Wichita National Life At a Glance: Rates, Products and Reviews

Based in Lawton, Oklahoma, Wichita National Life Insurance Company was founded in 1957. The company offers a diverse lineup of products to support individuals in various stages of their life. It specializes in annuities, credit products, the disability income for students (ScholarGuard) and ancillary products sold through independent agents in ten states. Wichita National Life aims to help its customers “secure their family, finances, and future.”

Currently, Wichita National offers one multi-year guaranteed annuity (MYGA) to provide guaranteed returns and a consistent income stream during retirement.

Wichita National Life Insurance Company’s MYGA is called Security 5. Once your contract becomes effective, your account grows at a fixed interest rate for a five-year period, eliminating the risk of market downturns and the uncertainty that comes with them. Since your funds will increase on a tax-deferred basis, you won’t owe taxes on them until you make withdrawals. Security 5 is available to anyone between the ages of 18 and 79 and requires a minimum investment of $10,000.

If you pass away during the term of your Security 5 annuity, your spouse can choose to receive the death benefit or to continue the contract as the owner. Wichita Life also offers two optional riders to help you customize the product for your unique goals and priorities.

The enhanced death benefit rider allows your spouse to collect a benefit equal to the full value of your annuity upon your passing, either in a lump sum or periodically through regular payments. The 10% free withdrawal rider allows you to withdraw 10% of your account’s value early without paying surrender fees, adding greater flexibility and peace of mind.

Just like most annuity providers, Wichita Life Insurance Company charges fees on its Security 5, its MYGA product. If you exceed the penalty-free draw amount, you incur a surrender charge. The charge will depend on your state as well as the policy year.

Further, if you decide to make a full surrender or partial withdrawal that exceeds the penalty-free amount during the guarantee period, Wichita Life will apply a Market Value Adjustment or MVA, which might increase or decrease your benefits, depending on interest rate fluctuations.

Before you sign on the dotted line and move forward with Wichita Life’s Security 5 annuity, be sure you understand all potential fees and how they may impact your returns.

As you do your research and explore Wichita National Life Insurance Company and other annuity providers, it’s important to look at financial strength ratings, which indicate how likely a company is to meet their claim and annuity payment obligations. Wichita National Life Insurance Company has only been rated by AM Best with a B+ or Good rating.

Unfortunately, there are limited reviews on Wichita National Life online. However, the company did earn 2.7 out of 5 stars on Google, based on six reviews. In addition, Wichita National Life Insurance was not part of J.D. Power’s 2023 and 2024 individual annuity studies, likely because it’s a smaller provider with a limited geographic presence.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Complaint Index compiles an annual report to evaluate client satisfaction in the insurance and annuity industries. It compares each company’s complaints against the rest of the industry. Wichita Life scored a 0.00 complaint score on all policy types and individual annuities, but this doesn’t have much value as it only offers one annuity in select states and accounts for an exceedingly small portion of the U.S. market share.

Wichita National Life Insurance Company’s Security 5 annuity may make sense if you’re nearing retirement and hope to diversify your portfolio with guaranteed returns for five years, especially if you live in one of the several states it serves. However, you may want to look elsewhere if you’d like to choose from more annuity and rider options. Fortunately, there are many reputable annuity companies with a longer list of annuity products to help meet varying retirement goals.

Editor Norah Layne contributed to this article.