Sign Of The Times

With economic uncertainty the order of the day, sales of fixed annuities jumped 54% in the third quarter of the year, according to a report by A.M. Best Company, Inc. During the first
9 months of 2008, variable annuity sales dropped 10%, the report continued.

The report noted that the variable annuties drop would likely have been much larger except that some companies offered additional riders that were designed to protect annuity income or the annuity principal.

The report shows that the "shoot from the hip" style of investing for the future has itself been shot down. Now the emphasis is on a future based on as much certainty as can be provided in these troubled times.

This bodes well for insurance companies which are required to maintain certain reserves against losses by their state insurance commissions and not so well for stock brokers.

The report by Best was based on sales reports of 51 companies which represent about 87% of the annuities market.