The Federal Reserve Board says assets at U.S. life insurers grew a little in the first quarter, but not as much as overall U.S. wealth.
Life insurers held $4.35 trillion in assets in their own general accounts in the first quarter, or 3.2% more than they held in the first quarter of 2016, according to the Fed's latest Financial Accounts of the United States report. The report is an inventory of U.S. financial assets and obligations.
Overall U.S. net wealth increased 8.8% over that same period, to $87 trillion. For the country as a whole, the market value of domestic companies was an asset that performed especially well: the total market value of U.S. companies grew 15%, to $33 trillion.
The report includes separate statistics on the separate accounts life insurers manage for holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies.
U.S. life insurers' separate account assets increased 6.2%, to $2.5 trillion, according to the Fed.
Details in the Fed report suggest that the consumers who hold separate accounts may be managing their assets more conservatively than the life insurers are.
