The range of annuities available to today’s consumers represents a broad spectrum of product designs. Although all annuity products have similar purposes, a product’s design and application can be matched to a consumer’s unique needs, objectives, and profile more precisely and more suitably than ever before. To understand the particular features, benefits, and application of any one product design, it’s appropriate to put it in context with others.

This course is designed to meet Iowa's training requirement for those who sell indexed life and indexed annuity products and provides a comprehensive look at two of the newest forms of life insurance products: indexed life insurance and indexed annuities. The course explains these unique products by comparing and contrasting them to traditional life and annuity products and explores the various interest crediting techniques insurers use to determine cash value growth and contract accumulations. It examines the features, benefits, and limitations that characterize these products and explores the many needs they serve. 

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

• identify the basic types of annuities
• discuss annuity contract provisions
• describe the primary advantages and disadvantages of annuities
• explain how indexed life insurance products work
• discuss appropriate suitability and marketing practices in the sale of life insurance and annuities
• identify and explain the special issues that apply to the sale of life insurance and annuity products to senior consumers
• discuss the new developments taking place with respect to indexed products