During challenging economic times, annuity and life insurance buyers naturally seek confidence. For annuity and life insurance contractual protections that may extend over decades, many look to financially strong companies, ones they judge to be worthy of entrusting with their hard-earned money.
W&S Financial Group Distributors, Inc., wholesale distributor of annuities and life insurance from member companies of Western & Southern Financial Group, has released a pair of videos that share the story of the strength behind the company and its products.
“When markets become volatile, we often see a flight to quality among consumers in the financial services industry,” said Mark E. Caner, president of W&S Financial Group Distributors. “These videos explain how Western & Southern and its products were built for times like these, and consumers can find the quality they are seeking by choosing a company with strength like ours.”
The videos, “A Company Built for Times Like These” and “Products Built for Times Like These,” tell the story of Western & Southern’s strength. Presented are points such as:
• Western & Southern has seen, met and overcome many challenges over more than 130 years, including economic upheaval, world wars, turbulent markets, health epidemics and more.1 For generations, it has demonstrated both resolve and resilience in fulfilling its commitments to its customers.
• Its capital position is a strong part of Western & Southern’s financial foundation. It helps provide stability as a company and secure ability to pay benefits to customers. In fact, Western & Southern’s capital-to-asset ratio is more than double that of the 15 largest publicly traded life insurers.2
• Validation of Western & Southern’s industry reputation and standing can be found in its ratings and ranking for financial strength and stability. Its insurance companies are ranked 96 out of 100 by Comdex and are highly rated by independent ratings agencies registered as NRSROs (Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations) with the Securities and Exchange Commission.3
• Western & Southern’s family of insurance companies issue products that help support a wide range of legacy and retirement planning strategies built for times such as these. They offer such features and benefits as locked-in interest rates for the time period of the customer’s choice, lifetime income that cannot be outlived and guaranteed death benefits.
• Validation of Western & Southern’s industry reputation and standing can be found in its ratings and ranking for financial strength and stability. Its insurance companies are ranked 96 out of 100 by Comdex and are highly rated by independent ratings agencies registered as NRSROs (Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations) with the Securities and Exchange Commission.3
• Western & Southern’s family of insurance companies issue products that help support a wide range of legacy and retirement planning strategies built for times such as these. They offer such features and benefits as locked-in interest rates for the time period of the customer’s choice, lifetime income that cannot be outlived and guaranteed death benefits.
“During both the financial crisis of 2008, as well as when the COVID-19 pandemic began, W&S Financial Group Distributors achieved a significant increase in sales,” observed Caner. “In fact, the first quarter of 2020 was a record for our life and annuity sales. This is a testament to the strength of our issuers and their products.”
1 Dates to the 1888 founding of The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company.
2 Capital-to-Asset Ratio: 18.6% GAAP Capital-to-Asset Ratio. $58,398M Total Assets; $47,514M Total Liabilities; $10,884 Total Capital (or Equity). Average of 15 Largest Publicly Traded Life Insurers Cap-to-Asset: 7.6%. All figures as of 12/31/19.
3 Comdex ranking, current as of August 2020, is a composite of the financial strength ratings as determined by Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, A.M. Best and Fitch. It ranks insurers on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 100 in an effort to reduce confusion over ratings because each rating agency uses a different scale.
