About Investors Heritage Life Insurance Company
Former Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Harry Lee Waterfield started the Investors Heritage Life Insurance Company in 1960. Based in Frankfort, Kentucky, the public company issued life insurance and annuities in multiple states.
Aquarian Holdings bought the company in 2018 and took it private. Since then, Investors Heritage has introduced several annuity products, which it says are responsible for its recent growth. S&P Global ranked the insurer as one of the fastest-growing players in the financial sub-sector, with their total premiums soaring 500% in 2021. The growth was generated in large part by a focus on annuity products.
The $1.5 billion company currently services more than 300,000 policies. Whether you seek financial security for retirement or low-risk investment vehicles for savings, Investors Heritage says it has several annuity solutions worth considering.
Credit Ratings of Investors Heritage Life Insurance Company
If you aim to buy an annuity, you will have many options across the insurance spectrum. A good place to start your search is to check the financial stability of the insurer of the annuity. A highly rated firm is unlikely to default on its contract when it’s time to receive your annuity payouts.
Independent credit-rating agencies like AM Best, Fitch Ratings, and Moody’s publish credit ratings of many annuity providers. AM Best’s latest ratings gave Investors Heritage a financial strength rating of B++ or “Good.” Fitch Ratings gave the company a financial strength score of BBB-.
Investors Heritage Credit Ratings
| Rating Agency | Financial Strength Score |
|---|---|
| AM Best | B++ |
| Fitch Ratings | BBB- |
These third-party ratings can rise, drop or stay the same, depending on the annuity provider’s most recent financial and business performance. It’s a good idea to track any credit ratings changes even after you’ve purchased your annuity. There are many conditions in which owners can transfer their annuity investment without generating a tax penalty from the Internal Revenue Service. However, each annuity product is unique, carrying specific regulations about transfers.
Annuity Products Offered by Investors Heritage
Investors Heritage’s annuities allow consumers to invest money from various sources, including retirement savings (such as IRAs), rollover funds and even non-qualified funds. Its primary annuity products are fixed-index annuities and multi-year guaranteed annuities (MYGA).
Fixed Index Annuities (FIA)
This is how a fixed index annuity from Investors Heritage works: you make a lump-sum (single premium) deposit into your account. The funds accrue interest tax free for a specified duration, after which they become available for payout.
There are two major ways to invest your FIA funds, both of which guarantee that you’ll never lose your initial investment. With a fixed account, your money grows at a uniform interest rate, no matter what happens to the market. With an indexed annuity, your money accumulates interest linked to the positive growth of at least one market index. Your money can either increase or stay the same (not accumulate any interest), but it can never decline, even when the linked market index has a negative performance.
Heritage Growth Advantage
Among Investors Heritage’s FIA products is its Heritage Growth Advantage annuity. It is ideal for investors 18 to 80 years old who are able to invest $25,000 to $2 million in a tax-deferred, interest-growing annuity. The money either goes into a guaranteed interest account or gets tied to an index or multiple indexes. With the index-based growth strategy, investors can renew their index selections after one or two years.
Participation rates determined by the annuity company provide another way to grow your Heritage Growth Advantage’s account value. For example, if you’re assigned a 50% participation rate and the market index is up 20%, your annuity funds increase by half of that growth, or 10%.
Heritage Income Advantage
Investors Heritage created a fixed index annuity for investors who are concerned about outliving their retirement savings. It allows you to invest between $25,000 and $1 million, if you’re 18 to 80 years old. And you become eligible for a premium bonus at the start of your contract.
The two options to grow your funds include a guaranteed-interest-rate fixed account and up to seven indexed accounts that add interest based on market index growth. Either way, your annuity never experiences negative growth in case of a market downturn.
There’s an optional lifetime withdrawal rider that you can purchase between the ages of 55 and 80, providing the ability to turn the investment into an immediate stream of income for the duration of one’s life. If you meet certain conditions, the earnings may be available as soon as one year after adding the rider. Investors that satisfy specific criteria have the option to double their guaranteed retirement income for up to five years.
Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuities
A multi-year guaranteed annuity (MYGA) allows you to grow your money at a fixed interest rate over a fixed period, such as three years. It’s an investment option for people approaching retirement with savings they don’t need for everyday living between now and the time they retire. Investors Heritage introduced the Heritage Builder annuity to serve this consumer segment.
Heritage Builder Annuity
Available to consumers up to 90 years of age, the Heritage Builder MYGA grows funds at a guaranteed interest rate over fixed terms of 3, 5 or 7 years. Purchasers can invest from $25,000 to $2 million into the annuity account and have any accrued interest available as soon as 30 days after issue.
The product has multiple free withdrawal options, with as much as 10% of the initial investment value available for withdrawal after the first contract year. An optional nursing home waiver allows you to cash out up to 50% of the funds under certain conditions.
Client Resources
You can reach out to an Investors Heritage representative via phone or an online contact form when looking to purchase or inquire about their annuities.
A dedicated virtual portal allows clients to sign in for real-time tracking of their invested funds. The digital resource lets you request certain changes to your annuity, including distributions. It also incorporates downloadable forms that you can fill out, print, sign and mail to the annuity issuer.
