Insurance companies' share of variable annuity purchases last year fell five percentage points, while buying though brokers rose the same amount, and banks' share was stable at 15%, according to Integras, a division of the market researcher Claritas Inc.
The changes in share took place against a background of state and federal investigations into possibly inappropriate variable annuity sales to senior citizens, Integras said Wednesday.
The share of variable annuities bought through brokers or other investment professionals jumped to 57% last year, from 52% in 2003, according to Market Audit, a survey of household financial behavior by the unit of Claritas Inc. in San Diego.
Purchases made through insurance companies fell to 25%, from 30% year-over-year. No significant change was detected in banks' share. Data for this analysis was developed from more than 175,000 interviews comparing variable annuity purchase channels.
The analysis showed that age, wealth, and small-business ownership appeared to drive annuity channel purchase preference.
