# Life Insurance and Annuity FAQ | Lighthouse Legacy Strategies > Straight answers from Sharon Donovan on how agents are paid, whether annuities are worth it, living benefits, IUL and what happens on the first call. Canonical page: https://lighthouselegacystrategies.com/faq # Straight answers, including the awkward ones How I am paid, what an annuity actually costs you, whether IUL is a scam, and what happens on the first call. If a question is missing, call and ask it. No question matches that. Try a shorter word, or [ask it on a call](https://lighthouselegacystrategies.com/contact). 14 questions ## Working with Sharon ### What does an independent insurance agent do? An independent agent helps you work out what you need, compares options from multiple insurance carriers, and handles the application and the service work afterward. Independent means I am not tied to one company's shelf of products. I am based in central Arkansas and work with families across Arkansas, Missouri and Texas, mostly by phone and video. ### What is the difference between a captive agent and an independent agent? A captive agent represents one insurance company and can only offer what that company sells. An independent agent has access to products from multiple carriers and can compare them side by side. The practical difference is choice: when one carrier prices a case badly or declines it, I have somewhere else to go. ### Does it cost anything to work with an independent agent? No. My compensation comes from the insurance company you choose, and it does not change your premium. You pay the same price working with me as you would going direct to the company. There is no consultation fee, planning fee or retainer at any stage. ### How do insurance agents get paid? Insurance carriers pay a commission on policies placed with them, typically a percentage of the premium, with a smaller ongoing amount in later years for servicing the policy. You do not write a separate check to me. If you want to know how I am compensated on a specific recommendation, ask during the call and you will get a straight answer. ### Are you a financial advisor? No. I am a licensed insurance agent, and my work is life insurance and annuities. I am not a registered investment adviser, I do not manage portfolios and I do not charge advisory fees. Education about how retirement income works is part of the conversation, but any specific recommendation from me is about insurance. For investment, tax and legal questions, work with professionals licensed for those. ### Do you sell stocks or mutual funds? No. I do not sell securities of any kind, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds or variable products that require securities registration. My work is life insurance, indexed universal life, annuities and retirement income strategies built around those. If your question is about a brokerage account, I will tell you plainly that it sits outside what I am licensed to handle. ### Can you give tax or legal advice? No. I am not a tax professional and not an attorney, so I cannot advise on your tax situation, draft documents or interpret law for you. I can explain how an insurance product is structured and what questions to take to your CPA or attorney. Many clients bring me into a conversation alongside those professionals. ### What products do you offer? Term life, whole life, indexed universal life, living benefits, fixed annuities, fixed indexed annuities, final expense insurance, mortgage protection and retirement income planning built around those products. Because I am independent, the specific carriers available to you depend on the product, your situation and the state you live in. ### What states are you licensed in? Arkansas, Missouri and Texas. My National Producer Number is 18170848, and licenses can be checked through any state insurance department's records. Most consultations happen by phone or video, so where you live inside those three states does not matter. If you live elsewhere, I will tell you on the first call rather than waste your time. ### How can I verify that you are licensed? Look me up through a state insurance department. My National Producer Number is 18170848, and most states let you search a producer by name or number in a couple of minutes on the department website. Verifying anyone before sharing personal or financial information is good practice, and any legitimate agent will hand you the number without hesitating. ### Who do you work with most? Federal employees, healthcare professionals and truck drivers, along with the families that depend on them. Each group has its own page on this site because each carries a different set of gaps: FEGLI and survivor elections, hospital group coverage that ends with the job, and owner-operators with no safety net at all. Anyone in Arkansas, Missouri or Texas is welcome to call. ### How do I know whether I need insurance at all? Ask who would be financially harmed if your income stopped tomorrow. If the honest answer is nobody, you may not need life insurance right now, and I will tell you that. If somebody depends on you, shares a mortgage with you or would have to pay for your funeral, there is something worth looking at. The amount and the type follow that answer. ### What makes you different from a large national company? You talk to me. I take my own calls, run my own consultations and handle my own applications, so nothing gets handed off to a stranger after the sale. Being independent means I compare carriers instead of defending one shelf. And I say the unhelpful parts out loud, including when the right answer is to keep what you already own or do nothing at all. ### Is my personal information private? Yes. Information you share is used to understand your situation and prepare recommendations, and it is not sold. It reaches an insurance carrier only when you choose to apply, and only as that application requires. The privacy policy on this site covers the specifics. Please avoid emailing Social Security or account numbers, and I will give you a safer route when that information is needed. 