Updated November 2026
Short answer: To sell annuities you need a resident life insurance license, the one-time annuity best-interest training your state requires, anti-money-laundering training and carrier appointments through an IMO or other upline. From there the work is a repeatable process: learn a short list of products well, build a steady source of prospects, run a documented best-interest fact find, recommend and explain the product, submit clean paperwork and keep servicing the client. Fixed annuities (MYGAs, fixed indexed, immediate and deferred income) need only an insurance license; variable annuities and RILAs also need securities registration.
Our job is to beat your current annuity commission.
Stuck at your current commission level, or simply want higher commission? Our sole purpose is to scale your business by beating your current commission levels. No matter your current commission level, if you meet our minimum requirements (solo producers have none), you automatically get higher commission than where you are today. Starting comp is for every producer, including new producers with no experience — there is no production minimum. If you have strong production to show, we contract you above our starting comp. Established agencies, financial advisors and financial firms, and healthcare agencies can earn much higher too. Submit your application, schedule a Zoom, and we review your current commission levels carrier by carrier and contract you above them — with full back office support, case management, carrier contracting and sales tools included.
Step 1: Get licensed to sell annuities
Fixed annuities are insurance products, so the base requirement is a life insurance producer license (the life line of authority) in your resident state. You take a state pre-licensing course, pass the state exam and apply through your state insurance department. To write clients in other states, you add non-resident licenses, usually through NIPR.
If you want to offer variable annuities or registered index-linked annuities (RILAs), those are securities. You also need FINRA registration through a broker-dealer (typically the Series 6 or Series 7) and, in most states, the Series 63. Many independent producers build a fixed-annuity practice first and add securities later, or never.
Step 2: Complete the required annuity training
Most states have adopted the NAIC best-interest standard for annuity sales (Model Regulation #275). Under it, producers complete a one-time, four-credit annuity training course before soliciting annuities, and they must also complete each carrier's product-specific training before selling that carrier's product. Carriers that issue annuities also run anti-money-laundering programs, so expect an AML course during contracting. Some states add their own rules, so check your state. Our annuity training requirements guide walks through each requirement.
Step 3: Get contracted and appointed with carriers
Independent producers get access to carriers through an IMO, FMO or NGA. Your upline submits your contracting paperwork, the carrier appoints you, and your commission level is set on that contract. This is where producers lose the most money without noticing: the same product can pay very different first-year commission depending on the contract level you are placed at. Compare levels carrier by carrier before you sign, and look at what the upline actually provides, such as case management, illustrations and help with transfers. Our annuity carrier list shows starting comp for 68 carriers and 345 products.
Step 4: Learn a short list of products well
You do not need every product on the market. Most fixed-annuity practices are built on a handful:
- Multi-year guaranteed annuities (MYGAs) for clients comparing CDs or looking for a guaranteed rate for a set term. See MYGAs.
- Fixed indexed annuities (FIAs) for principal protection with index-linked interest. See fixed indexed annuities.
- Income riders on FIAs for guaranteed lifetime withdrawals. See income rider annuities.
- Single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs) and deferred income annuities (DIAs) for turning a lump sum into income. See SPIAs and DIAs.
Know each product's surrender schedule, free-withdrawal rules, rider fees, crediting methods, issue ages and how it pays you. Commission usually drops as issue age rises and as the surrender period shortens, and many products offer a heaped or a trail option. Our FIA vs MYGA guide and heaped vs trail guide cover the trade-offs.
Step 5: Choose a market you can reach
The producers who grow fastest pick a lane: pre-retirees rolling over a 401(k), CD and savings holders whose rates are resetting, clients facing required minimum distributions, people planning around Social Security timing, or an existing book of life or Medicare clients. Agencies that already serve Medicare clients can add annuities, but they must keep the Medicare and annuity conversations separate under CMS rules. See Medicare agencies adding annuities.
Step 6: Build a steady source of prospects
Annuity appointments come from five places: your own client book, referrals and centers of influence (CPAs, estate attorneys, other advisors), educational workshops and webinars, purchased leads or inbound calls, and your own marketing. Most successful producers combine two or three. Our guides to annuity leads and annuity marketing for agents cover each channel and the compliance rules that come with it.
