Annuity are a goldmine for Insurance Company!

So lately I've gotten replies regarding that annuites are a scam and just a way for insurance companies to make big bucks. It is true that when a client signs up for annuity, it is very lucrative for the agents as well as the insurance companies but at the same time aren't all products lucrative for any financial institutions? (ex: credit cards, savings acct., CDs).

Also annuities can actually be helpful to clients if you are open to coaching. For instance, I met a 60 year old lady who no longer works and has about $80k left in her bank account. After calculating her expense, it appears that she would be running out of money within the next 4 to 5 years. Also at that age, what would be the most appropriate solution? Annuity of course! Why? Because as a babyboomer you definitely shouldn't classify yourself as an investor (take risk) and certainly not an investor with her remaining savings. She definitely wants to stretch out savings. so with the right type of annuity along with her social security income coming in, she was able to realize that she would be able to receive a guarantee paycheck for life even after the principal exhausted. Also if it didn't exhaust within the time she passes away, her beneficiary was able to receive the remaining principle.

I’m a life insurance agent but I hate life insurance agents

Now don’t get it twisted by hearing this title. This doesn’t mean that I hate myself or that I hate my job. In fact it is quite the opposite. I do very much love my job at ING and I love giving financial advice the right way, but it has been brought to my attention that in this day and age, using a Life Insurance Company to plan out your long term savings/retirement plan can potentially be one of the most effective way to maximize your dollars. Some of the reasons why Life Insurance is so effective is because of the high interest captured in the up market and also the guarantees of not losing in a down market, the tax free withdrawals, liquidity at any time, and the protection for your family. Sounds pretty sweet huh? Then why are insurance companies so frowned upon? Why are these life insurance agents frowned upon?

I’ve read through many different policies from many different clients and they all have one thing in common, GREED! Yes, greed from these so-called life insurance agents who classify themselves as Financial Advisors who don’t have a damn clue towards how the policy they are promoting works. The only thing many of these agents do know is how to set up someone’s policy so that they can extract the most commission off of their clients. I believe it is a mixture of not only the life insurance agents’ fault but also their insurance companies that they represent. They under emphasize the importance of continuous class training for new and veteran agents and the consequences of that is that the clients become the victims of their own financial futures.

Life insurance agents are practicing these unethical behaviors with their clients everyday. An example would be an agent who raises the death benefit much higher than their monthly contribution, which of course increases an agent’s commission. Since this unethical practice happens around the world, people like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman are able to capitalize their reputation and popularity by simply pointing their fingers and speaking in a loud, stern voice that all permanent life insurance is garbage. I just wanted to point out that there are good agents out there and the best way to distinguish the good from the bad boils down to the agent’s heart and why they are in this business rather than someone who is wearing a salesperson’s cap.