Of the Following Annuity Companies, what 2 Shall ...

[dfgrier]

... I add to my 'most competitive' list to sell, and why I should add them?

I am here in Ohio.

I am already signed up with National Western Life to sell, and I am about to get started in the areas of rolling over 401K to annuity and converting CDs to annuities.

I want up to 5 companies to sell as my foundation, so I am looking for the most competitive in the market.

American Equity
Americo
Allianz
Assurity Life Insurance
Athene Annuity
Aviva Life & Annuity
AXA Equitable
Baltimore Life
Bankers Life
EquiTrust
Fidelity & Guaranty Life
Forethought Financial Group
Guggenheim Life & Annuity
ING
Legacy Insurance Services
National Western Life
North American
Oxford
Phoenix
Sentinel

 

[Tahoe Ray]

Re: Of the Following Annuity Comapnies, what 2 Shall ...

... I add to my strongest list and why?

Allianz
American General
American National
Companion Life
Genworth
John Hancock
Lincoln Benefit
Lincoln National
MetLife
Mutual of Omaha
New York Life
Principal Financial Group
Protective Life
Prudential
Transamerica
Zurich Life

For what type of annuities? Are you securities licensed? What state are you in?

 

[scagnt83]

Re: Of the Following Annuity Comapnies, what 2 Shall ...

For what type of annuities? Are you securities licensed? What state are you in?

I will add: Are you looking for Income? or Accumulation? If its a Deferred Annuity you are talking about.

 

[TwiLight]

Re: Of the Following Annuity Comapnies, what 2 Shall ...

I don't see American Equity on the list? They are very strong in product and innovation for client and Agent Compensation.

Sagicor also has a strong consumer Annuity with 2nd year Guaranteed return of principle.

Notable companies missing from your list:

Athene Annuity and Life
American Equity Investment Life
EquiTrust Life
Fidelity & Guarantee Life
Great Amierican Life
ING USA Annuity and Life
National Western Life
North American for Life & Health

 

[dfgrier]

Re: Of the Following Annuity Comapnies, what 2 Shall ...

OOOOPS!!! I screwed up.

I re-wrote this, so go back to the stop and let's start over.

Sorry.

 

[taz]

Re: Of the Following Annuity Comapnies, what 2 Shall ...

American Equity
Allianz
EquiTrust
Forethought Financial Group
Great Amierican Life
Guggenheim Life & Annuity
Legacy Insurance Services
North American
Phoenix

There is no one size fits all. You need to find the purpose of the money.

 

[Tahoe Ray]

Re: Of the Following Annuity Comapnies, what 2 Shall ...

CD to annuity: Delaware, Guggenheim, Equitrust

Retirement Income: Allianz, F&G, Athene, AG at certain ages

Retirement Accum: Americo (legacy), F&G, NWL

Death Benefit: Great American, F&G, Athene

American Equity can slide in on some of these as well...

 

[CALTCAgent]

Re: Of the Following Annuity Comapnies, what 2 Shall ...

Sagicor also has a strong consumer Annuity with 2nd year Guaranteed return of principle.

Just curious, what is the chargeback situation on that one ?

 

[TwiLight]

Re: Of the Following Annuity Comapnies, what 2 Shall ...

Just curious, what is the chargeback situation on that one ?

Chargeback on non-Accidental Death & Surrenders is 12 months, 100% months 1-6 and 50% months 7-12.

 

[scagnt83]

If I had to name just 5 annuity companies that I was limited to sell:

#1 Midland
They have the best combination of versatility and competitiveness. Their IAs have competitive Caps & competitive Riders. They also have strong rates on their FAs. Plus you can contract direct with them so that is always nice.
(For those of you who are going to mention NA, Midland has a different IA/FA lineup vs. NA (though some are very similar), even though their life products are exactly the same. Their Riders have higher payout rates plus they have higher caps and some completely different products. More is different than it is the same on the annuity side.)


#2 NWL
They have great IAs for accumulation. But if an Income Rider is what you want I would look elsewhere.


#3. American Equity
They have strong Income Riders, decent Caps/PRs/Spreads considering the strength of the Riders. Plus the company is very easy to work with and place business with.


#4. Great American Life
Great DB Rider. They used to be at the top of the market on Income Riders. Great products, competitive Caps, & one of the best renewal histories on the market. You could make a living selling just their Valor3 & Safe Outlook.


#5. Guggenheim
Just because Im limited to naming just 5 carriers. In reality I quote them a lot but sell them very little. But they are the major player in the FA market and the only one that can be competitive on all available Terms.


But the problem with limiting yourself to just certain carriers is that the annuity market can change quickly. Annuities (IAs included) are interest sensitive products. They are also sensitive to the carriers General Account and how it is performing.

The features of annuities are all very similar. Learn the product first not the company. Get a subscription to Annuity Rate Watch (many IMOs give you their ARW feed for free, but it wont include Midland). That will keep you up to date on current rates/caps/etc on basically every annuity product on the market.
This allows you to shop the market for your client, and use the product/company that fits the situation best. You will be doing yourself and your clients a disservice by not shopping the current market for them.


The thing about the 5 companies I mentioned above is that they will not be the best all of the time.
Allianz is extremely strong for Income Riders.
Americo Legacy is a new product that seems to possibly be stronger than NWL for accumulation.
North American & ING are not competitive at the moment... but they used to be just a few years ago.
F&G is strong in the IA market for both accumulation & income (probably the strongest combo of the 2 out there).
Deleware & Equitrust are very strong in the FA market.

Then for SPIAs ANICO currently has some of the best rates (they also have a couple of very nice IAs).
For DIAs LFG & AG are the best last I checked.

So it all depends and I could never feel good about the service I bring to my clients being limited to just 5 annuity carriers.

It would be very hard to pigeon hole yourself into just 5 carriers. Although you will probably end up with a few that end up being your more "go to" carriers. But that will largely depend on the market you are working and your personal views on products. But that doesnt mean you wont need more clubs in your bag. You can certainly learn the product by learning carrier specific products. But just remember that for the majority of products, what you are learning will transfer over to most other products. The Yearly Point to Point for Midland, will work just the same as the Yearly Point to Point for Great American... just different Caps. Learn the product, shop the market.