‘Worthless.’ The adviser who sold me my life insurance and annuities has ‘orphaned me’ — but I need answers and decisions made. So now what?
Question: “My life insurance and IRA annuities salesman orphaned me. I’ve called the companies whose products he sold me and they are also hands-off; neither is providing any assistance to me. They’re also not providing any alternative within their corporate staff to guide me in what decisions I need to make. Is this fair, ethical, professional or moral? It’s worthless and bad faith behavior. What can I do at this point?”
Answer: Unfortunately, issues like this come up often enough when working with insurance salespeople, who are typically not required to act as a fiduciary and in your best interest, says Willie Jones, managing director of member success at DPL Financial Partners. (You can use this free tool to get matched with fiduciary advisers from our ad partner SmartAsset, as well as sites like CFP Board and NAPFA.) “It sounds like your agent’s approach was purely transactional; they were paid a commission upfront for the deal, which often leads to poor support once the contract is signed, especially if there aren’t additional assets to move,” says Jones.
