ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Complaints Over Hybrid Annuities
What Are Hybrid Annuities?
Hybrid annuities, often called buffer variable annuities or structured variable annuities, are complicated combinations of fixed and variable deferred annuities. Equity-indexed or Fixed-indexed annuities are also hybrid annuities. Agents and issuers sell hybrids as “buffers” against market downturns with higher caps on the possible upside. Policyholder complaints over hybrid products are growing, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reports. Ingrid Evans and the annuity attorneys at Evans Law Firm Inc. represent clients who have suffered losses on commission-driven unsuitable annuities as a result of surrender charges, commissions and other fees, and tax losses. If you or a loved one has been a victim of securities fraud or financial elder abuse, contact Ingrid Evans or any of the annuity or financial elder abuse lawyers at the Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, and we can help. We handle securities and annuities fraud and financial elder abuse cases in California.
Increased complaints raise the question of suitability of these hybrid products according to industry followers. Like other deferred annuities, they are illiquid, tying up policyholder money for years. Withdrawals are subject to surrender penalties. The products generate substantial commissions which entice advisors and agents to sell them. About 80 percent of hybrid variable annuities are sold through independent broker-dealers and banks. Carriers like them because they require less capital to support than traditional variable annuities. Hybrid annuities account for about 7 percent of the annuity market. Sales of all variable annuities totaled $49.1 billion for the first half of 2017. The leading issuers of deferred annuities in California are listed below.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has suffered a loss under a variable annuity in the form of surrender penalties or commissions and other fees, contact Ingrid Evans or any of the Evans Law Firm annuity attorneys at (415) 441-8669 for a free review of your policy including surrender terms, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with complex securities cases, FINRA arbitrations, and mediations; and complicated financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial, FINRA arbitration, or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, other types of qui tam and whistleblower cases, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
Some of the leading issuers of annuities in California include:
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
American General Life Insurance Company
American Equity Investment Life Holding Company
AXA Equitable Life Insurance
Bankers Life Insurance and Casualty company
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company
Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company
Forethought Life Insurance Company
Genworth Life Insurance Company
ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company
Jackson National Life Insurance Company
John Hancock Life Insurance Company
Lincoln Financial Group/Lincoln National Life Insurance Company
MassMutual/Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
Metlife/Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Pacific Life Insurance Company
Prudential Life Insurance Company
Security Benefit/Security Benefit Life Insurance Company
Transamerica Life Insurance Company
