Were You Misled About an Annuity or Insurance Investment?

If you lost money after being sold an annuity, life insurance policy, or other insurance-based investment product, the recommendation may deserve closer review.

Former Broker & Investment Adviser. Now Representing Investors.

Speak Directly With Attorney Glenn Mazer

How Annuity and Insurance Sales Can Go Wrong

Annuities and insurance-based products can be complicated, expensive, and difficult to unwind. Problems may arise when the product is sold using misleading promises or without explaining important costs, restrictions, and risks. Warning signs can include:

  • Promises that the investment was “safe” or “guaranteed”
  • Failure to explain surrender charges or limits on accessing your money
  • Replacing an existing annuity or insurance policy without a clear benefit
  • Large commissions or sales incentives that were not adequately explained
  • Unrealistic claims about income, returns, or future policy values
  • Premiums or contributions that were inappropriate for the customer’s finances
  • Using retirement or investment assets to fund a complicated insurance product
  • Selling a product that did not fit the customer’s age, liquidity needs, or financial objectives

When Annuity or Insurance Misrepresentations Should Be Investigated

A disappointing result alone does not prove misconduct. But a closer review may be warranted when the product was sold using misleading statements about safety, guarantees, income, liquidity, surrender charges, policy values, or expected performance—or when the product did not fit the customer’s age, financial condition, or investment objectives.

Who May Be Responsible for Annuity or Insurance Losses?

Depending on the facts, responsibility may extend beyond the individual agent or financial advisor. The insurance company, brokerage firm, investment advisory firm, bank-affiliated program, or other financial institution may also be responsible if it failed to supervise the sale, ignored warning signs, or allowed an unsuitable product to be sold.

  • The insurance agent or financial advisor
  • The insurance company that issued the product
  • The brokerage firm responsible for supervision
  • An investment advisory firm involved in the recommendation
  • A bank-affiliated investment program
  • Other firms or entities involved in selling or supervising the transaction

Mazer Law Firm can review your investment records and help determine whether broker misconduct or brokerage-firm supervision failures may have contributed to your losses.

How Can You Recover Investment Losses?

Many investment-loss claims are brought through FINRA arbitration against the financial advisor, brokerage firm, or both. Depending on the facts, claims may involve unsuitable recommendations, misrepresentations, excessive trading, failure to supervise, breach of fiduciary duty, or other misconduct. In some situations, claims may also be pursued in state or federal court.

The right path depends on how the investment was sold, who recommended it, the agreements governing the account, and the deadlines that apply. A careful review of the account records and communications is often the first step in determining whether a recoverable claim exists.

 

Before You Surrender or Replace the Annuity or Insurance Product

If you believe you were misled, do not automatically surrender the annuity, cancel the policy, or move the money before understanding the consequences. Surrender charges, tax consequences, loss of benefits, and other issues may affect what you should do next. The transaction and sales records should also be preserved and reviewed.

Talk With an Attorney About an Annuity or Insurance Investment

If you believe you were misled about an annuity, life insurance policy, or other insurance-based investment, Mazer Law Firm can review what was sold, what you were told, and whether the agent, financial advisor, insurance company, or other financial institution may be responsible. Speak directly with Attorney Glenn Mazer about what happened.