Variable life insurance sales with single premiums included at 10% for the 35 companies reporting in the VALUE survey for the third quarter of 2009 were $292.1 million, a 4.2% decrease from second quarter 2009 sales, which were $305 million, but a 45.9% decrease from third quarter 2008 sales, which totaled $540 million.
Year-to-date third quarter 2009 sales were 50.1% lower than sales in the first 9 months of 2008.
(Sales include first-year annualized premium, drop-in premiums and 10% of single premiums.)
The market estimate for the first 9 months of 2009 with single premiums included at 10% is $960 million.
Variable life sales with single premiums included at 100% for the companies in the VALUE survey for the third quarter of 2009 were $294.5 million, a 3.9% decrease from second quarter 2009, which had sales of $307 million, and a 46.5% decrease from third quarter 2008 sales, which were $551 million.
The market estimate for the first 9 months of 2009 with single premiums included at 100% is $975 million, down from $1.94 billion for the same period the year before.
For the first quarter of 2009, the top five companies/fleets–John Hancock, Pacific Life, AXA Financial/MONY, Hartford Life and RiverSource–captured 60% of all variable life sales (including single premiums at 10%), while the top 10 companies/fleets garnered 81% of VL sales.
For the companies in the survey, the number of flexible-premium contracts issued during the first 9 months of 2009 decreased 57% from the number issued during the first 9 months of 2008. The average face amount decreased 2% to $419,118.
