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
Circumstance under which the insured maintains that, if an insurance policy covers at least two scheduled items of real or personal property, in the event of a loss applicable coverage ...
Option clause in a disability buy-out insurance policy that permits the owner of the policy to increase the limits of coverage for the expenses associated with the buy-out process. Usually, ...
Enacted on April 1, 1997; provides protection against creditors for irrevocable trusts provided that the trust has a grantor who is a discretionary beneficiary. In order for the statute of ...
Membership organization of individuals especially trained in the application of actuarial mathematics, including compound interest, annuities, life contingencies, measurement of mortality ...
Addition to reflect exposures with a greater probability of loss than standard exposures. For example, insuring a munitions factory obviously requires a premium greater than that required ...
Year in which an annually renewable insurance policy was first issued. ...
Organization of brokers and securities dealers in the over-the-counter market operating under the auspices of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its purpose is to enforce, on a ...
Policy that pays a specified sum not related in any way to the extent of the loss. The term applies to a life insurance policy rather than to a contract of indemnity because the former does ...
Agreement named after the city of Boston under which insurance companies insure real property in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods if property owners correct any hazards found upon ...

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