Step 7: Run a documented best-interest fact find
Under the best-interest standard you must gather and consider the consumer's financial situation, insurance needs and financial objectives before recommending an annuity. In practice that means documenting age, income, assets, liquidity needs, time horizon, risk tolerance, tax status, existing annuities and how the client intends to use the money. If the purchase replaces an existing annuity or life policy, document why the replacement is in the client's interest, including surrender charges, lost benefits and new surrender periods. Our best-interest checklist and 1035 exchange checklist cover what to record.
Step 8: Present, recommend and submit clean business
Explain the product in plain language: how interest is credited, what the surrender schedule is, how much can be withdrawn each year without a charge, what riders cost and what the free-look period is. Use only carrier-approved illustrations and materials. Then submit a complete application with the suitability or best-interest form, replacement forms, transfer or 1035 paperwork and the disclosures the carrier requires. Not-in-good-order (NIGO) cases are the most common reason for delayed issue and delayed commission. Strong case management catches missing signatures and mismatched transfer forms before they cost you weeks.
Step 9: Service the client and grow by referral
After issue, the relationship is what produces your next sales: annual reviews, RMD reminders, beneficiary updates, rate-renewal conversations on MYGAs and income-start decisions on income riders. Clients who feel looked after refer friends and family, which is the lowest-cost source of new annuity business.
Can you sell annuities over the phone?
Yes. Many carriers allow non-face-to-face annuity sales with e-applications and electronic signatures, and plenty of producers run phone-and-video practices. The best-interest documentation, disclosures and replacement rules are the same whether you meet in person or not, and some carriers limit certain products or ages for telephone sales. Calling prospects is also subject to telemarketing law: you need proper consent for autodialed or prerecorded marketing calls and texts, and you must honor do-not-call lists.
How do annuity producers make money?
Carriers pay a commission based on premium, set by product, surrender period, issue age and payout option. On a heaped option you receive the full first-year commission when the contract issues; on a trail option you receive less up front plus an ongoing percentage of contract value. If a contract is surrendered or the owner dies within the carrier's chargeback window, part of the commission can be taken back. Your contract level determines how much of the carrier's grid reaches you, which is why the upline you choose matters as much as the product. Our annuity commissions guide explains how the calculation works.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license to sell annuities?
Yes. Fixed annuities require a life insurance producer license in your resident state plus non-resident licenses for other states you write in. Variable annuities and registered index-linked annuities also require FINRA securities registration through a broker-dealer, typically the Series 6 or 7 and, in most states, the Series 63.
What training do I need before selling an annuity?
In states that adopted the NAIC best-interest model (#275), a one-time four-credit annuity training course plus each carrier's product-specific training. Carriers also require anti-money-laundering training during contracting, and some states add their own requirements.
Is it hard to sell annuities?
The process is learnable, but it is a consultative sale with real compliance work. Producers who succeed usually focus on a few products, one or two prospect sources and a consistent fact-finding process, and they partner with an upline that handles contracting and case management well.
Can new agents sell annuities?
Yes, once they are licensed, trained and appointed. At BetterAnnuityComp.com starting comp has no experience requirement and no production minimum.
Can BetterAnnuityComp.com beat my current annuity commission?
That is our sole job: no matter your current commission level, if you meet our minimum requirements (solo producers have none), you automatically get higher commission than where you are today. Starting comp is for every producer, including new producers with no experience, and there is no production minimum. If you have strong production to show, we contract you above our starting comp, and established agencies, financial advisors and financial firms, and healthcare agencies can earn above it too. Submit your application, schedule a Zoom and share your current commission levels by carrier. We compare them carrier by carrier and contract you above them, with full back office support, case management, carrier contracting and sales tools included.
Sources
- NAIC — Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation (#275)
- eCFR — 31 CFR 1025.210, AML programs for insurance companies
- FINRA — Variable Annuities
Ready to sell annuities at a higher commission level? BetterAnnuityComp.com, powered by BetterLifeQuotes.com, works to beat your current annuity commission — starting comp has no experience requirement and no production minimum, and strong producers are contracted higher — plus case management and carrier contracting. Solo producers and advisors can apply here, agencies can use the agency application, and anyone can browse the annuity carrier list. See how we beat your current commission.