Life insurance sales got off to a slow start in 2019, according to the first quarter 2019 edition of Wink’s Sales & Market Report, released May 24 by Des Moines, Iowa-based Wink, Inc.
Non-variable universal life sales for the first quarter of 2019 were over $768.2 million, which is down 20.4% compared to the previous quarter and down nearly 13% compared to the same period last year. Non-variable universal life sales include both indexed UL and fixed UL product sales.
The report found National Life Group took over as the No. 1 company, overall, for non-variable universal life sales with a market share of 9.5%. Pacific Life’s Pacific Discovery Xelerator IUL was the No. 1-selling product for non-variable universal life sales, for all channels combined, for the seventh consecutive quarter.
Indexed life sales for the first quarter were $491.7 million, down more than 20.3% compared with the prior quarter, and up over 1.1% when compared to the same period last year.
“The 2017 CSO requirements are hitting everyone hard,” said Sheryl J. Moore, President and CEO of both Moore Market Intelligence and Wink, Inc. “If companies’ sales aren’t down because their field force isn’t up-to-date on their reprice for the new mortality tables, they are down because they are too busy working on new products to focus on sales.”
Items of interest in the indexed life market included National Life Group moving into the No. 1 ranking in indexed life sales, with a 14.5% market share. Pacific Life Companies, Transamerica, Nationwide, and Allianz Life rounded out the top five, respectively.
Pacific Life’s Pacific Discovery Xelerator IUL was the top-selling indexed life insurance product, for all channels combined, for the seventh consecutive quarter.
The top pricing objective for sales this quarter was Cash Accumulation, capturing 75.2% of sales. The average indexed life target premium for the quarter was $8,900, a decline of more than 9% from the prior quarter.
Fixed UL
Fixed universal life first quarter sales totaled $277.4 million, down 20.5% from the previous quarter and down more than 29.4% as compared to the same period last year.
Noteworthy highlights for fixed universal life in the first quarter included the top pricing objective of No Lapse Guarantee capturing 67.8% of sales. In addition, the average UL target premium for the quarter was $4,377, a decline of more than 20% from the prior quarter.
Whole life
While life first quarter sales were $1.0 billion; down more than 17.4% from the prior quarter, and down 3.7% as compared to the same period last year.
Items of interest in the whole life market included the top pricing objective of Cash Accumulation capturing 67% of sales. The average premium per whole life policy for the quarter was $2,815, a decline of more than 24% from the prior quarter.
Wink is focusing on increasing participation with their current product lines of indexed universal life, traditional universal life, indexed whole life, and traditional whole life product sales. Additional product lines, such as term life insurance, will be added to Wink’s Sales & Market Report in upcoming quarters.
The insurance industry’s top resource for indexed life insurance sales data since 1997, Wink’s Sales & Market Report expanded in 2017 to include fixed universal life (UL) and whole life product lines.
For more information, go to www.WinkIntel.com
