Category: Annuities

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER FINRA Concerns With L Share Annuities L Share Variable Annuities are a type of variable annuity where the surrender charge period under the contract is shortened to three or four years but administrative fees and mortality expense rates are higher. L-Shares are also often sold with long-term riders […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Annuities Are Expensive, Complex, and Illiquid Big Fees, Modest Yields, and Withdrawal Charges Annuity carriers and agents use fear tactics to push annuities. One agent recently claimed on the radio that “It could take a lifetime to make up your losses in the stock market.”  Not really.  The […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Fraud Up as Annuity Sales Increase Unsuitable Products and Churning Annuity sales are up and so are cases of fraud, especially on seniors. The fraud on seniors varies but typically involves either the sale of unsuitable products or unlawful “churning,” where agents convince annuity owners to trade one […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER FINRA Troubled by Recommendations of Unsuitable Annuities Over-Concentration in Annuities The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) polices advisor recommendations of investment products including annuities. The agency recently reported a disturbing trend of advisor recommendations of variable annuities in particular as unsuitable products for certain consumers. The agency also […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Beware Fixed Index Annuities Phantom Bonuses and Other Downsides Insurance agents and financial advisors are increasingly using our low interest rate/volatile stock market environment to push a product called fixed indexed annuities. Agents claim the contracts offer the upside of market increases (the “indexed” part) with downside protection […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Keeping Retirement Savings for Yourself The closer you get to retiring the more you try and save for the future. While saving as much as you can is important, where you put those savings is equally important. Insurance agents, financial advisors, brokers, and retirement planners push annuities and […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Beware the Hard-Sell Free Lunch High Pressure Sales Seminars Have you ever come back to your car at a shopping mall and found a free lunch flier on your windshield? Or maybe a invitation by mail to a free dinner seminar?  Some insurance agents are notorious for relying […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Beware Equity Indexed Annuities Modest Yields, Fees, and Withdrawal Charges Annuity carriers and agents push what they claim are “safer” investment products in volatile markets. Anxious seniors, with money to invest and concerns about future income, worry about low rates on insured deposits on the one hand and […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Unsuitable Sales, Improper Exchanges, High Fees, Tying Up Your Money Seniors Beware Unscrupulous advisors and insurance agents, hungry for commissions, push annuities on seniors worried about income levels for their later years. The sales pitches rev up as markets turn volatile and promises of guaranteed rates sound good. […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company Whole Life Insurance Required Disclosures to Senior Policyholders If you are over age 60, live in Alameda County or elsewhere in California, and have cancelled (or surrendered) a whole or universal life insurance policy issued by Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company […]