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
Interest of a beneficiary in the proceeds of a survivorship annuity. ...
Life insurance policy under which all premiums have already been paid, with no further premium payment due. ...
Policy clause that excludes coverage for loss of property if the cause of the loss cannot be identified. Mysterious disappearance is an exclusion in a standard inland marine insurance ...
Coverage for dispensers of alcoholic beverages against suits arising out of bodily injury and/or property damage caused by its customers to a third party. Establishments covered include ...
Person (the transferee to whom the property is transferred) who is at least two generations younger than the person (the transferor) who is transferring the property. This type of property ...
Exceptions and limitations of coverage; that is, the maximum amount of insurance coverage available under a policy. ...
Annuity that continues income payments as long as one annuitant, out of two or more annuitants, remains alive. For example, a married couple would receive an income for as long as both ...
Annual contributions to a pension plan that exceed or are smaller than the minimum required for future employee benefits currently being earned; and any supplemental liability for past ...
Method of determining whether or not coverage is available for a specific claim. If a claim arises out of an event during the period when a policy is in force, the insurance company is ...

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