This month we are proud to present the fourth edition of the Annuity Monitor Awards report, detailing the best offerings in nine areas of Annuity Monitor firms’ Web offerings.
Each area of our coverage – public site, private site and advisor site – has three dedicated categories in this report:
- Public websites – Public homepage/navigation, education resources and product information
- Private site – Transaction capabilities, account information and statements
- Advisor site – Sales tools, sales & prospecting materials and literature order systems
|
|
Read more...
|
|
This report focuses on the email customer service offered to prospective investors on the Annuity Monitor firms’ public websites. Fifteen firms were evaluated on the following key criteria:
- Accessibility
- Email Customer Service Interface Design
- Response Time
- Email Response Quality
|
|
Read more...
|
Although average maximum all-in expenses across the Annuity Monitor firms increased 28 basis points since 2009, overall, a majority of the fees that we analyzed in this report decreased over the last year. Average minimum all-in expenses and total insurance expenses each decreased by over five basis points while average annual total contract fees fell $3 to $23.The most significant decreases were felt in the area of surrenders. Average surrender periods fell under four years, while maximum surrender charges dropped 29 basis points.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
The vulnerabilities of variable annuities to adverse market conditions were exposed during the financial crisis and sales dropped precipitously. As a result, many popular product suites were discontinued and replaced with more conservative, flexible variable annuities that are better suited to withstand market volatility. This report examines how firms are presenting variable annuity product information to prospective investors two years after the market downturn.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
This report focuses on the fixed annuity product information offered to prospective investors on the Annuity Monitor firms’ public websites. Eleven firms were evaluated on three key criteria:
- Accessibility
- Product Information Layout
- Product Information Detail
|
|
Read more...
|
|
This report focuses on the annuity product and education literature offered on the Annuity Monitor firms’ public websites. Twelve firms were evaluated on four key criteria:
- Accessibility
- Literature Quality
- Product Literature Selection
- Annuity Education Literature Selection
|
|
Read more...
|
