ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Consumers purchasing annuities or indexed universal life insurance policies should carefully review the policy, and research the risks involved in purchasing this type of investment.
Aviva USA, and its parent company, Athene USA, is one of the biggest providers of annuities and life insurance products, including Indexed Universal Life insurance policies.
Although those selling Indexed Universal Life policies may promise high returns based on the performance of a stock market index, in reality there are many problems that come with purchasing an Indexed Universal Life policy. These are long-term policies that only end when the policyholder dies, while racking up fees and costs. Policyholders may have to pay these fees and costs off out of pocket if they do not have enough accumulated interest to do so. Additionally, these policies usually have surrender dates in the distance future, and policyholders are penalized with high surrender charges if they choose to cancel their policy prior to that date. Agents also often use outdated statistics to sell IUL insurance policies, thus creating false expectations of the policy’s performance.
Deferred annuities, or fixed annuities, are types of long-term investments that often prohibit or preclude withdrawals for at least 10-20 years. Deferred or fixed annuities often also charge excessive fees for early withdrawal of funds. California annuity fraud attorneys say that brokers often push the sale of deferred annuities, due to the higher commission rate they receive on these sales.
Aviva Life Insurance is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, with approximately 31 million customers across 16 countries. After Aviva Life Insurance sold its US annuity and life insurance business to Athene USA in December 2012, Athene USA then sold to Accordia. Therefore, Aviva has recently sold annuity and life insurance policies in the US under the names Aviva, Athene, and Accordia.
To learn more about Aviva and its financial products, see our main Aviva page.
Evans Law Firm, Inc. has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sonoma, and handles annuity fraud and insurance fraud lawsuits. Evans Law Firm, Inc. is currently investigating potential claims related to the sale of annuities through Aviva Life Insurance, as well as Athene and Accordia. If you have purchased, or are considering purchasing, an annuity policy or IUL insurance policy through Aviva and want to know if it is a suitable investment for you, please contact Evans Law Firm, Inc. at 415-441-8669 or via email at info@evanslaw.com.
