Canadian insurer Sun Life recently announced that it will exit the variable annuity and individual life insurance markets in the United States.

Continued equity market volatility has resulted in a variable annuity business that is plagued with uncertainty and higher costs.

Insurers such as Sun Life offer guarantees that are linked to the performance of underlying equity portfolios.  These guarantees are a liability for the insurance company, and equity market volatility contributes to the cost of these liabilities.

U.S. variable annuity sales grew by 24 percent from the same period a year earlier. Variable annuity sales for the first quarter of 2011 totaled $38.9 billion.

LIMRA reports that 16 of the top 20 variable annuity providers experienced sales growth relative to the previous year.

Prudential led the industry with a 40 percent increase and $6.81 billion in variable annuity sales in the first quarter.  Sales at MetLife increased 41 percent to $5.68 billion.

Despite the demographic challenges associated with an ageing society, individual annuities are non-existent in China.

Some individuals in China do have access to what is referred to as an enterprise annuity.  Enterprise annuities are a form of supplemental pension plan that is supported by the Chinese government.  Enterprise annuities were enabled through legislation that went into effect in May of 2004.

New York Life Insurance Company reported record sales of fixed immediate annuity products for the third quarter of 2010.

The nation's largest mutual life insurer reported $1.3 billion in fixed immediate annuity sales--an increase of 4 percent over the same period last year.

According to EVP for Retirement Income Security Chris Blunt:

U.S. variable annuity sales totaled $35.5 billion in the second quarter of 2010.  This represents an 11 percent increase from the same period in 2009, and the gain is the largest since 2007.

Prudential was the leader during the period with $5.3 billion in sales--a significant increase relative to $3.38 billion during the same period the previous year.

Variable annuity sales at AIG increased 45 percent to $1.58 billion.

Reuters reports that an investment arm of Goldman is near to closing a deal to buy Taikang Life, China's number 4 life insurance company.

The French insurer Axa currently owns a 15.6 percent stake in Taikang that is reportedly worth $1.05 billion.

Goldman's bid for the assets competed with several other private equity companies.

Source: Reuters

Walter M. Bortz II, M.D., is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and a graduate of Williams College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Recognized as one of America’s leading scientific experts on aging and longevity, Dr. Walter Bortz's research has focused on the importance of physical exercise in the promotion of robust aging.

Longevity risk is clearly a huge growth market.  One has to wonder, though, where the capacity to address this market opportunity will come from.

Many financial advisors seem conditioned to wear annuity criticism as a sort of badge of honor. 

As the past couple of years have so painfully revealed, however, this conventional wisdom rests on shaky ground.

What types of questions might a client present to an advisor who appears to have a reflexive inclination to dismiss most or all forms of annuities?  Consider the following:

1.  How are my assets hedged against longevity risk?  In other words, how am I protected from outliving my money?