Total Admitted Assets for Top 25 U.S. Life/Health Writers Dr

OLDWICK, N.J., Mar 30, 2009 (A. M. Best via COMTEX) -- Total admitted assets for the top 25 U.S. life/health writers declined 10.1% at year-end 2008 to $3.6 trillion and declined by 8.7% for the entire industry to $4.6 trillion, data from a recently released A.M. Best Statistical Study shows. It also shows just two companies out of the top 25 with year-over-year gains.

The driver of total admitted assets declining by 10% at year-end 2008 from 2007 for the top 25 is the substantial decline in separate account assets, at 28% year-over-year, from the downturn in the equity markets, said Andrew Edelsberg, vice president at A.M. Best Co. Admitted assets, he said, includes both general account assets and separate accounts.

The S&P 500 declined 38.5% for calendar year 2008, Edelsberg said.

The companies in the top 25 showing the greatest declines in admitted assets were Nationwide Life Group, down 21.7%; Hartford Life Group, down 21%; Axa Financial Group, down 20.6%; Lincoln Financial Group, down 16.4% and Amerprise Financial Group, down 15%. Tied were AIG Life Group and Principal Life Group, with both showing 14.9% drops in admitted assets.

The study, however, showed two companies recording year-over-year gains. No. 18-ranked Aflac Inc. Group, showed a 28.9% increase in admitted assets, to nearly $72 billion.

Ken Janke, Aflac's senior vice president of investor relations, said the primary reason for the gain was the 25% increase in the value of the Japanese yen versus the dollar from the end of 2007 to the end of 2008. A spokeswoman for Aflac said she was unable to find out more information.

The other company showing a year-over-year gain was State Farm Life Group, ranked 25th, which showed a 3.2% increase, at $46.3 billion in admitted assets.

Edelsberg noted that general account assets for the top 25 increased 2% from the previous year. He said he thinks this was driven by the three large mutuals -- New York Life Group, MassMutual Financial Group and Northwestern Mutual Group, whose sales aren't driven by variable products, as well as Aflac, which doesn't offer variable products. So Aflac's assets aren't correlated with the equity markets, he said.

No. 1-ranked Metropolitan Life & Affiliated Cos. showed a 7.1% decline in admitted assets, at $422.6 billion, while No. 2-ranked Prudential of America Group showed a 10% decline, at $348.2 billion.

The impact of the deteriorating equity markets is discussed in detail in A.M. Best's Review Preview -- Life & Annuity report, Edelsberg said.

Total admitted assets for the U.S. life insurance industry topped $5 trillion at year-end 2007, which was a 5.7% increase from the year earlier, according to A.M. Best Co. last year (BestWire, March 28, 2008).

(By Fran Matso Lysiak, senior associate editor, BestWeek: fran.lysiak@ambest.com)