Transamerica Tops IUL Sales, Prudential Leads Fixed UL Sales
June 14, 2017 by Jay Cooper
Transamerica has continued its dominance in indexed universal life (IUL) sales, while Prudential leads the market in fixed universal life sales, according to Wink’s first quarter sales and market report. MassMutual, meanwhile, enjoyed the dominant market share position for whole life insurance, the report shows.
Wink has tracked data on IUL sales since 1997, but this quarter marks the first time the data provider has tracked sales for fixed universal life or whole life insurance products. Transamerica is no stranger to the IUL list: The insurer has been the market leader in IUL sales for eight of the past nine quarters. This quarter, Transamerica held an 11.2% market share for IUL sales.
The dominant market position comes on the heels of strong sales for its Transamerica Premier Financial Foundation IUL, which was the top-selling indexed life insurance product for the 13th consecutive quarter. Sales of the product could continue to grow: Transamerica plans to expand distribution channels for the product this fall.
Transamerica executives credit the success of its Transamerica Premier Financial Foundation IUL to addressing a specific need it identified in the mass affluent and middle market when the product launched.
“Those markets needed compelling beneficiary protection, with the ability to accumulate cash value and a need to potentially use the benefit while still alive” in the advent of a chronic or critical illness, says Dave Paulsen, chief distribution officer at Transamerica.
Before the launch, Paulsen claims many consumers in those markets were meeting those needs through multiple products. “We built this with a customer segment in mind who needed more from the products they were getting. We think we hit the nail on the head in terms of packaging those needs together,” Paulsen says.
He also credits a focused distribution strategy in helping boost sales. The company launched the product first through World Financial Group, a subsidiary of Transamerica that includes independent insurance agents. In the fourth quarter of 2015, it expanded the Transamerica Premier Financial Foundation IUL into the Transamerica Agency Network, a career agency network. This fall, the company will start distributing the product through independent insurance agents.
While Transamerica held the top market share position, the top five IUL market share leaders were rounded out by Pacific Life Companies, National Life Group, Minnesota Life-Securian and Nationwide.
First quarter IUL sales were $446.5 million, down more than 16.4% from the previous quarter, and up over 3.4% from the same period in 2016. The top pricing objective for sales in the first quarter was cash accumulation, capturing 78.7% of sales, according to the report.
Prudential Leads Fixed Universal Life Sales
Prudential leads insurers in fixed universal life sales, commanding an 8.4% market share. Protective Life Companies was second, followed by Symetra Financial, Lincoln National Life and AIG. Since this is the first quarter Wink has totaled fixed universal life sales, there was no comparison of market share rankings from prior quarters.
Pruco Life’s PruLife Universal Protector was the top-selling product for fixed universal life sales, for all channels combined, in the first quarter.
First quarter fixed UL sales totaled $484.6 million. The top pricing objective for sales this quarter was “no lapse” (or secondary) Guarantee UL, capturing 71.1% of sales.
MassMutual Holds Top Spot in Whole Life Sales
Wink also tracked whole life sales for the first time this quarter. MassMutual took the top ranking, with a 15.2% market share, followed by Mutual of Omaha, Transamerica, Penn Mutual and Americo.
First quarter whole life sales totaled $933.1 million. Penn Mutual’s Guaranteed Choice Whole Life was the top-selling whole life product, for all channels combined, in the first quarter. The top pricing objective for sales this quarter was Cash Accumulation, capturing 52.4% of sales.