12 questions ## Products and strategy ### What is the difference between term and permanent life insurance? Term covers you for a set number of years and pays only if you die during that period. Permanent coverage, such as whole life or indexed universal life, is designed to last for life and can build cash value over time. Term costs less for the same death benefit. Permanent does more but carries structure worth understanding fully, including charges, policy loans and how cash value actually behaves. ### Can I own both term and whole life insurance? Yes, and it is often the smartest structure: a larger term policy to cover income replacement and the mortgage years, plus a smaller whole life policy for permanent needs like final expenses and legacy. Many of the families I work with end up with exactly that. ### What is an annuity and who is it for? An annuity is a contract with an insurance company, usually bought to turn savings into income or to hold money under a defined set of guarantees and limits. It suits people at or near retirement who value income they cannot outlive over maximum growth. Every annuity has trade-offs: surrender periods, caps, fees and limited access. Anyone who skips that part is not doing the job properly. ### What is a fixed indexed annuity? A fixed indexed annuity is an insurance contract whose interest credits are tied to the performance of a market index, with a floor that protects your principal from index losses. You are not invested in the index and you do not own shares. In exchange for that protection, the upside is limited by caps, participation rates or spreads. Those limits vary by carrier and can change over time. ### Is my principal really protected in a fixed indexed annuity? Yes. Your principal and locked-in gains are contractually protected from market losses, backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. That is why the carrier's financial strength matters and why I show you the company's ratings before you decide anything. Surrender charges and rider fees are the two ways you can still end up with less. ### Can I roll my 401(k), TSP or IRA into an annuity? Yes. Qualified funds can typically roll into a fixed or fixed indexed annuity held inside an IRA without triggering taxes when it is done as a direct rollover. Whether you should depends on your income needs, your timeline and your risk tolerance. That is a conversation, not a sales pitch, and your tax professional confirms the tax side. ### How much income will an annuity pay me? It depends on your deposit, your age, when income starts and the payout option you choose. As a rough example, a lifetime income rider often pays a set percentage of the benefit base each year, and that percentage rises the later you start. I show you real numbers from the carrier before you decide anything. ### What are living benefits? Living benefits, also called accelerated benefit riders, let you access part of your life insurance death benefit while you are still alive if you are diagnosed with a qualifying critical, chronic or terminal illness. Many policies include them at no extra premium. Any amount you accelerate reduces the death benefit your family later receives. ### Is a living benefits rider the same as long-term care insurance? No. A living benefits rider is an early-access feature built into a life insurance policy, while long-term care insurance is a separate policy designed specifically for extended care costs. They can work together, but they are not the same thing, and I explain the difference before anyone relies on one for the other. ### Is IUL a scam? Indexed universal life is a regulated insurance product, not a scam, though it is frequently oversold and widely misunderstood. Most criticism traces back to illustrations that projected optimistic crediting, policy charges nobody explained, or a policy sold to someone who needed term. Ask to see the guaranteed and conservative columns of any illustration, and understand every charge before signing. I show you both. ### Are the guarantees actually guaranteed? Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company, not by any government agency. That is why the insurer's financial strength matters and why I look at ratings before recommending a contract. Illustrated or projected values are not guarantees, and dividends are not guaranteed. Read the guaranteed column of any illustration, because that is what the company is contractually committed to. ### How do I compare carriers? Compare the contract, not the sales page. Look at the guaranteed column rather than the illustrated one, the financial strength rating of the insurer, the surrender schedule on an annuity, the caps on an indexed product, and what each rider actually costs. Premiums that look similar can behave very differently over thirty years. I put that comparison in writing so you can check it. 15 questions ## Practical questions ### How do I book a consultation? Call or text (501) 516-9456, email sharon.donovan@wealthwave.com, or pick a time on the calendar on the contact page. First available times are typically within a few business