FBL Financial Group and Southern Farm Bureau Life Form Variable Annuity Alliance.WEST DES MOINES West Des Moines (də moin`), city (1990 pop. 31,702), Polk co., S central Iowa, a growing suburb W of Des Moines; inc. 1893 as Valley Junction, renamed 1938. Products manufactured there include cement, metal items, and pumps. , Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 1999--FBL Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : FFG FFG Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft (German: Austrian research promotion agency) FFG Flash Flood Guidance FFG Guided Missile Frigate FFG Fall from Grace (band) FFG Fast Frigates FFG Freeware Flight Group ) today announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, a stock life insurance company with its headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. State of Mississippi. It is one of the county seats of Hinds County; Raymond is the other county seat. As of the 2000 census Jackson's population was 184,256. . Following final agreements, Southern Farm Bureau Life will sell variable annuities Variable annuities Investment contracts whose issuer pays a periodic amount linked to the investment performance of an underlying portfolio. administered by FBL FBL Full Bell Lines (coin grading) FBL Fly by Light FBL FIATA Bill of Lading FBL Functional Baseline FBL Foundation for a Better Life FBL Federal Barge Lines, Inc. Financial Group. The two companies will jointly design and develop a variable annuity Variable Annuity An insurance contract in which, at the end of the accumulation stage, the insurance company guarantees a minimum payment. The remaining income payments can vary depending on the performance of the managed portfolio. product which will be marketed by Southern Farm Bureau Life. FBL Financial Group will administer the business and assist Southern Farm Bureau Life with marketing the products. Southern Farm Bureau Life, which is licensed in ten states, will make the variable annuities available for distribution and sale through its existing agency force of approximately 3,900 exclusive agents, 200 of whom are already registered representatives. It is anticipated that Southern Farm Bureau Life and FBL Financial Group will share equally in the risks, costs and profits of the variable business sold by Southern Farm Bureau Life's agents through a reinsurance The contract made between an insurance company and a third party to protect the insurance company from losses. The contract provides for the third party to pay for the loss sustained by the insurance company when the company makes a payment on the original contract. arrangement. It is expected that the variable annuities will be available for sale beginning in early 2000. Southern Farm Bureau Life is owned by ten state Farm Bureau federations in the southern United States The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States. and currently sells a wide array of traditional life insurance and annuity annuity: see insurance. annuity Payment made at a fixed interval. A common example is the payment received by retirees from their pension plan. There are two main classes of annuities: annuities certain and contingent annuities. products. Statutory premiums and annuity considerations totaled $517 million in 1998 for the Southern Farm Bureau Life group. On a statutory basis, the Southern Farm Bureau Life group had total assets of $5.7 billion and capital and surplus of $545 million at December 31, 1998. Tom Gibson, Chief Executive Officer of FBL Financial Group, stated, "We are excited about entering into this agreement with Southern Farm Bureau Life. Southern Farm Bureau Life is a strong company with an excellent management team that we have known for a long time. This agreement will make our variable products available to 3.7 million Farm Bureau member families in 31 states. Our variable products will now be available through five of the nine Farm Bureau affiliated life insurance groups." Bobby Waters, Chief Executive Officer of Southern Farm Bureau Life stated, "We feel strongly about the Farm Bureau brand name and are committed to Farm Bureau members. Since we share this common commitment to Farm Bureau, it was natural for us to look to FBL Financial Group for variable product expertise. They are the only Farm Bureau affiliated company with variable product capabilities and they have the systems in place to administer variable products through this type of strategic alliance. We will now not only have variable annuities to offer, but we will also benefit from the reinsurance arrangement." Gibson stated, "This is our seventh variable product strategic alliance and our fourth within the Farm Bureau network of companies and we continue to see further potential in this area. Partnerships within the Farm Bureau network and with other insurance and broker organizations that are focused on similar objectives and product requirements allow us to broaden our distribution systems and target the needs of new market segments." The statements in this release concerning the outlook for variable annuity sales through Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company are forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. that involve certain risks and uncertainties, including the acceptance of the variable annuities by customers and agents, and the success of Southern Farm Bureau Life's marketing efforts. These forward- looking statements are based on assumptions which FBL Financial Group believe to be reasonable. No assurance can be given that the assumptions will prove to be correct, and the difference between assumptions and actual results could be material. FBL Financial Group (www.fblfinancial.com) is a holding company whose primary operating subsidiaries An operating subsidiary is a business term frequently used within the United States railroad industry. In the case of a railroad, it refers to a company that is a subsidiary but operates with its own identity and rolling stock. include Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, Western Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company and EquiTrust Life Insurance Company. FBL Financial underwrites, markets and distributes life insurance, annuities and mutual funds to individuals and small businesses. FBL Financial's three-pronged growth strategy includes (1) internal growth within its traditional Farm Bureau distribution network in 14 midwestern and western states, (2) alliances and consolidations with other Farm Bureau companies and (3) alternative distribution - opportunities beyond the boundaries of the Farm Bureau network. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion