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Annuity Contracting For Brokers

Annuity contracting for brokers is available for: National Western, F & G, American Equity, Equitrust and Allianz.

The Allianz contracting  is for the various 360 Annuity and the 222 Annuity. These products can not be accessed with the normal Allianz contract.   Please be sure to send in your contracting with a copy of your Insurance License and E and O policy certificate.  Everything can be faxed to Crowe and Associates at 203-567-6235 or emailed to Edward@Croweandassociates.com  All pages of the contract must be submitted.

Keep the following in mind:

Each annuity company has their own certification that must be done prior to selling their products. You must complete this training prior to submitting applications.  Also, most states require  that a 4 hour state training be completed in order to sell annuities. (Only needs to be done once in your resident state)  If you want to order the “Paycheck for Life” DVD, you will need to be contracted with at least one of these companies to do so.

If you have any questions or would like to contract; reach us either by email lisa@croweandassociates.com or call 203-796-5403.

This is the recording from our Annuity Sales webinar from Friday, March 1 2013 at 11:00 am.  The focus is on selling concept and way to introduce the idea to your current clients and prospects.   Major annuity producers rarely focus on product which is one of the biggest mistakes made in the field.   We have an annuity webinar the first Friday of every month at 11:00 am Est.  The meeting is usually only about 30 – 40 minutes long.

The webinars are by invite only.  If you want to participate the next webinar   Click Here

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECORDING

Questions?  Email Ed Crowe at Edward@Croweandassociates.com

Crowe and Associates holds annuity sales training meetings every month.  There is an in person meeting for those within driving distance of our Brookfield office and we also have a web based meeting.  The goal is to help brokers learn to sell annuities or sell more annuities using some simple strategies.

We hold the in person meeting on the first Thursday of every month at 11:00 am.   The web based meeting is the first Friday of every month at 11:00.  You must register for the web meeting in order to attend.   Email Ed Crowe at Edward@Croweandassociates.com if interested in either meeting.

We work with annuity clients every day and we see the same mistakes made over and over.  Here is a quick list of the more common mistakes made that you should avoid.

Buying an annuity based on the company’s name- This is the biggest mistake I see made the most often.  Buying an annuity simply because you know the company name is a sure fire way to ensure that you are buying a product that is not competitive.  Look at the payouts when buying an annuity instead of just trusting that a big name company is going to be offering you a good deal. Most often,  it is the big name companies that are relying on that big name and are not looking to be best in class. They know they name will bring in customers so there is no need to be making a great offer. Read more

What is the best annuity?  The answer is that there is not a best annuity for every situation.  The trick is to find out the best one for whatever you are trying to accomplish.

Companies compete bitterly with each other in the annuity market.   They are always trying to come up with an annuity product that will be the next big seller.  While they want market share, they are never willing to offer a product that is the best in every category.  Instead, they will pick one area within a product and try to be the best in that space. Read more

Choosing an annuity is made out to be the most difficult decision in the world but it really doesn’t have to be.  There is a logical progression to be made when making a choice.   In this post I will go over the steps that need to be taken to make the right choice.

Before getting into the steps, I would like to point out a few key points that will help you along the way.  The first is that there is not a “best” annuity for every thing or a company that has the “best” annuity for all situations.   Insurance companies jockey back and forth to offer the best product for a certain situation. They do not try to have the best product for every situation.  Also, they do not  keep their product competitive for long.  Usually an insurance company will offer a very competitive or the most competitive product for only 6 to 18 months and then they will lower rates. Read more

Companies have been coming to the market with a new type of insurance plan called “Longevity Insurance”. The plans are being offered by NY Life, Symetra, The Hartford and Met life. There will surely be a number more coming out with plans over the next 6 to 12 months.

The idea behind longevity insurance is that a person can put away money for a number of years (most plans are for people in their 50′s) with a guarantee that they can have lifetime income at a future date. Most of the plans currently available require that you wait at least 10 years to start income. Some of the plans will allow the income stream to pay out for a single persons lifetime while others offer a joint spouse option at a reduced payout. Read more

Choosing an Annuity

Choosing an annuity is made out to be the most difficult decision in the world but it really doesn’t have to be.  There is a logical progression to be made when making a choice.   In this post I will go over the steps that need to be taken to make the right choice.

Before getting into the steps,

I would like to point out a few key points that will help you along the way.  The first is that there is not a “best” annuity for every thing or a company that has the “best” annuity for all situations.   Insurance companies jockey back and forth to offer the best product for a certain situation. They do not try to have the best product for every situation.  Also, they do not  keep their product competitive for long.  Usually an insurance company will offer a very competitive or the most competitive product for only 6 to 18 months and then they will lower rates.

The other important point is not to simply go by a company name.

Insurance companies lean on their reputation heavily to get a prospects business.  They will use the name as a way to offer a less than competative product to the public and it works.  People will blindly buy an insurance companies product simply because of the company offering it.  This is a sure fire way to make sure you are not getting the best in class product.

The first and most important step when picking an annuity is to determine what you want it for.

This sounds simple and silly but it is the most important part of the entire process and the most common mistake people make.  I cant count the number of times I have talked to someone who is about to purchase an annuity because of some incredible feature it has.  The problem is that the feature usually will do little or nothing to help them with what they need the annuity for.  You need to figure out what you are trying to accomplish.  There are a limited number of things people want to accomplish with money and a limited number of areas where an annuity will work.  Here are the most common ones.  It is critical to determine which you fit into.

• Draw a future income stream at some future date
• Immediate income draw
• Grow a lump sum of money to leave to heirs
• You want to grow a lump sum of money to use for a known future expense or purpose

Once you determine what you are trying to accomplish, it becomes much easier to find the best product to accomplish the goal.

For example, if you want future income, the best way currently is to use an annuity with an income rider or if you need immediate income your best bet is to use an annuity for that purpose called a SPIA.  If you want to leave the most money to heirs possible, you would use an annuity with a high death benefit roll up feature and so on…..

By determining your need, you can identify the right type of annuity to use to get the job done.  Once you determine the type of product needed, you then need to find out which company has the best “highest paying or earning” product of that type.  For example, if you need an immediate income, you would use a SPIA.  The highest paying SPIA’s are currently offered by Symetra, Great American, Guggenheim and NY Life.   This will change over time but they are at the top currently because they will pay out the most money immediately.  If you need income 5 years from now, you would use an idexed annuity with an income rider and the highest paying company would be Security Benefit SIA Annuity.  Again, how long will they be able to say they pay the most?  No one knows for sure but right now they pay the most.

I had a person call my office and he was told Met Life would work the best to generate income of $320,000 7 years from now.  (he was 58 years old)

The representative he spoke with said Met was the best.  At the the time, Forethought was paying out the most income of any carrier for a person that age.  I ran the guaranteed income payout for Forethought in 7 years vs. the Met life payout and the forethought income beat the Met Life Income by $5,000 a year for the rest of his life and his spouses life.  There is a 70% chance either he or his wife will live to at least age 90 based on current life expectancy.  At a difference of $5,000 a year, this would add up to a $125,000 mistake had they gone with the lower paying product.  (25 years multiplied by $5,000)

It can be a chore  choosing an Annuity and finding the highest paying company for a specific product type.

To accomplish this, make sure you work with an independent agency that holds all contracts.  I spend a great deal of time maintaining active appointments with every company offering any type of competitive product for this exact reason.  This way I am able to ensure I am showing people the best option for their specific situation.    Feel free to call or email me if you have questions or need advice.

Life Income annuities have been around for a long time.  The concept is straight forward.   You hand over a lump sum of money to the insurance company and they show you how much they will pay as income for the rest of your life.  There are a number of payout options such as a “Straight life payout” (They pay the money until you die), “Life pay with return of premium” (They pay for life and will pay any unused portion to a beneficiary if you die too soon) and a number of other options as well.

Life pay annuities are valuable when used in the right situation.  They can provide guaranteed income and are not subject to market fluctuation.  In other words, you can rely on the payout no matter what. Wikipedia has a very good article on life pay annuities that is worth reading (click her for Wikipedia article)  The only real drawback to the life income annuity is that you are giving up control of the lump sum asset.  Other lump sums should be maintained in the event it is needed.

In many cases, clients can obtain a better payout by using an indexed annuity with an income rider.  This approach always works better when someone is willing to wait a few years before starting income.  Using an income rider will allow you to know exactly how much income you can have at a future date such as 2, 5, 10 even 20 years down the road.   We always use the company that has the highest payout at the time and currently Security Benefit is the one paying the most.  They win in almost all payout scenarios.  Click Here for Security Benefit Info   This option also allows the client to maintain access to the lump sum investment which can have advantages over the traditional life annuity.

If a client is looking for immediate income, the traditional life annuity will often have the highest payout.  Given that insurance companies are constantly competing with each other to have the highest payout, it is prudent to check the market to make sure you are getting the highest payout possible.

Call (203-796-5403) or email Edward@Croweandassociates.com if you have additional questions or would like to obtain  information or quotes.