National Western Life’s First-Quarter Profit Up 19.2%
May 13, 2014 by Fran Matso Lysiak
AUSTIN, Texas – National Western Life Insurance Co.’s first-quarter 2014 profit rose 19.2%.
Consolidated net earnings increased to $19.8 million. Total revenues, however, declined 31.6% to $158 million. Operating revenues, excluding realized investment gains and realized and unrealized gains on index options, rose to $155.9 million from $154.3 million in last-year’s first quarter.
National Western Life sells individual life insurance, including universal, whole and term, as well as annuities and investments in 49 U.S. states. As of March 31, the company had $22.5 billion of life insurance in force and total assets stood at $10.9 billion.
“The first quarter of the year is typically the slowest in terms of sales volume, so it was gratifying to see life insurance sales grow 8% compared to the first quarter of last year,” Ross R. Moody, president of National Western Life, said in a statement.
“We continue to operate in a historically low interest rate environment, which presents challenges to life insurers like National Western who offer interest-sensitive products,” Moody said, noting interest rate levels fell from where they finished the end of 2013 with the 10-year Treasury yield dropping roughly 30 basis points.
“However, we have been able to purchase investment-grade debt securities consistent with our crediting rate levels on new products and our mix of sales weighted more toward fixed-index products alleviates some of the stress on interest margins,” Moody said.
The Austin, Texas-based National Western Life also operates in various countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim.
“We experienced a consistent level of mortality claims in this year’s first quarter and have maintained a watchful eye on discretionary expenses,” Moody said.
National Western Life Insurance Co. currently has a Best’s Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent).
(By Fran Matso Lysiak, senior associate editor, BestWeek: fran.lysiak@ambest.com)