The Total Direct Written Premium For The Annuities Marketplace in Massachusetts was $7,790,332,643

What is an annuity and what are the major types available?

An annuity is a contract providing for the periodic payments of sums to an annuitant, primarily in the insurance context by the deposit of a lump sum with an insurance company. In return, an annuitant receives from an insurer the promise to make periodic payments of interest or appreciation that may include the return of capital, interest, or capital appreciation.

The three major types of annuity products available are:

Fixed Annuities
Indexed Annuities
Variable Annuities

The concept of an annuity can actually be traced back to Ancient Rome

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

Colosseum in Rome and morning sun, Italy | Agency Checklists — View of Colosseum in 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 10 Annuity Companies in the U.S.

Annuities are categorized as the largest market in the health/product lines offered in the U.S. The following list are those companies that are the largest writers of this product in the United States ranked by Direct Written Premiums for the year 2019.

Rank	Company Name	Direct Written Premium	Market Share	Cumulative Market Share
1.	American International Group	$19,849,362,412	6.59%	6.59%
2.	Jackson National Life Group	$19,823,879,577	6.59%	13.18%
3.	Lincoln National Corp.	$18,820,180,813	6.25%	19.43%
4.	Prudential of America	$16,033,502,152	5.33%	24.76%
5.	Nationwide	$15,601,991,331	5.18%	29.94%
6.	TIAA Family Group	$14,900,194,017	4.95%	34.90%
7.	Allianz	$12,506,864,044	4.16%	39.05%
8.	Apollo Global Management	$12,253,241,935	4.07%	43.12%
9.	New York Life Group	$12,022,898,349	3.99%	47.12%
10.	Equitable Holdings	$11,947,680,606	3.97%	51.09%

Data source: NAIC

Premium and market share information

The total reported premiums for the Life Insurance marketplace, including “…annuity considerations, deposit-type contract funds, other considerations, and accident and health” was $829,775,010,661 for 2019.

The following is the latest information from the Division of Insurance regarding the state of the Annuities marketplace in Massachusetts:

One hundred and sixty-nine (169) insurance companies are currently licensed to sell annuities in Massachusetts, five more than in 2018.
The total Direct Written Premium for these 169 companies is $7,790,332,643, up from the $6,964,557,011 written in the previous year.
The top 20 insurance companies selling annuities in the Commonwealth enjoy a 76.3% share of the marketplace writing a total of $5,940,903,912 in Direct Written Premium.
The remaining 149 insurers claim the remaining 23.7% share of this market which consists of a Direct Premium Written total of $1,849,428,731.

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

Yes, one. As noted in past years, the only Massachusetts-based company included in the top 20 list of the largest annuities writers is MassMutual. In 2018, it was ranked as the fourth-largest writer of annuities, the second year in a row it has moved up a spot. The Sprinfield-based insurers has a 6.11% share of the market with $476,141,855 in total premium written. 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…

NAIC#	Company Name	State	Premium Written in MA	Market Share in MA
69345	1. Teachers Ins & Ann Assoc Of Amer	NY	$694,243,771	8.91%
91596	2. New York Life Ins & Ann Corp	DE	$533,464,592	6.85%
65056	3. Jackson Natl Life Ins Co	MI	$509,349,056	6.54%
65935	4. Massachusetts Mut Life Ins Co	MA	$476,141,855	6.11%
86509	5. Voya Retirement Ins & Ann Co	CT	$408,308,981	5.24%
65676	6. Lincoln Natl Life Ins Co	IN	$367,435,821	4.72%
61689	7. Athene Ann & Life Co	IA	$337,576,131	4.33%
61271	8. Principal Life Ins Co	IA	$320,760,015	4.12%
90611	9. Allianz Life Ins Co Of N Amer	MN	$269,176,034	3.46%
62944	10. AXA Equitable Life Ins Co	NY	$263,109,650	3.38%
91642	11. Forethought Life Ins Co	IN	$245,983,218	3.16%
60488	12. American Gen Life Ins Co	TX	$234,994,181	3.02%
65005	13. RiverSource Life Ins Co	MN	$192,886,911	2.48%
68322	14. Great W Life & Ann Ins Co	CO	$183,381,339	2.35%
67466	15. Pacific Life Ins Co	NE	$176,350,624	2.26%
79227	16. Pruco Life Ins Co	AZ	$169,538,907	2.18%
84786	17. Colorado Bankers Life Ins Co	NC	$167,804,936	2.15%
65978	18. Metropolitan Life Ins Co	NY	$162,458,484	2.09%
68241	19. Prudential Ins Co Of Amer	NJ	$117,528,093	1.51%
79065	20. Delaware Life Ins Co	DE	$110,411,313	1.42%