Fixed annuity sales dropped 20% in second quarter 2009 from the previous quarter but they were 10% higher than in second quarter 2008, says a new study.
FA sales reached an estimated $27.8 billion in second quarter 2009, says Beacon Research, Evanston, Ill. in its new Fixed Annuity Premium Study.
The second quarter 2009 study covers sales of 53 insurance companies in the U.S. The companies represent an estimated 86% of the FA market, according to Beacon.
On a year-to-date basis, total market sales were an estimated $62.6 billion in 2009, 39% above first-half 2008, according to the study. 
By annuity type, the study says that estimated second quarter 2009 sales were: book value, $14 billion; indexed, $8.2 billion; market value-adjusted (MVA), $3.5 billion; and fixed income (immediate and deferred annuities), $2.2 billion. (Book value products pay a declared rate of interest for a specified period and do not apply market value adjustments upon early withdrawals.)
The report compares estimated FA sales to previous periods and products, as follows:
