Shady Sales Tactics Pushing Indexed Annuities on
Seniors Exposed by Dateline
'When those agents go into the seniors' homes, it
is literally the wolf among the lambs'
April 15, 2008 - With an estimated 15 trillion
dollars under their control American senior citizens have become more of
a sales target than ever for insurance agents seeking to sell them
annuities. Last Sunday, April 13, NBC's Dateline went undercover
in "Tricks of the Trade" - a hidden camera investigation revealing what
some insurance agents say, and what they don't say, when they think they
are alone with a senior.
In his signature style, Chris Hansen then
confronts agents about their questionable sales pitches.
NBC News footage shows the widespread practice of
agents cloaking themselves in fancy titles and insurance agents
attending a seminar to learn these sales tactics.
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, who
reviewed Dateline's footage, and who has filed several suits
alleging fraud in the sale of annuities to seniors, tells Hansen:
"...what is tragic about it is when those agents go into the seniors'
homes, it is literally the wolf among the lambs."
Hanen says, "In an effort to get a slice of that
pie, some independent insurance agents, representing big insurance
companies, are selling a relatively new kind of investment to people
like Leo Stulen."
"Here, you know, they're selling something to
somebody who's got one foot in the grave and the other one on a banana
peel," said Stulen.
When he was 72 years old, Leo bought something
called an "equity indexed annuity." It's a legitimate investment for
some people, and sales have soared because insurance companies market
them as a safe place to put your money. But many seniors may not be
getting what they think they are buying, according to the NBC report.
The National Association for Fixed Annuities issued
a statement before the program ran, saying, "NAFA is concerned with the
consequences the story could have on the thousands of consumers for whom
fixed annuities are a perfectly sound, sensible and prudent component of
their retirement planning portfolio.
"Consumers may erroneously be left
with a negative view of fixed annuities or all sales people based upon
the deceptive sales practice of a few sales people. As a result, they
could react in a way that would be harmful to them especially in todays
economic environment."
>>
Page on NBC.com with much more on the Dateline report
>>
Watch this Dateline hidden camera story on your computer
