Variable life insurance sales with single premiums included at 10% for the 40 companies reporting in the VALUE survey for the second quarter of 2006 were $599.4 million, a 2.2% increase over first quarter 2006, but a 0.2% decrease from 2nd quarter 2005 sales, which were $600 million.
Year-to-date first quarter 2006 sales are 0.6% lower than year-to-date second quarter 2005 sales.
(Sales include first-year annualized premium, drop-in premiums and 10% of single premiums.)
The market estimate for the first 6 months of 2006 with single premiums included at 10% is $1.265 billion, down from $1.3 billion for the comparable period the previous year.
Variable life sales with single premiums included at 100% for the 40 companies in the VALUE survey for the second quarter of 2006 were $609 million, a 2.2% increase over first quarter 2006, which had sales of $596 million, but a 0.6% decrease from second quarter 2005 sales, which were $613 million.
The market estimate for 2005 with single premiums included at 100% is $1.31 billion.
For the first 6 months of 2006, the top 5 companies/fleets–IDS, Hartford Life, John Hancock, Lincoln National and Pacific Life–captured 49% of all VL sales (including single premiums at 10%), while the top 10 companies/fleets garnered 75% of VL sales.
For the second quarter, Lincoln National ranks among the top 5 companies, displacing MetLife, which now ranks 8th. It should be noted that Lincoln National now includes Jefferson-Pilot.
For the companies in the survey, the number of flexible-premium contracts issued during the first 6 months of 2006 decreased 12% from the number issued during the comparable period in 2005. The average face amount increased 7% to $373,043.
The single-premium VL market continues to suffer. The total premium for single-premium products for the 6 companies in the VALUE survey for the first 6 months of 2006 was $15.7 million, compared to $20 million for the same period the year before.
