule. The ACLI is the nation’s largest life insurance trade association. The group added an amicus brief to an ongoing lawsuit by the Federation of Americans for Consumer Choices against the DOL. The suit, which was filed in March, claimed that agents “oftentimes make rollover recommendations for purchase of annuities to IRA owners and participants in employer-sponsored 401k and similar benefit plans, for which they receive commissions or other compensation from annuity issuers.” The concern is that these agents will be adversely affected by the DOL’s new interpretation of the Fiduciary Rule that categorizes their status as investment advice fiduciaries under ERISA. ACLI believes that the new interpretation would achieve the same outcome as the 2016 Fiduciary Rule, which was rejected in the Fifth Circuit court. ACLI was one of the lead plaintiffs in that decision.

Finsum:The American Council of Life Insurers has put its support behind an ongoing lawsuit against the DOL and their new interpretation of the Fiduciary Rule.

According to LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Annuity Sales survey, U.S. annuity sales increased 16% to $79.4 billion during the second quarter. The top selling annuities were fixed-rated deferred annuities, which posted their best quarterly sales result ever. Sales came in at $28.7 billion, a jump of 79% from the prior year’s quarter. In fact, all fixed annuities showed positive growth. Fixed-rate deferred annuities are contracts that offer investors a fixed annual percentage yield with tax-deferred growth. They typically offer a higher rate of growth instead of an income stream over a specific period. The massive jump in sales can be attributed to the volatility in the markets this year and rising interest rates. The current average yield on a fixed-rate deferred annuity is around 3% or higher. Sales for traditional variable annuities didn't fare so well, falling 27% year over year to $16.5 billion, the lowest quarterly sales since 1995 due to market volatility. Variable annuities are tied to the market with no downside protection.

Finsum:Driven by market volatility, sales for fixed-rate deferred annuities had their highest quarter ever. 

As market volatility continues, investors are flocking to annuities. This could be the biggest year yet for annuity sales. Insurance industry data firm Limra is forecasting annuity sales in the range of $267 billion to $288 billion this year, which would break the record of $265 billion set in 2008, during the financial crisis. Annuities offer investors a way to hedge market volatility, so it would make sense that sales are way up this year. The S&P 500 is down over 20% so far for the year and it's only June. Bonds haven’t been much better as the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, which tracks the U.S. bond market is down 11.5% year to date. Investors have also been enticed by better payouts amid a rising interest rate environment. These benefits seem to outweigh costly premiums and less liquidity.

Finsum: Annuity sales have been soaring as investors look to hedge market volatility, making them an attractive option for risk-averse investors.