Annuity carriers, investigated one by one.

Carriers we've covered.

Carriers we're researching next.

These are the carriers readers ask about most. If you hold a contract with one and want a second opinion sooner, book a free review.

Before you compare any carrier.

Carrier strength matters more with annuities than with most financial products, because the guarantee is only as good as the company behind it.

How we research a carrier.

Most annuity "reviews" online are lead-generation pages wearing a review's clothing — a summary of the brochure, a list of benefits, and a form. Ours are built to answer the question an actual buyer has, which is usually some version of what is the catch, and is it a catch I can live with?

1. We read the contract, not the illustration

   An illustration is a sales document showing how a product performs under assumptions the carrier chose. The contract is what you're actually buying. Where the two disagree — and on surrender schedules, rider fees, and cap-change rights they often do — the contract governs and we report the contract.

2. We check the issuer before the product

   An annuity guarantee is a promise from one company, sometimes lasting forty years. We look at the current financial strength rating, the date it was issued, the outlook, the rating history, and whether the company has changed ownership. A strong product from a weakening issuer is not a strong product.

3. We put a date on anything that moves

   Rates, caps, participation rates, and ratings change constantly. Every figure we publish carries the date it was verified. If you find something on this site without a date, tell us — that's a defect, not a style choice.

4. We say who it's wrong for

   Every review names the buyer who should walk away. A product that suits everyone suits no one, and a review that can't identify who shouldn't buy it isn't a review.

What we won't do.

More on that last point: how to tell if an annuity company is in trouble.

How carriers join the list.

The queue is driven by what people actually ask about. When several readers bring us the same contract, that carrier moves up. A carrier appearing here isn't an endorsement and its absence isn't a criticism — it usually just means nobody has asked yet.

If you're holding a contract from a carrier we haven't covered, that's the fastest way to get it reviewed: bring it to a free review and we'll go through it with you directly, whether or not it ever becomes a page on this site.

Not sure which carrier you're even looking at?

Bring the contract or the pitch. We'll tell you what it actually is.