GLAIC, which sells annuities, individual life insurance and employee-provided insurance, earned about $200 million last year, according to its 2014 annual statement. GLAIC is the second-largest of Genworth’s four main life insurance subsidiaries, with about $24 billion of assets and more than $20 billion in liabilities at year-end. The money-losing longterm care business is part of another division.
People buy annuities to ensure they have a steady source of income after they retire. Axa SA, CNA Financial Corp., Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and other insurers in recent years have sought to get rid of annuities, which become less profitable for insurers amid volatility in the stock and bond markets.
Hedge-fund manager John Paulson––before exiting Genworth last year––said it would be worth more if it separated its mortgage insurance and life operations. Genworth Chief Executive Officer Tom McInerney told Bloomberg in February it was considering splitting up, among other options.