ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER

And The Numbers Are In…

Annuities

Annuities, in our opinion, are outdated and unsound investments. According to a recent article, it is possible that investors agree with our reasoning as well, as annuity sales in the fourth quarter have dropped 17% as compared to the year before. This decline is now considered a trend, as sales has dropped for three quarters in a row, and the first quarter of this year represented the lowest quarter or annuity sales since the first quarter in the year 2002. By the end of 2016, the sales were down 6% in total, totaling around $222.1 billion.

While $222.1 billion is still considered a very high number, it is possible that individuals are agreeing with our assessment of annuities. In general, we believe annuities to be complex investments that even financial advisors and insurance companies struggle to understand at times. We also understand annuities to be insurance, not necessarily investments at all, which is how they are most recently being sold to investors. However, annuities often only lock up your money with surrender periods and charges that are impossible to avoid. In California, Alameda County included, and across the country as well, individuals are buying annuities without understanding exactly what they are being sold.

Today, companies such as Jackson National Life, Allianz Life of North America, and New York Life sit at the top of the annuity sales, selling variable, fixed, and fixed-rate annuities, respectively. We hold these insurance companies to a high standard, as we believe that all individuals should as well. We look to FINRA to help regulate these potential purchases, but we also look to the investors to take caution before buying an annuity policy. Annuities are not the proper purchase for every individual. Educate yourself and your loved ones before jumping to buy one.

Some of the major annuity and life insurance providers in California are:

• Aviva/Athene/Accordia Life Insurance Company
• Transamerica Life Insurance Company
• John Hancock Life Insurance Company
• Bankers Life Insurance and Casualty company
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
• Midland Life Insurance Company
• North American Company for Life and Health Insurance
• Pacific Life Insurance Company
• Prudential Life Insurance Company
• Genworth Life Insurance Company
• ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company
• Lincoln Benefit Life Company
• Metlife/Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
• Unum Life Insurance Company of America
• Voya/Reliastar Life Insurance Company

Contact Us

If you or a loved one has suffered from annuity fraud in Alameda County or in any California county, contact the Evans Law Firm annuity fraud attorneys at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.