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Variable life sales continue to slide. VL sales with single premiums included at 10% for the 50 companies reporting in Tillinghasts VALUE survey for the second quarter of 2003 were $582 million. This is a 46% decrease from second quarter 2002, which had sales of $1.08 billion, and almost a 9% decrease from first quarter 2003, which had sales of $637 million.
Sales for the first six months of 2003 were $1.218 billion, down from $2.199 billion in the same period of 2002.
(Sales include first-year annualized premium, drop-in premiums and 10% of single premiums.)
The market estimate for the first six months of 2003 with single premiums included at 10% is $1.28 billion.
Variable life sales with single premiums included at 100% for the 50 companies in the VALUE survey for the second quarter of 2003 were $601 million. This is almost a 47% decrease from the second quarter of 2002, which had sales of $1.127 billion, and almost a 9% decrease from first quarter 2003 sales, which were $658 million.
The market estimate for the first six months of 2003 with single premiums included at 100% is $1.33 billion.
For 2002, the top five companies/fleets–Hartford Life, Pacific Life, MetLife, Nationwide and IDS–captured 37% of all variable life sales (including single premiums at 10%), while the top 10 companies/fleets garnered 61% of all sales. For the first six months of 2003, IDS ranked among the top five companies, displacing Equitable, which ranked among the top 10 companies for 2002.
For the companies reporting in the survey, the number of flexible premium contracts issued during first six months of 2003 decreased 39% from the number issued during first half of 2002. The average face amount increased 2% to $301,649, while the percentage of premium allocated to the general account increased to 8%.
The total premium for the 10 companies participating in VALUE for first six months of 2003 was $32.9 million, compared to $70.5 million for first six months of 2002.
