MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life®) today announced its 2017 financial results, with operating profit remaining nearly level at $1.18 billion. Assets under management rose to $136.3 billion, up 8.7 percent over the previous year, while net income came in above expectations at $711 million.
Total premium of $11 billion met 2017 expectations, which were lowered from 2016 due to preparations for key regulatory changes, and a challenging interest rate environment for life insurers. Fixed index annuity sales remained solid at $7.5 billion as Allianz Life retained its ranking as the number-one seller of this product for the 8th consecutive year.1 Life insurance and index variable annuity (IVA) sales achieved strong growth with new life insurance premium up 31 percent to $94 million and IVA sales rising 50 percent to $2.17 billion. The company disbursed more than $2.7 billion in benefits to its policyholders and contract owners via life insurance and annuity payments, up 4 percent from the prior year.
“We are very pleased with our 2017 results,” said Walter White, president and CEO of Allianz Life. “We see growing demand for our protection and retirement income products, and anticipate another strong year in 2018 as we continue to introduce product innovations and new digital capabilities.”
2017 also saw Allianz Life take on an increasingly important role in the success of its parent company, Allianz SE. Of note, nearly 10 percent of Allianz SE’s global operating profit in 2017 was generated by Allianz Life (and 24 percent of Allianz SE’s global operating profit in the life/health sector).
Ongoing Ratings Strength
Allianz Life also announced Standard & Poor’s recently affirmed the company’s rating of AA (Very Strong), the third highest of 21 possible ratings. Earlier in 2017, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Allianz Life’s financial strength rating from A2 to A1 with a stable outlook. A1 is the fifth highest of 21 possible ratings. A.M. Best affirmed the company’s rating of A+ (Superior), the second highest of 16 possible ratings, in August 2017.
Allianz Life in the Community
Allianz Life also continued its strong commitment to the local community, with its charitable giving programs providing $1.9 million to Minnesota nonprofits in 2017. Allianz Life employees also volunteered 15,500 hours to local nonprofits in 2017. In addition, the company reached a multi-year naming rights sponsorship agreement with Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Minnesota United for the team’s new soccer stadium in St. Paul, Minn., which will be known as Allianz FieldSM. Allianz Field will be the 8th Allianz stadium in the world and joins other Allianz venues in Munich, London, Sydney, Turin, Sao Paulo, Vienna and Nice.
Awards
In addition to solid financial results, Allianz Life received several accolades in 2017, including recently being named to Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work For” list for the seventh consecutive year. Other honors throughout the year include the following:
- Named a top workplace by the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) for the eighth consecutive year.
- Ranked as one of Working Mother magazine’s 100 Best Companies for the fourth consecutive year.
- Ranked in Training magazine’s Training Top 125 for the fifth year in a row.
- Named by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality for the second consecutive year.
About Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, one of FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2018 has been keeping its promises since 1896. Today, it carries on that tradition, helping Americans achieve their retirement income and protection goals with a variety of annuities and life insurance products. In 2017, Allianz Life provided a total of $2.7 billion in benefit payments that supported policyholders’ financial objectives. As a leading provider of fixed index annuities, Allianz Life is part of Allianz SE, a global leader in the financial services industry with 142,000 employees in more than 70 countries worldwide. More than 85 million private and corporate customers rely on Allianz knowledge, global reach, and capital strength to help them make the most of financial opportunities.
1. Wink’s Indexed Sales & Market Report, 4Q 2017.
