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Crowe & Associates can offer clients the lowest cost life insurance utilizing quote software which compares all insurance company quotes.   We will provide the print out to clients so they can see which company is currently making the best offer.

We can help you determine the type of life insurance you need (Term vs. Permanent)  – We will help you decide which is best for your situation. Currently-our clients are choosing term insurance about 70% of the time.  We can also help you find the lowest cost plan.  For term insurance, this is currently protective life and American National depending on age and amount of insurance.   The lowest cost carrier changes every 4 of 5 months so we run new quotes for every client.

For permanent insurance the company offering the best price changes depending on your age but the most competitive are Aviva, Genworth, Lincoln Financial and NorthAmerican.

Call or email us if you would like to get a quote.  We will provide quotes over the phone or by email.

When someone is shopping for an annuity for life, it can mean multiple things based on their understanding of annuities.  Usually they are looking for either an immediate annuity or a deferred annuity.

If someone is looking to put money into a product and start to draw income immediately, they would be looking for an immediate annuity.  With an immediate annuity, people give the insurance company money in return for a guaranteed income stream for life.  In the past this could be a bad deal for a consumer if they died prior to their life expectancy but now most annuites come with a guaranteed return of premium feature to avoid this problem.   The most competative immediate annuities change on a monthly basis but these companies usually are among the most competitive….. Genworth, The Standard, Lincoln, Equitrust, American Equity and Great American.  They commonly have some of the higher immediate annuity payouts

Take warning: the current interest rate environment is not friendly to immediate annuities.  As a result, you will be subject to very low interest payouts currently.

The second meaning of “annuity for life” is usually someone looking for a deferred annuity.  This means they want to put money in now for a guaranteed payout later.  There are many advantages to a deferred annuity two of which are the higher interest rate they earn and the predictability of them.

The best method for a deferred annuity is to use a fixed indexed annuity with an income rider.  The fixed indexed annuity market was very competitive at one time but it is currently dominated by Security Benefit.  If someone wants deferred income they should be using either the Security Benefit Secure Income Annuity or the Security Benefit Total Value Annuity.  They simply have the highest payouts, end of story. If someone uses a different indexed annuity to produce future income, they are making a mistake.  This sounds harsh but it is the reality currently. This could change any day if a different company comes out with a new product or if Security Benefit makes changes to both products.

This blog holds other articles specific to the Security Benefit products.   Click here for more info on the Secure Income Annuity and Click here for more info on the Total Value Annuity.  Feel free to call Edward Crowe at 860-992-4494 or email at Edward@CroweandAssociates.com

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.