Variable annuity market preps for features arms race

Midsize variable annuity writers such as Transamerica Life Insurance Co., Lincoln National Corp. and John Hancock Life Insurance Co. are expected to give the biggest sellers a run in the race for market share this year. The competition is heating up now as carriers prepare their new VA filings. May tends to be the month when insurers update their prospectuses with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing new features and changes. “On balance, the variable annuities market is getting right back into the features arms race from 2004 to 2007,” said Randy Binner, senior vice president and senior analyst with FBR Capital Markets Corp. He authored a report this week titled “2011 Channel Checks: VA, Life, Indexed Annuity Outlooks Positive, Fixed Annuity and LTC Outlooks Weak.” The biggest three variable annuity sellers are Prudential Financial Inc., MetLife Inc. and Jackson National Life Insurance Co. Lincoln, coming in as the fifth largest variable annuity seller in 2010, is expected to gain market share this year and in 2012 as its competitors reprice their products, according to Mr. Binner's report. Lincoln hasn't matched the likes of Prudential and Jackson National in terms of drastic growth over the last two years. Lincoln's market share has held steady at 6% since 2009, down slightly from 7% in 2008, while Prudential had 15% of the market share, up from 7% in 2008. Jackson National accounted for 10% of VA market share in 2010, up from 4% two years before, according to data from LIMRA. However, Lincoln's stable fee history will be a trump card and boost its standing in market share, according to the report. Meanwhile, Transamerica is offering risk-based pricing guarantees. That could allow for a higher guaranteed feature, Mr. Binner noted. The news remains largely positive for the second-ranked seller of VAs, MetLife. The insurer is expected to roll out a new variable annuity this summer, which may have self-hedging features that could cut the cost of hedging and permit MetLife to offer richer features. Mr. Binner said he was overweight overall on VA sellers, as insurers are strongly capitalized and the outlook is strong for variable annuities. “We have ‘buys' on lots of these companies,” he said. “We think the industry is strongly capitalized and that the companies are trading below book value.”