In 'The Annuity Report' I covered and rated the top best selling variable annuity companies. I have excluded captive companies such as American Express or Ameriprise and companies that primarily sell through their proprietary sales force. I have chosen to exclude these companies because they , generally speaking, only make their proprietary products available to their sales force, which is why these products are even listed in the top 20 best selling variable annuity contracts, according to VARDS.

Each contract and benefit is rated from one star to five stars, one being poor and five being excellent. A score of two stars means it is below average, three stars is average and 4 stars is above average. These scores take several factors into consideration. The top factors are cost, how easy is it to understand and functionality. There is a strict formula to rating the contracts, this avoids any biased behavior, and the top factors listed have an impact on the overall rating, but they are not the only factors considered. In other words I am not telling the exact formula.

Here are the list of companies covered in 'The Annuity Report':

AIG

Allianz

Allstate

American Skandia

AXA

The Hartford Director/The Hartford Leaders

ING

Jackson National Life

John Hancock

Met Life

Nationwide

Ohio National Life

Pacific Life

Sun Life