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Life Health > Annuities > Fixed Annuities

New Life and Annuity Guarantees Are Still Out There

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What You Need to Know

  • Penn Mutual has a new indexed universal life policy.
  • Investors Heritage has added a non-variable indexed annuity.
  • Midland National has added a RILA contract.

Life and annuity issuers have been a little quiet in recent weeks, but some announcements about new products, new alliances and other strategy choices have been trickling out.

Here’s a look at the ideas that seem to be shaping the new moves.

1. Offer guarantees.

The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. has introduced an Accumulation Indexed Universal Life policy.

Policyholders can use the product to accumulate cash, to fund long-term care planning and other retirement planning arrangements, as well as to protect loved ones against the death of the insured.

The product comes with six indexed accounts that earn interest based on changes in the performance of the S&P 500 Index.

A policy value enhancement feature guarantees positive interest crediting each year.

The buyer can get a no-lapse guarantee that will last up to 30 years.

The policy comes with built-in accelerated death benefit, chronic illness accelerated benefit and supplemental exchange riders.

The list of optional riders includes an additional insured term insurance rider. A purchaser can use the rider to make term coverage available to the insured’s family member without an additional policy. Another optional rider can provide term coverage for the insured’s children.

Investors Heritage Life Insurance  has introduced a non-variable indexed annuity, the Heritage Growth Advantage contract.

The contract offers contract holders fully guaranteed participation rates on indexed accounts during the surrender charge period, the company says.

When clients buy the product, they can choose a fixed rate of compound interest or participate in positive market performance.

Contract holders can get crediting rate boosts tied to the Morgan Stanley Dynamic U.S. Equities Index, the SG Entelligent Agile 6% VT Index or the S&P MARC 5% (Multi-Asset Risk Control) Index.

2. Offer partial guarantees.

Sammons Financial Group is offering a new variable annuity, the LiveWell Dynamic Annuity contract, through its Midland National Life Insurance unit.

The product is a registered index-linked variable annuity, or RILA product.

Contract holders can choose to tie returns either to the performance of variable separate accounts or through Cycle Investments index account investment options. The index available through that arrangement is the S&P 500 Price Return Index.

Midland National is offering purchasers the ability to buy options that can protect against some loss of account value.

Principal Financial Group has introduced a buffer fund investment option for users of its variable annuities.

Accounts in the company’s new Principal Variable Contracts (PVC) U.S. LargeCap Buffer Series can protect individuals up to the first 10% in investment index losses during a specified period. Users can participate in the first 10% of market gains, and some gains over 10%.

The company says it plans to add similar accounts in the series in October 2022, January 2023 and April 2023.

3. Speed things up.

Sproutt, a life insurance startup that offers discounts on life insurance premiums tied to healthy behaviors, has introduced Sprout SmartLife for Agents, a predictive analytics tool for outside agents. The tool can help agents match clients with suitable life insurance policies quickly.

Agents can use the tool over the phone or through their websites or mobile device apps.

Policygenius, a life insurance web broker, says Impact Partnership will use its technology to help financial advisors and broker-dealers improve clients’ access to term life insurance. The Impact network includes about 200 firms and 2,000 advisors.

Sapiens International says EquiTrust Life, a life insurer controlled by Magic Johnson’s company, will use its electronic application system, illustration system and other systems to improve the services it offers 15,700 agents and independent marketing organizations.

4. Open offices.

Ladder Life, a web-based life insurer and life insurance broker, has moved away from a full work-from-home approach and opened an office in Palo Alto, California.

Afficiency, a company that provides life insurance products for digital life insurance distributors through an API, or digital pipe, has opened an office of its own on Greenwich Street in New York City.

(Photo: Emilia Mariana Ungur/Shutterstock)


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