Delaware Life carrier profile

Who Delaware Life is in the annuity market

Delaware Life Insurance Company writes indexed and guaranteed annuities and has also acquired blocks of in-force business from other insurers. For owners, that second fact matters: a contract can be administered today by a company that did not issue it, which frequently prompts a call to a service centre that does not recognise the original agent.

• —Indexed and multi-year guaranteed contracts through independent distribution
• —Administration of acquired in-force blocks originally issued elsewhere
• —A- financial strength rating, within A.M. Best's Excellent category
• —Part of the privately held Group 1001 organisation

A- is an Excellent rating, not a warning

A.M. Best groups A and A- together as Excellent, inside the secure range. Owners frequently read the minus as a near-failing grade; it is not. The relevant comparison is between rating categories, not between modifiers within one.

That said, the rating is one input. State guaranty association coverage limits are the backstop, and they vary by state.

An administered block changes service, not terms

When a block is acquired, the contract terms continue as written. What changes is who services the contract, where statements come from, and which service centre answers the phone.

Reviews of acquired-block contracts should confirm current contact and beneficiary records, which are the records most often lost in a transfer.

What to check on a Delaware Life contract

• —Whether the contract was issued by Delaware Life or acquired from another carrier
• —Current beneficiary designations after any block transfer
• —Remaining surrender term and any market value adjustment
• —Guaranty association limits in your state of residence

Questions owners ask

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

Delaware Life Insurance Company is recorded in the AnnuityScore carrier network with an A.M. Best financial strength rating of A- (Excellent), which sits in the secure range of the scale.

My contract was issued by a different company. Why is Delaware Life servicing it?

Blocks of in-force annuity business are sometimes acquired by another insurer. The contract terms continue as written; the servicing company changes.