Variable Dollar Annuity
Annuity in which premium payments are used to purchase accumulation units, their number depending on the value of each unit. The value of a unit is determined by the value of the portfolio of stocks in which the insurance company invests the premiums. At the time of the payment of benefits to the annuitant, the accumulation units are converted to a monthly fixed number of units. The variable element is the dollar value of each unit. For example, assume that the annuitant pays a monthly premium of $100. If the accumulation unit value during one month is $50, two units are purchased. In another month, if the value of the accumulation unit is $25, four units are purchased. In a third month, the value of the unit is $10, resulting in the purchase of 10 units. This allows the market use of the investment strategy of dollar cost averaging. Accumulation units are credited to the annuitant's account, a procedure that is similar to purchasing shares in a mutual fund.
When income benefits are scheduled to begin, total accumulation units are converted to assume 100 income benefit units per month. The value of the income unit will vary according to the company's stock investments; in one month the annuitant's income might be $1000, in another month $500, in another month $1200. Changes in the investment experience by the insurance company are passed on to the annuitant, but the company absorbs fluctuations in expenses and mortality experience.
Popular Insurance Terms
Legal decision wherein proceeds of a life insurance policy on which the decedent's corporation paid the premiums within three years of his or her death are not includable in the decedent's ...
Act that provides retroactive liability for environmental claims by mandating that those who polluted the environment must pay to clean up the pollution, regardless of how long ago their ...
Difference between the earned premiums and the losses and expenses of an insurance company. ...
Fund from which losses are paid for the insolvent members of Lloyd's of London. Each year, members of Lloyd's of London contribute a percentage of their premium volume to this fund to act ...
Same as term Five Percentage Rule: coinsurance requirement such that if a loss is less than $10,000 and also less than 5% of the total of insurance to cover a loss, then the insurance ...
Coverage under which initial premiums are less than normal for the first few years, then gradually increase for the next several years until they become level for the duration of the policy. ...
Coverage for sample merchandise while in the custody of a salesperson. ...
Coverage in property insurance for an employee's lost income if a peril such as fire damages or destroys the place of employment, causing the worker to become unemployed. For example, a ...
Trust that qualifies assets under the marital deduction provision in the Federal Tax Code for favorable treatment of an estate. The surviving spouse has the full power to use the assets of ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.