Q3 Non-Variable Annuity Sales Were Shocking

By Allison Bell

News November 16, 2018 at 01:22 PM

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U.S. sales of individual non-variable annuities shot up a startling 46% in the third quarter, according to new, preliminary sales data from Wink Inc.

The Des Moines, Iowa-based life and annuity sales information firm based the preliminary figures on survey responses from life insurers that account for about 94% of total U.S. individual non-variable annuity sales.

Wink did not give the dollar value of non-variable annuity sales in the press release announcing the new results. But, a year ago, Wink survey participants reported generating about $20 billion in non-variable annuity sales in the third quarter of 2017.

The new 46% increase figure suggests that insurers might have recorded about $29 billion in individual non-variable annuity sales in the latest quarter.

Wink broke out separate year-over-year sales change estimates for three types of non-variable annuities:

Indexed annuities: Up by 38%.
Traditional fixed annuities: Up by 29%.
Multi-year guaranteed annuity (MYGA) contracts: Up by 63%.

Sheryl Moore, the author of the new Wink sales report, said in a statement about the results that the results reflect issuer sales incentives and the effects of low interest rates on consumer demand.

"Americans have had it with record-low rates on [bank] certificates of deposit accounts," Moore said in the statement.

— Read Wink Sees Best Indexed Annuity Sales Growth in 2 Years, on ThinkAdvisor.

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