I'm New to Annuities

[idahoinsurers]

I've been in life insurance for a very short time.. I've only ever sold 2 or 3 term policies so far and the rest of my business is final expense.
I am looking to start selling annuities but the group I'm with (family member) focuses only on one thing so there is no one who can really teach me to sell these things.
I've been looking at a few IMOs like symmetry, family first life, naa, equis etc but I don't know which one is a good outfit for me. What are decent commission levels with annuities and also whats the normal sales cycle? any information would be welcomed

 

[DHK]

http://www.insurance-forums.net/forum/annuities-forum/beginner-help-appreciated-t81685.html

 

[bdub713]

I've been in life insurance for a very short time.. I've only ever sold 2 or 3 term policies so far and the rest of my business is final expense.
I am looking to start selling annuities but the group I'm with (family member) focuses only on one thing so there is no one who can really teach me to sell these things.
I've been looking at a few IMOs like symmetry, family first life, naa, equis etc but I don't know which one is a good outfit for me. What are decent commission levels with annuities and also whats the normal sales cycle? any information would be welcomed

Hello ,

Welcome to the insurance world. This career changed my life at the young age of 21 now i am a 5 year vet. The first year in insurance i made 6 figures and have loved it ever since. the best thing is to get a good mentor. I am not an expert at annuities i just call the companies and roll one up every other month ,but my mentor is an expert and he rolls over a couple of million dollar 401ks,IRAS , ROTHS qualified and non qualified money into IRAS. I would like to find out more about you and connect. my number is 713-659-9281. The commission on FIAs varies by company and products. The new DOL rule has affected a lot of the financial advisers and some insurance companies. The commission can be as high as 8% in some products.

 

[tjbh]

You want to partner with an IMO that not only pays well on the commission side but has a proven process to help get you going. The IMO I work with did a great job of helping me get in the door with a "health to wealth" approach. I am now moving over to seminars that they've created to get in front of more people.

 

[jboussea]

http://www.insurance-forums.net/forum/annuities-forum/beginner-help-appreciated-t81685.html

Hey Man .. I'm not interested in selling annuities in the immediate future.. but I do want to know more about the products

I would want to understand FIA's and even VA's as if I were a client but a very inquisitive client.. kind of like an engineer. I think as licensed agents we should at least know what the products are and what they are not.

Do you know of any good resources..also would love to run some illustrations to learn how different products work ..

I learned a lot about IUL over the past few years but being able to run illustrations painted the picture for me. and it seems as if running illustrations for annuities is not as straight forward

 

[DHK]

I'd check out the books by Stan Haithcock, or rather Stan "The Annuity Man":
https://www.amazon.com/Stan-G.-Haithcock/e/B00N83I48Q/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1503501253&sr=8-1

And I'd also recommend John L. Olsen's books as well:
https://www.amazon.com/John-L-Olsen/e/B011PP1LBK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1503501331&sr=8-1

As far as studying Variable Annuities & illustrations, you'd have to be a registered rep with a broker/dealer to do that. They are similar to most fixed indexed annuities in their income guarantees and riders, but FAR more expensive in terms of costs.
- M&E (Mortality & Expense): 1.15% (or at least it was many years ago). This is the cost to have the option to 'annuitize' the contract at any point.

- Sub-Account charges: up to 1.5%, depending on the portfolio allocation model chosen and/or other selection of mutual funds.

- Lifetime income rider charge: up to 1.25% (I doubt any compliance officer at a b/d would allow qualified retirement plan money to go into a VA without having a rider attached - or it would simply be an expensive mutual fund with the option to annuitize for an unknown amount of income.)
- These riders can be very enticing and complex - such as Prudential's "daily lock-in" rider for lifetime income.
Highest Daily Lifetime Income VA Benefit Page - Prudential Annuities mobileGrade

- Optional death benefit riders: Up to .5%? (I never sold a VA with this rider)

Because sub-accounts are essentially mutual funds, the cash accumulation value will be variable according to market fluctuations, unlike a FIA that is not directly invested in the market.


So here's the thing with Variable Annuities: the costs will mount and be up to 3.5% or higher. The insurance company reserves the right to "re-price" the riders at any time once exercised. While this would not affect the value of lifetime income, it would affect any amount left to beneficiaries at death.

Hope this helps some.

----------

Btw, if you were to actually SELL VAs, I would call it "portfolio insurance" (actually, "retirement insurance" would probably be better). You insure your car, your home, and your life (hopefully), why not your retirement portfolio? Just clarify that it's not FDIC or any other principal protection, but that you would be guaranteed to get all your money back in 20+ years of income, even if the portfolio tanked to zero due to market forces.

