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Total first-quarter 2009 sales of fixed annuities in the United States, including equity-indexed annuities, jumped 78% from the same period a year ago, to an estimated $34.9 billion, according to Beacon Research.

The results represent four consecutive quarters in which each quarter's sales were higher than the previous one's, said Jeremy Alexander, president and chief executive officer of Beacon. Beacon started to track fixed annuity sales in 2003.

Along with investors seeking stable returns without fluctuations in the stock market, carriers have been able to provide higher credited rates than other similar, fixed-rated instruments, such as bank certificates of deposit and Treasury bonds, Alexander said. Throughout the quarter, average five-year credited rates for fixed annuities exceeded five-year Treasury bond rates by more than 100%, he said.

By product type, estimated sales of book value fixed annuities were $19.2 billion; $7.1 billion for equity-indexed; $6.5 billion for market-value adjusted and $2.1 billion for immediate, reflecting year-over-year increases for all product types, Beacon said.

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