Best’s Special Report: While U.S. Life/Annuity Product Growth Moderated in 2025, Registered Indexed-Linked Annuity Product Kept Fast Sales Pace

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Registered indexed-linked annuities (RILAs) continued to be one of the fastest growing product segments within the U.S. life insurance industry in 2025, according to a new AM Best report.

The Best’s Special Report, “Annuity Premium Growth Moderated in 2025,” notes that interest in RILAs has fueled growth in variable annuities, while premium generated from deferred and fixed indexed annuities remained flat last year. While RILAs offer higher potential growth with caps and participation rates that are generally higher than fixed-indexed annuities, these products also add a layer of market risk for the policyholder to bear.

“Unlike traditional variable annuities, RILAs offer some downside protection while linking the crediting rate to the performance of external indexes,” said Jason Hopper, associate director, AM Best.

According to the report, the RILA market has been fairly concentrated, but the entry of both Fidelity & Guaranty and Securian Financial into this segment within the past two years has resulted in these companies reporting the highest percentage growth in variable annuities with guarantees in 2025. AM Best does expect the RILA market to broaden on a modest basis, but only to those carriers that already have a background with SEC-registered products.

“Most companies that have entered the RILA space have used them as an additional option for their established variable annuity blocks,” said Louis Silvers, senior financial analyst, AM Best.

The report includes a breakdown of those companies with the highest growth rates, but notes that most are not market leaders. More companies reported a year-over-year decline in fixed indexed annuity premium. Most of the companies with the highest growth rates are not market leaders; however, half of them are private equity/asset manager-backed insurers.

Among the report’s other highlights:

• All life products reported higher DPW in 2025, led by indexed universal life (IUL), and to a lesser extent, variable universal life (VUL).
• Mutual companies drove group annuity premium growth, but newer entrants that lack scale also gained business, and contributed to a dynamic of more bidders and very competitive pricing.

To access the full copy of this report, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=364813.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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