The United States finds itself engaged in a cold war of tariffs, tariff threats and tariff withdrawals with Canada, Mexico, the countries in the European Union and other nations.
For U.S. life and annuity issuers, the effects of geopolitical uncertainty on stock prices can be a great marketing support program.
Investment volatility shows consumers why they might like to put at least some of their assets into life insurance policies and annuity contracts that are buffered against gyrations on Wall Street.
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But lasting international conflicts could also cause hard-to-predict problems for the issuers.
Companies based outside the United States own about 101 U.S. life insurers, according to an American Council of Life Insurers compilation of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Canadian entities are the leader: They own about 25 US. life insurers, including John Hancock.
U.S. life insurers also have $1.8 trillion assets of their own that are based outside the United States, according to the ACLI. Non-U.S. assets account for 21% of the $8.7 trillion total.
See the accompanying gallery for a look at the seven countries other than the United States in which U.S. issuers have the most assets.
What to tell clients: Executives at the big life insurers are encouraging agents and advisors to stick with variations of the messages they've been giving clients all along.
Craig Hawley, president of Nationwide Annuity, said that periods of market volatility make the value and importance of working with an advisor or financial professional more apparent.
"Reviewing financial plans and discussing changes to goals or financial situations with clients can help ease their anxiety during tumultuous markets," Hawley said. "In an environment where nothing is certain, including market performance, inflation, geopolitical impacts or other external factors beyond our control, annuities are a great way for advisors to offer a measure of certainty in the form of a guarantee."
TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett talked about the recent volatility at the Bloomberg Invest Conference.
"When there is market volatility, the most important thing is to take a breath," Duckett said, according to a transcript of her remarks provided by TIAA. "Talk to an advisor to make sure you get sound advice. Restate what your objectives are, what your time horizons are. Maybe there needs to be a rebalance of your portfolio to make sure you're navigating turbulent times. But stay diversified, stay invested."
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Allison Bell
Allison Bell, a senior reporter at ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, previously was an associate editor at National Underwriter Life & Health. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She can be reached through X at @Think_Allison.
