Triple-I Insurance Facts

Key Facts

• Underwriting annuities is now the primary business for life insurers rather than traditional life insurance.
• Underwriting annuities accounted for 48 percent of life/annuity direct premiums written in 2020.
• Net income after taxes for the life/annuity insurance industry fell 50.5 percent in 2020, to $22.2 billion from $44.7 billion in 2019, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Life/Annuity/Accident and Health Sector

Traditional life insurance products such as universal life and term life for individuals, and group life, remain an important part of the business, making up 25 percent of direct premiums written.

Traditional life insurance is no longer the primary business of many companies in the life insurance industry. The emphasis has shifted to the underwriting of annuities, which accounted for 48 percent of life/annuity direct premiums written in 2020. Annuities are contracts that accumulate funds or pay out a fixed or variable income stream. An income stream can be for a set time period or over the lifetimes of the contract holder or beneficiaries. Accident and health insurance, which includes distinctive products apart from traditional health insurance, accounts for 27 percent of direct premiums written. In addition to annuities, accident and health, and life insurance products, life insurers may offer other types of financial services such as asset management.

Traditional health insurance, which is not included in this section and is not considered a part of the life/annuity sector, is described under Private Health Insurance. Health insurance pays for medical, surgical and hospital services received by the insured, as well as routine and preventive care, usually within a network format. Of the many types of plans available, most include a deductible paid by the insured, and benefits received are tax-free.

Accident and health insurance, which is included in the life/annuity and property/casualty (P/C) sectors, encompasses a variety of specialty products related to health, such as reimbursement for the time a policyholder spent in a hospital or was disabled; short- and long-term disability based on employment; long-term care, and critical or catastrophic illness insurance. Accident and health insurance is not meant to replace health insurance.

2020 Financial Results

Net income after taxes for the life/annuity insurance industry fell 50.5 percent in 2020 to $22.2 billion from $44.7 billion in 2019, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Contributing to the decline in net income after taxes was a 36.2 percent decline in net income before capital gains and a capital loss of $10.7 billion. Premiums and annuity considerations fell 7.9 percent in 2020, following substantial growth in 2019, as annuity premiums and deposits, the largest sector for revenue, fell 13.3 percent. Expenses fell slightly in 2020, down 2.1 percent. Capital and surplus rose to $440.0 billion in 2020, up 4.3 percent from $421.7 billion in 2019, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Annuities are the largest life product line as measured by direct premiums written and accounted for 48 percent of direct premiums written by life insurers in 2020. Accident and health insurance accounted for 27 percent of direct premiums written. Accident and health insurance, not to be confused with traditional health insurance, includes reimbursement for certain medical expenses.

These include: short- and long-term disability; critical or catastrophic illness insurance; and long-term care. Life insurance accounted for the remaining 25 percent of direct premiums written. Life insurance policies can be sold on an individual, or ordinary, basis or to groups such as employees and associations. Other lines include credit life, which pays the balance of a loan if the borrower dies or becomes disabled; and industrial life, small policies whose premiums are generally collected by an agent on a weekly basis.