Allianz Life carrier profile

Who Allianz Life is in the annuity market

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America has been among the highest-volume issuers of indexed annuities in the country for well over a decade. Owned by Allianz SE, it writes fixed indexed, registered index-linked, and variable contracts through independent distribution. For an owner, the practical significance is that Allianz contracts tend to be feature-rich: they frequently carry a bonus, a separate income value, and a lifetime withdrawal benefit inside one policy.

• —Large-scale fixed indexed annuity issuance through independent agents and marketing organisations
• —Contracts that maintain a separate income or benefit value alongside the accumulation value
• —Premium bonus and interest bonus designs that vest through lifetime income rather than surrender
• —Registered index-linked designs marketed under the Index Advantage family

Two values, two very different meanings

The most common finding when reviewing an Allianz contract is that the owner remembers one number and the contract holds two. A protected income value or benefit base is an accounting figure used to calculate lifetime withdrawals; the accumulation value is what a cash surrender actually pays. Both appear on the annual statement, and the larger one is usually the income value.

Nothing about this is improper — it is how the product class is designed. It becomes a problem only when the plan of record assumed the larger number was accessible cash. A review separates the two explicitly before any other conclusion is drawn.

Bonuses that vest through income, not exit

Several Allianz designs credit a premium bonus and an interest bonus that only vest if the owner takes lifetime income after a waiting period. A surrender inside that window pays the accumulation value less any remaining charge, and the bonus does not travel with it.

The review question is therefore behavioural as much as financial: does the owner still intend to take lifetime income from this contract, and can they wait out the remaining period? If the answer has changed since purchase, the Fit pillar is where the score moves.

Charges are usually calculated on the larger value

Where an income benefit charge applies, it is frequently assessed against the income value rather than the accumulation value. Because the income value grows on its own schedule, the dollar charge tends to rise over time even when the accumulation value is flat.

Read the charge actually deducted on the last three annual statements rather than the percentage shown on an illustration prepared at issue.

What to check on a Allianz Life contract

• —Whether the number you remember is the income value rather than the cash surrender value
• —Years remaining before bonuses vest and income can be taken on best terms
• —The rider or benefit charge deducted in each of the last three contract years
• —Current declared caps and participation rates versus the first contract year

Questions owners ask

What is Allianz Life's A.M. Best rating?

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America is recorded in the AnnuityScore carrier network with an A.M. Best financial strength rating of A+ (Superior). Ratings can change; A.M. Best publishes the current rating at ambest.com.

Why is my Allianz statement showing two different values?

Most Allianz indexed contracts maintain an accumulation value and a separate income or benefit value. The first is what a surrender pays; the second is used only to calculate lifetime income. They are not interchangeable.

Is Allianz a safe annuity company?

Financial strength is measured by rating agencies, and A+ sits in A.M. Best's Superior category. Safety of a specific contract also depends on the guarantees written into it and, in the event of carrier failure, on your state guaranty association limits.