WINK’S SUBSCRIBERS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE IN THE POST-DOL RULE ERA
July 12, 2017 by Press Release
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NEWS RELEASE
WINK’S SUBSCRIBERS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE IN THE POST-DOL RULE ERA
Wink, Inc.’s AnnuitySpecs Analysis Tool Reveals Key Enhancements
Des Moines, Iowa. July 11, 2017— Staying true to their vital mission statement, “To provide the best darned competitive intelligence to the life insurance and annuity industries,” Wink, Inc., is excited to reveal recent enhancements to their industry-leading analysis tool for annuities, the “one-stop annuity shop,” AnnuitySpecs. Wink is the competitive intelligence firm behind the #1 source for annuity and life insurance product information, which has specialized in providing annuity product data to the industry for nearly 13 years, at www.LookToWink.com.
Annuity professionals subscribing to Wink’s services have the upper-hand in aiding their due diligence efforts concerning the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule regulation. Wink’s AnnuitySpecs houses a complete listing of annuity product specifications for over 2,000 active and non-active annuities. The product specifications are assembled by the Wink team’s product experts, and written in laymen’s terms so that users are able to fully interpret each product and its features. AnnuitySpecs is updated daily, with every product specification reviewed by the respective underwriting insurance carrier for utmost accuracy and compliance.
AnnuitySpecs has the most advanced search engine in the annuity market, allowing users to search using more than 60 different search criteria and giving the ability to create side-by-side product comparisons— a must have in the new post-DOL rule environment. Users can obtain compensation information, crucial to determining “reasonable compensation” due diligence, in addition to using the newest enhancement in AnnuitySpecs, to search for fee-based annuities. “Fee-based annuities have become a source of concentration in annuity product development since the DOL proposed the Fiduciary Rule. Now, the industry can use our database to stay on top of these emerging products,” said Sheryl J. Moore, CEO at Wink.
AnnuitySpecs’ detailed Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits (GLWB) search has also been enhanced to include a specific search for GLWBs with an “increasing income” feature during the payout phase, as well as a new search option for “stacking rollup” features; these are in addition to over 20 unique search options regarding the riders’ rollups, rollup durations, payout options and much more. “GLWBs on fixed and indexed annuities have become increasingly innovative. We want to provide solutions for professionals to identify the most-desired income rider features at AnnuitySpecs,” asserted Moore.
Wink is committed to the advocacy of the annuity and life insurance industries; continuously growing and adapting their business to customers’ needs. Today, Wink’s AnnuitySpecs tool houses nearly 300% more products than some of their competitors, and 200% more companies are represented in their system. While traditional fixed, multi-year guaranteed, and indexed annuities can be accessed within the database today—with great anticipation, Wink has initiated the project of adding variable annuities (VAs) to their database. This new product line is being added to the AnnuitySpecs database in response to great demand from current subscribers who are searching for highly-detailed, timely, and accurate data on the variable annuity side of the industry. Subscribers can rest assured that the product experts at Wink will be assembling VA product information that is complete and easy-to-understand so that users can easily assess what is in their client’s best interests. Wink’s chief executive remarked, “Annuity stakeholders are being bombarded with offers from companies charging as much as 500% more than AnnuitySpecs. It is time to respond to these professionals’ demands for a more thorough resource, developed by experts who understand the products, at a price that is a better value than what is being offered today.”
For more information, contact the Wink team at www.winkintel.com.
Wink, Inc. is the company behind the most comprehensive life insurance and annuity due-diligence tools, AnnuitySpecs and LifeSpecs at www.LookToWink.com.
The staff of Wink, Inc. has the combined experience of more than six decades working with insurance products. Based in Des Moines, Iowa, the firm offers competitive intelligence and market research in the life insurance and annuity industries; serving financial services professionals, distributors, manufacturers, regulators, and consultants on both a domestic and global basis.
Sheryl J. Moore is president and CEO is the guiding force behind AnnuitySpecs and LifeSpecs. Ms. Moore previously worked as a market research analyst for top carriers in the indexed life and annuity industries. Her views on the direction of the market are frequently heard in seminars and quoted by industry trade journals.
July 11, 2017
Des Moines, IA
(855) ASK-WINK
