Frequently asked questions.

GetSure is an independent, licensed insurance agency focused on annuities — the two kinds that come with a guarantee. A fixed annuity locks in a guaranteed rate for a set term (the CD alternative), and a pension annuity turns a lump sum into a guaranteed income for life. We don’t issue the policies ourselves — we compare the top-rated carriers and place the right one for you. Licensed in all 50 U.S. states.

Yes. We aren’t captive to any one insurer. We compare the top-rated carriers and point you to the rate or income that fits your situation — not the one that pays us most.

Yes, in all 50 U.S. states. You can look up our license on the NIPR website.

No. We’re licensed insurance producers, not investment advisers or accountants. For investments or taxes, talk to a registered investment adviser or a CPA. We cover fixed and income annuities, and the CDs we compare them against — nothing else.

No. Seeing your guaranteed rate or your monthly-income number is free and takes about a minute online — no form, no one calling you, no cold call ever. Buying is a bit different: because these are big, one-way decisions, a licensed advisor walks you through a plain best-interest review before anything is placed — the step we’re proudest of. But you come to us when you’re ready, on your own terms.

Nothing. The insurance company pays GetSure a commission only if a policy is placed, disclosed in writing before any money moves. You never pay us a fee, and it doesn’t change your rate.

No. The advisor who helps you is salaried — paid the same whether you buy or not — so there’s no commission riding on your decision and nothing to push. Before you ever apply, we run a plain best-interest review, out in the open, that can come back “not this much,” “not this product,” or “not yet.” When doing nothing is the right answer, we’ll tell you.

Your money never sits with us. When you buy, your funds go straight to the insurance company that issues the policy — we handle the paperwork, the wire, and the beneficiary forms, but the money moves from you to the carrier, not through us.

Yes, if you’re in the North Bay. We’d love to meet in person — come by our office, or we’re happy to chat at your kitchen table. Email or call to set it up.

No. We don’t sell or rent your data. We use it to answer your question and to stay in touch about the decision you sent us. Full details in our Privacy Policy.

We retain your information for as long as you’re an active customer, or as long as we need it to deliver the work. You can ask us to delete it at any time. Full details in our Privacy Policy.

A pension annuity — the industry name is a single-premium immediate annuity, or SPIA — turns a lump sum of your savings into a guaranteed paycheck for the rest of your life. You hand an insurance company a set amount; they send you a fixed check every month for as long as you live, no matter how long that is or what the markets do. It’s the closest thing to buying yourself a pension. See what your savings would pay you →

It comes down to four things: your age, whether you cover one life or two, how much you put in, and which payout option you pick. Older ages and larger amounts pay more. You can see your own number in about a minute on our income page — no contact info, no phone call.

Yes — this is really the heart of what we do. Tell us where to send it and we’ll mail you a free, personalized guide to income annuities, built around your own number: your quote, your carrier options, how the payout choices work in plain English, and a letter from our founder. It lands at your door in a few days. There’s no fee and no catch — the only “condition” is a soft one: if it’s the clearest explanation of this you’ve ever seen, you let us say hello. You read it on your own time; no one has to call you.

That’s the most important choice, and you make it up front. Most people choose a cash-refund option: if you pass before you’ve received back what you put in, your heirs get the difference — so the money isn’t lost. A joint payout keeps paying your spouse for their life too. A plain life-only payout pays the most each month but leaves nothing behind. We’ll show you what each option costs in monthly income so you can choose with your eyes open.

Yes. That’s the whole point of the product: the insurer takes on the risk of you living a long time, and your check doesn’t stop or shrink. It isn’t FDIC-insured — it’s backed by the insurer’s claims-paying ability and, up to your state’s limit, its guaranty association — which is why we place these only with highly-rated carriers.

No — and this is the one thing to be sure about before you buy. Once the income starts, the trade is done: you’ve exchanged that lump sum for the paycheck. That’s why we don’t recommend putting all of your savings into one, and why an advisor walks through it with you first. If you might need that money as a lump, this isn’t the right product — and we’ll say so.

If you fund it with ordinary savings, only part of each check is taxable — the rest is treated as your own money coming back to you. If you fund it from an IRA or another pre-tax account, the checks are taxed as income, the same as that account would have been. We’re not tax advisers, so confirm the specifics with your CPA.

It fits someone who wants a floor of income they can’t outlive — a check that covers the essentials no matter what the market does — and who keeps other savings liquid for everything else. It’s not for money you’ll need to touch, and it isn’t for everyone. Part of our job is telling you when it isn’t for you.

A fixed annuity — specifically a multi-year guaranteed annuity, or MYGA — is a guaranteed interest rate locked in for a set number of years, from an insurance company. You put in a lump sum, it grows at a fixed rate you’re told up front, and at the end of the term you take your money and its interest. Think of it as a CD from an insurer instead of a bank — usually at a higher rate. See today’s rates →

They’re close cousins — both lock a guaranteed rate for a set term. The differences: a MYGA comes from an insurance company rather than a bank; the rate is usually a bit higher; and the growth is tax-deferred, so you don’t owe tax on the interest until you take it out, where a bank CD is taxed every year. The trade-off is that a MYGA is backed by the insurer and your state’s guaranty association rather than the FDIC, and it’s meant to be held for the full term.

It isn’t FDIC-insured. A fixed annuity is backed by the claims-paying ability of the insurer that issues it and, up to your state’s limit, by your state’s guaranty association — the safety net for insurance policies. We quote only highly-rated carriers. Here’s how that protection works: Are annuities FDIC-insured?

You can, but during the term there’s usually a surrender charge, and sometimes a market-value adjustment, so you could get back less than you put in. Most contracts do let you take a slice each year — often around 10% — penalty-free. The simple rule: only put money into a MYGA that you won’t need until the term is up.

It’s your call. You can take the money and interest in cash, roll it into a new annuity at whatever rates are then, or move it to another carrier. We’ll flag the date ahead of time so it doesn’t quietly renew into something you didn’t choose.

Rates change weekly. You can see today’s top fixed-annuity and CD rates side by side on our rates page — free, no sign-up. Right now the best MYGA rates run above what most banks pay on CDs, which is a big part of why people are moving maturing CD money into them before rates fall.