Insurer

Life and annuity insurers have been revamping their variable annuity product offerings to better fit a post financial crisis environment. As discussed in recent blog entries , variable annuity product revamps basically boil down to increasing prices and benefit reductions. The unanswered question is what impact the product changes will have on variable annuity sales. According to a recent Wall Street Journal Article, variable annuity sales grew at an 11% annual rate from 1995 through 2007...

A good question and answer piece from the Chicago Tribune. The reader had just purchased a $400,000 immediate annuity at a relatively young age. The purchase was also made from one insurer in a relatively low interest rate environment. Having both a pension and Social Security (both are lifetime annuities), I would not have committed half my portfolio to an income annuity at the relatively young age of 63 and during a period of low interest rates . It does not appear that the annuity came with...

Canadian insurer Manulife Financial is under investigation by the Ontario Securities Commission for failing to disclose certain obligations related to its variable annuity products. Manulife's stock price has been under pressure and the company had to draw down a $3 billon loan. Manulife, the parent of John Hancock , has reported billion dollar earnings losses in its two most recent quarters. The company is suffering from the decision not to hedge effectively within its variable annuity...