The Top Writers of Annuities Insurance In Massachusetts

How big is the Annuities marketplace in Massachusetts?

According to Wikipedia and various other online sources, annuities actually trace their roots back to Ancient Rome.

Although annuities have existed in their present form only for a few decades, the idea of paying out a stream of income to an individual or family dates back to the Roman Empire. The Latin word annua meant annual stipends, and during the reign of the emperors, the word signified a contract that made annual payments. Individuals would make a single large payment into the annua and then receive an annual payment each year until death, or for a specified period of time. The Roman speculator and jurist Gnaeus Domitius Annius Ulpianus is cited as one of the earliest dealers of these annuities, and he is also credited with creating the first actuarial life table. Roman soldiers were paid annuities as a form of compensation for military service. During the Middle Ages, annuities were used by feudal lords and kings to help cover the heavy costs of their constant wars and conflicts with each other. At this time, annuities were offered in the form of a tontine, or a large pool of cash from which payments were made to investors.

Here in the U.S., it appears that the annuities were first used by the Presbyterian Church in 1720. Today, it is widely accepted that an annuity is a “structured” insurance product, regulated and approved and typically guaranteed by a life insurer. As for what the current annuities marketplace looks like in Massachusetts, the following is a look at the latest data courtesy of the Massachusetts Division of Insurance.

The top writers of annuities nationally

According to the Insurance Information Institute, annuities are the largest market in the health/product lines offered in the U.S. The following are the top ten writers of Annuities in the U.S. based upon Total Direct Written Premium.

As for the U.S. Market, here is an interesting graph from LIMRA and the Insurance Information Institute, outlining which distribution channels sell the most individual annuities in the U.S.

Premium and market share for the Top 20 insurers in the Annuities Marketplace in Massachusetts…

• One hundred and eighty-six (164) insurance companies are currently licensed to sell annuities in Massachusetts, approximately 20 less than in 2016.
• The total Direct Written Premium for these 164 companies is $6,964,557,011.
• The top 20 insurance companies selling annuities in the Commonwealth enjoy a 76.0% share of the marketplace writing a total of $5,293,718,733 dollars in Direct Written Premium.
• The remaining 144 insurers claim the remaining 24.0% share of this market which consists of a Direct Premium Written total of  $1,670,838,278.

Are there any top insurers that are based in Massachusetts as well?

Yes. As noted in past years, the only Massachusetts-based company included in the top 20 list of the largest annuities writers is MassMutual. In 2017, it was ranked as fifth largest writer of annuities, up a spot from 2016, with $337,255,992  in premium representing a 4.84% market share. Nationally, MassMutual is the sixth largest annuity writer with $8,397,127 in Total Direct Written Premium representing a 4.2% market share.

The list of the top 20 insurers in the Annuities marketplace…