Life Insurance

In its simplest form, life insurance is a promise between an insurance company and you, the policy owner. If you pay a certain amount of money (premium) to the insurance company, the insurance company will pay a certain amount of money (death benefit) to the person (beneficiary) you tell us to when the person whose life is being insured dies.

	Term Life Term life insurance or term assurance is the original form of life insurance and is considered to be pure insurance protection because it builds no cash value.			Whole Life These policies are designed for individuals who want guarantees and who are focused on providing death benefit protection over cash value accumulation.
	Universal Life May be ideal for the consumer who has a need for life insurance, is somewhat conservative, and wants the guarantees of a fixed, minimum interest rate with the potential for additional interest credits.			Index Universal Life May be ideal for those who need death benefit protection but are focused on cash value accumulation for lifetime needs such as supplementing retirement income.

Annuities

An annuity allows a customer to deposit money (premiums) with an insurance company that can earn interest and grow on a tax-deferred basis with the agreement that the insurance company will then provide a series of payments back to the customer at regular intervals.

People typically purchase annuities to provide or supplement retirement income they will receive from Social Security, pension benefits, investments, and other sources. You can convert your annuity into a stream of income that can then be paid over a fixed period or for your lifetime. You can take withdrawals of varying amounts when you need the income.

	Fixed Annuity A fixed annuity is a type of insurance contract that promises to pay the buyer a specific, guaranteed interest rate on their contributions to the account.			Index Annuity Indexed annuities do not directly participate in any stock or equity investments. Most indexed annuities permit owners to participate in only a stated percentage of an increase in an index, and some strategies impose a “cap rate” that represents the maximum annual account value percentage increase allowed to contract owners. An investment is not directly invested into an index.