Insurance: ITT Hartford, Banks' Top Source of Annuities, Is an Also-Ran

ITT Hartford Life Insurance Co., long the top-seller of annuity products through banks, is far from tops when it comes to service, according to a recent survey.

In the poll by American Brokerage Consultants, St. Petersburg, Fla., bankers ranked ITT Hartford seventh in service among 15 annuity providers. The survey of 1,489 financial institutions rated insurance companies for their banking and investments knowledge, diversity and quality of products, problem resolution, and marketing materials.

"It was my expectation that since Hartford has been so successful, banks would give them very high ratings,"said Richard A. Ayotte, managing partner at American Brokerage Consultants.

Hartford's director of bank and thrift sales, Steve Joyce, said he too was surprised by the survey's results. He noted that Hartford last year received a customer service award from Dalbar Inc., an investment products research firm in Boston.

Hartford sold $3.075 billion of variable annuities through banks in 1996, according to Kenneth Kehrer Associates, Princeton, N.J., and accounted for 45% of all variable annuities sold through financial institutions.

American Brokerage Consultants said bankers ranked Hartford No. 2 for its sales literature appearance and No. 3 for its product pricing and load structure. But Hartford placed 11th for product diversity, marketing support, and correction of errors.

While good service is important, not all bankers look to annuity providers for service and support.

"Nothing" is what Richard Clark, president of Chevy Chase (Md.) Bank's insurance division, said he expects from annuity providers.

When pressed, he acknowledged that he likes vendors to have a strong commitment to the bank channel and to offer high commissions. "What we need from these companies is help with how we run our business," not just the services they want to provide, Mr. Clark said

Chevy Chase sells variable annuities from PFL Endeavor and Putnam Capital Management and fixed annuities from Aegon and PFL.

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