In Maria Wood’s LifeHealthPro article “Checking Into Annuities,” the author draws a comparison between the annuity industry and the hotel industry after working in both. Both annuities and hotels may seem like simple products at first glance, but both have many different options and their industries work hard to cater to the needs of their clients. For people who didn’t want to pay more money for hotel amenities they didn’t use, hotels started changing their offerings and excluding some items to make rates cheaper. There is always the option of an expensive hotel with all the amenities for those looking of course.
The annuity industry works hard to to cater to clients’ needs while maintaining their bottom line. That is what brought about the options of fixed annuities, variable annuities, indexed annuities, and deferred versus immediate annuities. Some annuities exist that combine long term care insurance or life insurance with an annuity product. There are many options for funds, riders, and distribution channels when looking into the best immediate annuities and deferred annuities.
Innovation is important in both the annuity industry and the hotel industry. With hotels, it ensures that everyone can get the exact amenities they want for the price. The same holds true for annuity products. If you want to pay more for GLWBs, death benefits, or other annuity riders; that is available to you. Variable annuities are great for investors who like some risk and can handle stock market ups and downs. Those looking to take on little to no risk are better suited for indexed annuity products. Annuities and hotels both try to cater to the clients who use or will use them.
Written by Rachel Summit
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