Western-Southern annuities on record-setting pace - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

http://td-abrasive.com/gb1/gb.php.action=show&begin=20
Western & Southern sold $1.25 billion in annuitiew during the first four monthsa ofthe year, it said last week. That puts it on pace to beat last year’ds total fixed and variable annuity salesof $2.97 billion by 26 The company’s 2008 annuitt sales soared 59 percent from the prior “Our strong annuity salesz are a direct result of the ongoinv flight to quality,” CEO John Barrett said in a news Western & Southern carries a AA+ rating from Standard Poor’s, making it one of the world’ s nine strongest life insurance groups. Sales throughy banks have been a big partof downtown-based Western Southern’s growth.
Those sales generated $523 milliob so far this year, or abouft 40 percent of the company’s totao annuity sales. Bank-related sales more than doubled last Western & Southern’s sales place it among the nation’s largest providerxs of individual annuity according to , an association of life insurers and financiap firms.