Wink, Inc. Releases Fourth Quarter, 2018 Life Sales Results
March 15, 2019 by Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION — NEWS RELEASE
Indexed Life Sales SET NEW ALL-TIME HIGH!
Wink, Inc. Releases Fourth Quarter, 2018 Life Sales Results
Des Moines, Iowa. March 15, 2019– Wink, Inc. released fourth quarter, 2018 life sales results in its 86th edition of Wink’s Sales & Market Report. Wink’s Sales & Market Report, the insurance industry’s #1 resource for indexed life insurance sales data since 1997, expanded in 2017 to include fixed universal life (UL) and whole life product lines.
Non-variable universal life sales for the fourth quarter were over $965.4 million; up 10.3% when compared to the previous quarter and down 7.9% as compared to the same period last year. Annual sales for 2018 were over $3.6 billion. Non-variable universal life sales include both indexed UL and fixed UL product sales.
Noteworthy highlights for total non-variable universal life sales in the fourth quarter included Pacific Life Companies retaining their rank as the #1 company overall for non-variable universal life sales, with a market share of 10.7%. Pacific Life’s Pacific Discovery Xelerator IUL was the #1 selling product for non-variable universal life sales, for all channels combined, for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Indexed life sales for the fourth quarter were $617.4 million; up more than 16.8% when compared with the prior quarter, and up over 7.2% as compared to the same period last year. Annual indexed life sales were over $2.1 billion. “Given the recent trends in indexed life product development, it is no surprise to see both a record quarter and a record year for indexed life sales.” explained Sheryl J. Moore, President and CEO of both Moore Market Intelligence and Wink, Inc. She continued “It will be interesting to see how the National Association of Insurance Commissioners potential amendment of AG49 regulation will impact future sales.”
Items of interest in the indexed life market included Pacific Life Companies retaining the #1 ranking in indexed life sales, with a 16.4% market share. National Life Group and Transamerica closed out the top three sellers; the fourth-ranking company requested to remain anonymous, respectively and Nationwide ranked at the fifth top-seller.
Pacific Life’s Pacific Discovery Xelerator IUL was the #1 selling indexed life insurance product, for all channels combined, for the sixth consecutive quarter. The top pricing objective for sales this quarter was Cash Accumulation, capturing 75.9% of sales. The average indexed life target premium for the quarter was $9,781, an increase of more than 9.0% from the prior quarter.
Fixed UL fourth quarter sales were $349.1 million; up 0.5% when compared with the previous quarter and down 26.3% as compared to the same period last year. Annual fixed UL sales were over $1.4 billion. Noteworthy highlights for fixed universal life in the fourth quarter included the top pricing objective of No Lapse Guarantee capturing 66.8% of sales. In addition, the average UL target premium for the quarter was $5,443, a decline of more than 5.0% from the prior quarter.
Whole life fourth quarter sales were $1.2 billion; up more than 12.0% when compared with the previous quarter, and down more than 2.5% as compared to the same period last year. Annual whole life sales were $4.5 billion. Items of interest in the whole life market included the top pricing objective of Cash Accumulation capturing 72.8% of sales. The average annual premium per whole life policy for the quarter was $3,714, a decline of less than 1.0% 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.
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For more information, go to www.LookToWink.com.
Wink, Inc. is the company behind the most comprehensive life insurance and annuity due-diligence tools, AnnuitySpecs and LifeSpecs at www.LookToWink.com. Wink, Inc. is the distributor of the quarterly Wink’s Sales & Market Report. Serving as the insurance industry’s #1 resource of indexed insurance product sales since 1997, this report provides sales by product, company, crediting method, index, distribution, surrender charge period, and more. Wink’s Sales & Market Report expanded to cover all fixed deferred annuity products in 2015 and all non-variable cash value life insurance products in 2017.
The staff of Wink, Inc. has the combined experience of more than 150 years working with insurance products. Based in Des Moines, Iowa, the firm offers competitive intelligence and market research in the life insurance and annuity industries; serving financial services professionals, distributors, manufacturers, regulators, and consultants on both a domestic and global basis.
Sheryl J. Moore is president and CEO is the guiding force behind Wink, Inc. Ms. Moore previously worked as a market research analyst for top carriers in the life insurance and annuity industries. Her views on the direction of the market are frequently heard in seminars and quoted by industry trade journals.
March 15, 2019
Des Moines, IA
(855) ASK-WINK