Pacific Life Reports Higher Assets, Revenue

Newport Beach-based Pacific Life Insurance Co. ended 2009 with $109.9 billion in assets, up from $96.9 billion a year earlier, according to financial statements posted on its Web site.

The insurer, the largest privately held company in the county, listed its policyholder and other liabilities at $103.5 billion, up from $92.6 billion a year ago.

The results reflect a recovery from a tough insurance and investment market in the past two years, said Wayne Dalton, a senior analyst at Charlottesville, Va.-based SNL Financial.

“It appears they’re pretty much back to where they were two years ago, which would be consistent with the rebound we saw in financial markets in the second half of 2009,” he said.

Pacific Life and its sister companies offer life insurance policies, investments and jet leases.

The insurer’s holding company parent, Pacific Mutual Holding Co., reported 2009 revenue minus net investment gains and losses of nearly $5.4 billion.

A year earlier, the parent company had revenue of $5.3 billion.

Operating income—excluding realized investment income and discontinued operations net of taxes—was $520 million, about flat with a year earlier.

“It appears on the whole that 2009 was a better year for Pacific Life,” Dalton said. “They sold more life insurance and annuities, which is a positive sign from a macro level.”

Pacific Life’s total premium income was about $9.4 billion, up from $8.4 billion in 2008.

A key driver behind that gain probably was a continued shift by Pacific Life from variable annuities to fixed annuities, according to Dalton.

Variable annuities allow investors to create their own mix of stock and bond funds with deferred capital gains.

Fixed annuities are set by the insurer and guarantee a certain income over different time frames.

“With the market downturn in the past few years, investors have been favoring fixed as compared to variable annuities,” he said. “Pacific Life appears to have made an astute move in that direction.”