Mutual's are in the best position in the life insurance space to survive the current downturn

Implications: First and foremost the mutuals do not have the market pressure of the publicly traded insurance carriers. Second the have, by and large, strong risk based capital (RBC) ratios. Finally with career or tied advisors they can weather the storm because the advisors will stay loyal.

Analysis: The rating agencies seem to be over reaching with their latest round of downgrades. Mutuals are traditionally more conservative in the deployment of their capital then their publicly traded counter parts.

The basic make up of mutuals is that they are in existence for the benefit of the policyholders first and foremost. They focus on the performance of the underlining products first and returns second. They have a tendency to hold excess risk based capital ratios than many...

GL Group: Mutual's are in the best position in the life insurance space to survive the current downturn