 

[jboussea]

I'd check out the books by Stan Haithcock, or rather Stan "The Annuity Man":
https://www.amazon.com/Stan-G.-Haithcock/e/B00N83I48Q/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1503501253&sr=8-1

And I'd also recommend John L. Olsen's books as well:
https://www.amazon.com/John-L-Olsen/e/B011PP1LBK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1503501331&sr=8-1

As far as studying Variable Annuities & illustrations, you'd have to be a registered rep with a broker/dealer to do that. They are similar to most fixed indexed annuities in their income guarantees and riders, but FAR more expensive in terms of costs.
- M&E (Mortality & Expense): 1.15% (or at least it was many years ago). This is the cost to have the option to 'annuitize' the contract at any point.

- Sub-Account charges: up to 1.5%, depending on the portfolio allocation model chosen and/or other selection of mutual funds.

- Lifetime income rider charge: up to 1.25% (I doubt any compliance officer at a b/d would allow qualified retirement plan money to go into a VA without having a rider attached - or it would simply be an expensive mutual fund with the option to annuitize for an unknown amount of income.)
- These riders can be very enticing and complex - such as Prudential's "daily lock-in" rider for lifetime income.
Highest Daily Lifetime Income VA Benefit Page - Prudential Annuities mobileGrade

- Optional death benefit riders: Up to .5%? (I never sold a VA with this rider)

Because sub-accounts are essentially mutual funds, the cash accumulation value will be variable according to market fluctuations, unlike a FIA that is not directly invested in the market.


So here's the thing with Variable Annuities: the costs will mount and be up to 3.5% or higher. The insurance company reserves the right to "re-price" the riders at any time once exercised. While this would not affect the value of lifetime income, it would affect any amount left to beneficiaries at death.

Hope this helps some.

----------

Btw, if you were to actually SELL VAs, I would call it "portfolio insurance" (actually, "retirement insurance" would probably be better). You insure your car, your home, and your life (hopefully), why not your retirement portfolio? Just clarify that it's not FDIC or any other principal protection, but that you would be guaranteed to get all your money back in 20+ years of income, even if the portfolio tanked to zero due to market forces.

Thanks for the book recommendations

.. I'm actually most interested in doing FIA illustration.. (Winflex doesn't seem to have much) because whereas I can see myself selling Annuities in the future , I don't think I would be interested in being securities licensed but I wanted to know about VA's to know what's out there but I can always get access to VA products trhough someone I know who is securities licensed. just to play with the illustrations.

----------

I googled John Olsen.. do you know if his items are available for CE Credits.. also do you have any good CE items, my renewal is coming up I wouldn't mind getting some actual education for CE.. lol

 

[DHK]

I think some of John Olsen's stuff might be available for CE, but not necessarily for your state insurance license. Usually CFP, The American College, and other certifications, but not necessarily your state insurance license.

If you're looking for "real" education, I'd probably consider the CAS designation:
Overview - Institute of Business & Finance

Otherwise, I'd also follow Tom Hegna on social media, as well as Curtis Cloke.

For playing with illustrations, you can check out ANICO's LPES desktop illustration system. You can illustrate their fixed indexed annuities and some of their fixed annuities. SPIA quotes are generated online. https://img.anicoweb.com/wps/portal/img/home/expertoffice/illustrateyourproduct/lpes

 

[walthamny]

Don't try to learn too many things at once. There is nothing wrong with trying out different things to see which ones fit you at the beginning. But don't jump in and try to become an expert. The sales cycle can be shorter for annuities but the fact finding is different. There is no underwriting for annuities but you have to deal with compliance rules. It is harder to get referals from an annuity sale then a life sale. If you make a FE sale, thats usually it in that household. If you make a term sale, usually there is more future business in the near future. With an annuity sale, there could be future sales, but they are not happening right away.

Usually if you are selling FE, the annuity sale you would run into is someone who has money in the CDs and asks you for a higher rate of return. You should look for the sales tools many companies have on this. Almost every annuity carrier has them.

 

[jboussea]

I think some of John Olsen's stuff might be available for CE, but not necessarily for your state insurance license. Usually CFP, The American College, and other certifications, but not necessarily your state insurance license.

If you're looking for "real" education, I'd probably consider the CAS designation:
Overview - Institute of Business & Finance

Otherwise, I'd also follow Tom Hegna on social media, as well as Curtis Cloke.

For playing with illustrations, you can check out ANICO's LPES desktop illustration system. You can illustrate their fixed indexed annuities and some of their fixed annuities. SPIA quotes are generated online. https://img.anicoweb.com/wps/portal/img/home/expertoffice/illustrateyourproduct/lpes

Do you know of a good company to compare Deferred income vs fixed index annuities w/ income riders... a company that does both