ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Annuities: a Mysterious Maze
Lots of questions come up when we talk about annuities. What is an annuity? How does it work? It is a smart investment?
An annuity is a contract between a buyer and an insurance company. Sometimes, a broker/dealer intervenes in the transaction and tries to sell you annuities. However, the broker/dealer may not advise you in your best interest. He could put his own financial interests before yours. It is why you have to be aware of how and annuity works and get the best possible advice. You may also want to consider speaking with a California annuity fraud lawyer.
Different Types of Annuities
Annuities can come in many different flavors. They could be lifetime, meaning you will be paid until death; they can be fixed or variable, meaning you will be paid in accordance with the market or based on a pre-agrre rate of return; they could be immediate versus deferred, meaning you will be paid at some point when you are older or as soon as you may your premiums. These are just a few of the many types of annuities, and this list could go on and on..
Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
When you get an annuity you give a lump sum of capital to the insurance company. In return you receive regular payments, monthly, every quarter, or annually. Nevertheless, the insurance company has to be solvent otherwise you will lose your capital. Moreover, the capital you give to the insurance company is frozen, meaning you couldn’t take it back even if you need money quickly, for example, for a surgery or pay charges for your house or give money to your children. For this reason, our advice it is “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. Don’t tie up all your money in an annuity contract from a singular insurance company. You have to vary your financial resources and have many investments. For example, other insurance contracts, bank investments, real estate investments, according to your financial means and your personal needs.
Major sellers of Annuities Include:
- Transamerica Life Insurance Company
- John Hancock Life Insurance Company
- Prudential Life Insurance Company
- Metlife Investors USA Insurance Company
- Genworth Life Insurance Company
- ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company
- Lincoln Benefit Life Company
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
- Unum Life Insurance Company of America
- Reliastar Life Insurance Company
Attorneys You Can Trust
Sometimes, it is too late and you already have trouble with your insurance company. You have the feeling that something’s going wrong with your contract. At this point you should contact an attorney who handles insurance fraud or elder abuse lawsuit. The Evans Law Firm in California deals with Annuity, Insurance, and Banking Fraud, Financial and Physical Elder Abuse, and nursing home abuse. We can be reached at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com.
