Variable Annuity Sales Fall 24% as AIG, Hartford Scale Back

Variable annuity sales in the U.S. fell for a fifth straight quarter as insurers, weakened by the stock market slump last year, scaled back offerings of the equity-linked retirement products.

Sales slipped 24 percent to $31.9 billion in the three months ended June 30 from $42.2 billion in the year-earlier period, trade group LIMRA International said in a statement. Bailed-out companies ING Groep NV, American International Group Inc. and Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. posted declines of more than 50 percent. MetLife Inc. sales rose 27 percent to $4.5 billion, and the firm earned the top spot in the rankings...

Bloomberg: Variable Annuity Sales Fall 24% as AIG, Hartford Scale Back