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Variable life sales continue to slide. VL sales with single premiums included at 10% for the 49 companies reporting in Tillinghasts VALUE survey for the third quarter of 2003 were $554 million. This is a 33% decrease from third quarter 2002, which had sales of $829 million, and a 6% decrease from second quarter 2003, which had sales of $590 million.
(Sales include first-year annualized premium, drop-in premiums and 10% of single premiums.)
The market estimate for the first 9 months of 2003 with single premiums included at 10% is $1.835 billion.
Variable life sales with single premiums included at 100% for the 49 companies in the VALUE survey for the third quarter of 2003 were $573 million with year-to-date sales at $1.83 billion. This is a 35% decrease from the third quarter of 2002, which had sales of $877 million, and a 6% decrease from second quarter 2003 sales, which were $608 million.
The market estimate for the first 9 months of 2003 with single premiums included at 100% is $1.9 billion.
For 2002, the top 5 companies/fleets–Hartford Life, Pacific Life, IDS, Nationwide, and MetLife–captured 38% of all variable life sales (including single premiums at 10%), while the top 10 companies/fleets garnered 62% of all sales. For the first 9 months of 2003, IDS ranked among the top 5 companies, displacing Equitable, which ranked among the top 5 companies for 2002.
For the companies reporting in the survey, the number of flexible-premium contracts issued during the first 9 months of 2003 decreased 40% from the number issued during first 9 months of 2002. The average face amount increased 3% to $301,307, while the percentage of premium allocated to the general account increased to 8%.
