Appeals Court Finds No Breach Of Duty In Index Annuity Case
Article originally appeared on InsuranceNewsNet by Cyril Tuohy.

A U.S. appeals court in California has ruled in favor of EquiTrust, which was alleged to have violated federal and state laws in the sale of an index annuity, after the court found the carrier and the annuity had delivered on the contract’s promise.

In the case, Harrington v. EquiTrust Life Insurance Co., the plaintiffs Mary Helen Eller and Paul Harrington sued Equitrust on the grounds that marketing material used in the sale of the EquiTrust MarketPower Bonus Index Annuity amounted to mail and wire fraud.

Harrington argued that premium bonus promises, the annuity’s market value adjustment and the circumvention of state non-forfeiture contained in marketing documents and the annuity contract was a violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and Arizona state laws.

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Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company is adding a Market Value Adjustment Rider (MVA) to our fixed indexed annuities. 

Products Offered: 
Effective with the April 1, 2015 buy date, the new MVA Rider will be added to the following products*:

• Safe Income Plus®
• Performance Pro®
• FG Index-Choice® 10
• AccumulatorPlus® Series

Transition Rules:
Applications received on or after March 20, 2015 will be issued with the MVA Rider.

For more information about this change or any of our annuity products, please contact us at 877-512-9287 or admin@pmg1.com.

*MVA rider not applicable in AL, AK, IL, MS, MN, OR, PA and WA.
Annuity contracts issued by Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company, Des Moines, Iowa.

Effective January 6, 2015, commissions will be change on the following Allianz fixed index annuities:

• Allianz 222® Annuity
• Allianz 360SM Annuity
• Allianz 365i® Annuity1
• Allianz Endurance® Plus Annuity
• MasterDex X® Annuity1
  
  

See the updated top general agent standard commission grid (M1035 (80 only) (PDF)) and Allianz PreferredSM commission grid (M1035 Preferred (80) (PDF)).

These changes do not affect the Allianz Preferred bonus compensation.

Business rules

• Applications received in the home office on or before Monday, January 5, 2015 will receive the higher commission.*
• Applications received in the home office on or after Tuesday, January 6, 2015 will receive the lower commission. No grace period applies.                          
  

*Grace period will apply for MasterDex X and Allianz 365i, as changes to these products impact contract owners.

Fidelity & Guaranty Life's Prosperity Elite 7 & 10 is now available in Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington as of 11/21/14.

Prosperity Elite® 7 and 10:

• Will have the following lite surrender charges:
  Prosperity Elite 7 - 9%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 0%
  Prosperity Elite 10 - 9%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0%

10-Year MYGA Special Extended through 12-02-14!

Great for clients with CDs* coming due or cash with app.

Effective October 14, 2014 through December 2, 2014.

North American Guarantee Choice
Multi-Year Guarantee Annuity (MYGA)

3.50% Guaranteed 10 Years
- Interest Rate for Initial Premium of $200,000 or more

3.25% Guaranteed 10 Years
- Interest Rate for Initial Premium less than $200,000

Please note that the vesting premium bonus on Fidelity & Guaranty Life's fixed indexed annuity Performance Pro will change for any contracts issued with an 11/22/14 buy date or later. 

The new vesting premium bonus will be 9% (0-75) and 4.5% (76-80).

Business Transition Rules:

• All new business and pending business issued with an 11/22/14 buy date or later will reflect the new vesting premium bonus of 9%/4.5% with no exceptions.
  
  
• To receive the current vesting premium bonus (10%/5%), cash with application and pending transfer money must be received no later than 11/13/14 and must be in "Good Order."
  
  

Feel free to contact PMG at 877-512-9287 or F&G Life directly at salesdesk@fglife.com with any additional questions. 

*Illustration software will be updated to reflect the new vesting premium bonus on 11/21/14.

Manhattan Insurance Group Annuity Sales Cash Bonus!

Earn up to a $500.00 cash bonus for all annuity business submitted between October 20th and December 19th, 2014.

Cash Bonus on Annuity Sales:
$500,000 + = $500.00 (max) 
$400,000 - $499,000 = $400.00
$300,000 - $399,000 = $300.00
$200,000 - $299,000 = $200.00
$100,000 - $199,000 = $100.00
$50,000 - $99,000 = $50.00

North American is excited to announce several annuity product changes to enhance its competitive product line effective September 30, 2014.