Life and Health Insurers' Investment Profits Triple
in Third Quarter 2005 as Earnings Grow to $28 Billion
Close to Half Highly Rated by Weiss;
Highest Percentage since Inception of Insurance Ratings

JUPITER, Fla., March 13, 2006 – Life and health insurers' investment profits more than tripled, skyrocketing 224% to $1.8 billion in the first nine months of 2005 compared to $552 million for the same period in 2004, according to Weiss Ratings, Inc., the nation's leading independent provider of ratings and analyses of financial services companies, mutual funds, and stocks.

Insurers reporting the largest year-over-year increases in capital gains were:

Company Headquarters Weiss
Safety
Rating		 Capital Gain (Loss) ($Mil)
3rd Qtr
2005		 3rd Qtr
2004		 $
Change
Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. New York, N.Y.    B+ 592.2  48.4  543.8
Teachers Ins. & Annuity Assn. of Amer. New York, N.Y.    A+ (66.6) (421.9) 355.3
Metropolitan Tower Life Ins. Co. New York, N.Y.    B 269.0  0.0  269.0
First Colony Life Ins. Co. Lynchburg, Va.    B (5.8) (259.7) 253.9
John Hancock Life Ins. Co. Boston, Mass.    B 126.7  6.4  120.2

Weiss Safety Rating: A=Excellent; B=Good; C=Fair; D=Weak; E=Very Weak; F=Failed; U=Unrated

As a result of the substantial investment gains, insurers' profits climbed $2.3 billion, or 8.9 percent, to $28 billion in the same period. Insurers reporting the largest year-over-year increases in earnings include:

Company Headquarters Weiss
Safety
Rating		 Net Income(Loss) ($Mil)
3rd Qtr
2005		 3rd Qtr
2004		 $
Change
Union Fidelity Life Ins. Co. Chicago, Ill.    C 45.7 (1,806.8) 1,852.5
Prudential Ins. Co. of America Newark, N.J.    B 1,913.4 1,057.2  856.1
Teachers Ins. & Annuity Assn. of Amer. New York, N.Y.    A+ 958.9 373.0  586.0
MONY Life Ins. Co. New York, N.Y.    C 113.5 (377.2) 490.6
Travelers Life & Annuity Co. Hartford, Conn.    B- 20.3 (425.3) 445.6

Weiss Safety Rating: A=Excellent; B=Good; C=Fair; D=Weak; E=Very Weak; F=Failed; U=Unrated

"Insurers have enjoyed an extended period of growth by nearly all measures due in part to an industry trend toward asset accumulation and away from traditional products as baby boomers enter their prime earning years and put more money into variable annuities and similar insurance investment vehicles," said Melissa Gannon, vice president of Weiss Ratings, Inc.

Industry Separate Accounts1 Increase to $1.4 Trillion

The value of insurers' separate account assets jumped 14.2 percent to $1.4 trillion in the third quarter of 2005, compared to $1.2 trillion for the same period in 2004. The increase represents continued interest by consumers to invest in variable life and annuity products in anticipation of improved equity markets and rising interest rates. Companies reporting the largest year-over-year increase in separate accounts include:

Company Headquarters Weiss
Safety
Rating		 Separate Accounts ($Mil)
3rd Qtr
2005		 3rd Qtr
2004		 $
Change
Prudential Retirement Ins. & Annuity Bloomfield, Conn.    C+ 34,510.8 575.4 33,935.4
John Hancock Life Ins. Co. (USA) Boston, Mass.    B+ 62,920.8 48,085.3 14,835.5
Axa Equitable Life Ins. Co. New York, N.Y. B 67,890.2 56,629.5 11,260.7
Prudential Ins. Co. of America Newark, N.J.    B 77,081.8 66,765.7 10,316.1
Lincoln National Life Ins. Co. Fort Wayne, Ind.    B- 53,386.1 43,384.1 10,002.0

Weiss Safety Rating: A=Excellent; B=Good; C=Fair; D=Weak; E=Very Weak; F=Failed; U=Unrated

Industry Strength Highest Percentage since Inception

Many years of solid performance have buoyed life and health insurers' financial strength, as evidenced by the distribution of Weiss' financial safety ratings. Among the 905 life and health insurers rated by Weiss, 386, or 42.7 percent, received a favorable (B- or higher) Weiss Safety Rating, the highest percentage of high-rated companies in Weiss' history of rating insurers. As the result of the industry's financial strength, upgrades outpaced downgrades by a factor of 6.6 to one in this quarterly review. Of the 838 insurers reviewed by Weiss using third quarter 2005 data, 125 companies were upgraded, while only 19 were downgraded.

Notable upgrades include:

 Jackson National Life Insurance Co. (Lansing, Mich.) from C+ to B-
 Merrill Lynch Life Insurance Co (Princeton, N.J.) from C+ to B-
 American United Life Insurance Co (Indianapolis, Ind.) from B to B+

Notable downgrades include:
 Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co. (Simsbury, Conn.) from B+ to B
 Union Security Life Insurance Co. (Atlanta, Ga.) from B to C+
 Professional Life and Casualty Co. (Chicago, Ill) from D+ to E+

The Weiss Safety Ratings are based on an analysis of a company's risk-adjusted capital, five-year historical profitability, quality of investments, liquidity, and stability. The latter category combines a series of factors including asset growth, premium growth, strength of affiliate companies and risk diversification.

Weiss Ratings, Inc. reviews more than 8,000 stocks daily, including all those traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, and Nasdaq. Weiss also issues investment ratings on more than 12,000 mutual funds, covering equity, fixed-income, and closed-end funds, and provides financial risk ratings on more than 15,000 financial institutions, including banks and insurance companies. It is the only major rating agency that receives no direct or indirect compensation from the companies it rates. Ratings and analyses are available through www.weissratings.com or by calling 800-289-9222.

 

1A separate account is established by an insurer to fund variable annuities, variable life insurance or other contracts where investment returns are based on segregated assets.

 

# # #

 

Note to Editors: National and state listings of strongest and weakest life, health, and annuity insurers are available.