Should You Worry When Your Parents Mention Annuities?

Investment fraud lawyers are currently looking for potential plaintiffs to bring annuity fraud lawsuits against various life insurance and annuity companies.

Some of the companies that are currently being investigated for annuity fraud include ING Life & Annuity, OM Financial Life, Fidelity Guaranty & Life, Allianz, American Equity and many more.

The elderly are common victims of financial scams. According to the North American Securities Administrators Association over one third of all cases of elder financial exploitation involves the sale of annuities. Due to this form of elder abuse hundreds of class action lawsuits have been filed against various companies for the fraudulent sale of annuity policies.

What is an Annuity?

An annuity is a type of investment that includes an insurance policy. An annuity itself is not necessarily a bad thing and for some individuals they can be a wise investment strategy. While this is often true for younger individuals, annuities are generally not a good investment choice for seniors.

According to financial investors older generations should keep their funds liquid, or easily accessible, and it is suggested that they invest conservatively.

The theory behind this strategy is that older adults may need to access their money sooner rather than later due to sudden health issues or other life events. Unfortunately annuities often are associated with a host of rules and restrictions that can make access to the funds difficult or costly.

The rules associated with annuities often vary according to the type of annuity that is purchased. There are several different types of annuities that can be purchased.

Some of the different options are immediate annuities, deferred annuities, fixed annuities, and variable annuities. Immediate annuities have payments that begin immediately but you cannot get your initial investment back if necessary.

Deferred annuities have payment plans that begin at a set future date, usually five to seven years in the future. While money can be taken out of deferred annuities, the withdrawals are generally accompanied by large surrender charges. Variable annuities are generally high risk and funds are invested in stocks or stock funds. Fixed annuities are usually invested in lower risk bonds.

Senior Annuity Exploitation

Many of the annuity fraud lawsuits filed against investment companies claim that insurance salespersons are pushing their product on seniors even though such investments are incredibly inappropriate for the seniors’ needs.

The lawsuits assert that sales agents have gone so far as to coerce seniors into removing money from previously established investments and investing them into high risk annuities.

Annuities salespeople are paid an upfront commission on any sales they complete. This gives the sales persons little incentive to ensure customers are investing wisely.

Awards and settlements from these annuities lawsuits will help fraud victims receive compensation for the losses that they have suffered due to annuity scams. Potential plaintiffs will likely have the option of bringing a lawsuit individually or as a member in a class action lawsuit. Each option provides different benefits for the plaintiff which can be explained by a legal professional.

Get a Free Life Insurance Claims/Annuity Fraud Lawsuit Review

If you or your loved one purchased a bonus annuity, life insurance policy or Medicaid qualified annuity and it did not turn out as promised, you may need to have an investment fraud lawyer review the policy, the payments, and the potential benefits. You may be surprised at what they find, and you may even qualify for financial compensation beyond what the policy promised.

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