days, and evenings are available. There is no cost and no obligation attached to booking one, and no product is presented. ### Is there a cost for the first call? No. The initial consultation is free, and so is the written summary you receive afterward. I am compensated by insurance carriers when a client chooses to place a policy through me, not by charging you for the conversation. Nothing about the first call is billable to you. ### What happens on the first call? We cover four things: where you are today, what you are actually worried about, what your options are in plain language, and what happens next. Nothing is presented for signature and no application is on the table. You leave with a written summary of where you stand. If a second call makes sense, we book it then. ### How long does the first call take? About twenty to thirty minutes. That is long enough to understand your situation properly without turning your day into a project. If your situation is complicated, for example a pension election and several policies, I may suggest a second call rather than rushing the first. I will say that at the time instead of quietly running over. ### Do you meet in person or by phone? Mostly by phone or video, because federal shifts, hospital schedules and long-haul routes do not fit an office visit. In-person meetings around central Arkansas can be arranged when it helps. Tell me which you prefer when you book. ### Where are you located? I am based in the Little Rock, Arkansas area and licensed in Arkansas, Missouri and Texas. Because most consultations happen by phone or video, where you live inside those three states does not matter. Call (501) 516-9456 to set up a time. ### What if I live in a state you are not licensed in? Tell me on the first call and I will say so directly. I cannot place insurance business in a state where I am not licensed, and I will not pretend otherwise. If I cannot help you, I would rather say that in five minutes than book a call that goes nowhere. ### Do I need documents ready before I book? No. Nothing is required to get on the calendar or to hold the first call. We start with what you know and build from there. If documents would sharpen the conversation, I will name the ones that help and you can send them before a second call. Waiting until you feel organized is the most common reason people put this off for years. ### How quickly will you respond? Calls and texts are usually answered the same day. Email is answered within one business day. If you have not heard back within a business day, call (501) 516-9456 directly rather than waiting. ### Can I get an appointment outside normal business hours? Yes. Evenings and early mornings are normal here, because most of the people I work with are on shifts or on the road. Ask when you book and we will find a time rather than making you take a half day off work for a first conversation. ### Will I be sold something on the first call? No. Nothing is presented for signature at the first call and there is no application on the table. The purpose is to understand your situation and give you a written summary of where you stand. If I think a product fits, I say so and explain the trade-offs, including where it would be the wrong answer. Deciding to do nothing is a legitimate outcome. ### Who will I actually speak with? Me. There is no call center, no lead form routing you to a stranger, and no assistant handling the first call. You have my direct number from the first conversation onward. ### Can I call or text instead of using the calendar? Yes. Call or text (501) 516-9456 and use the calendar only if you prefer it. Texting works well for scheduling. Nothing you send goes to a third-party call center. ### What if I already have an agent or a policy? Bring it. Second opinions are one of the most common calls I take. Bring the in-force illustration for a life policy or the contract for an annuity, and I will read it with you, including the surrender schedule, the caps and the parts that are not in your favor. Replacing existing coverage is not automatically an upgrade, and often the honest answer is to keep it. ### Can I bring my spouse? Yes, and I encourage it. Decisions about income, coverage and a survivor election rarely belong to one person, and repeating a thirty minute conversation secondhand loses most of it. Video calls make this easy when the two of you are not in the same place. ## Still have a question? Ask it on a call. Twenty to thirty minutes, no product presented, no application opened. Bring the awkward questions. Those are the useful ones. --- Lighthouse Legacy Strategies, the independent insurance practice of Sharon Donovan, a licensed life insurance and annuity agent in Arkansas, Missouri and Texas, based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Retirement income planning, annuities, life insurance and IUL with living benefits, final expense and mortgage protection. Sharon Donovan (501) 516-9456 (call or text), sharon.donovan@wealthwave.com. By appointment, including evenings. Most consultations happen by phone or video. Important disclosures: Lighthouse Legacy Strategies is an independent insurance practice. Sharon Donovan is a licensed insurance agent (NPN 18170848) in Arkansas, Missouri and Texas. This website is for educational purposes only and is not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Policy loans and withdrawals reduce cash value and death benefits. Not affiliated with any government agency. Full set: https://lighthouselegacystrategies.com/disclosures Powered by [Launch Automation](https://launchautomation.ai/websites/)