Is Ibexis a Good Insurance Company?

Ibexis Life & Annuity Insurance Company is a focused, accumulation-only annuity carrier with a clear product philosophy: two simple products, no income riders, no life insurance, no complexity. The company has roots going back to 1937 — originally known as Sunset Life Insurance Company — and rebranded as Ibexis in 2021 with an exclusive mission to serve the fixed annuity market through independent agents. It holds an AM Best A- (Excellent) rating with a stable outlook, operates in 45 states and the District of Columbia, and carries over $1.8 billion in assets. The MYGA Plus series consistently ranks near the top of A-rated MYGA rate comparisons, which is the primary reason most consumers and advisors encounter Ibexis. At Diversified Insurance Brokers, Jason Stolz, CLTC, CRPC, DIA, CAA, evaluates Ibexis products the same way we evaluate every carrier: against the full market, for your specific term, premium, and retirement income objective — because Ibexis is genuinely competitive for what it offers, and genuinely limited for what it does not.

Company Snapshot

The MYGA Plus: A Top-Tier Guaranteed Rate in a Clean Package

The MYGA Plus is the product that put Ibexis on the map in the independent annuity channel. Available in three, five, and seven-year terms, it provides a guaranteed fixed interest rate locked in from day one — no caps, no participation rates, no indexed crediting complexity. The rate is what it says it is for the entire term, and your principal cannot decline from market performance. Starting in the second contract year, the MYGA Plus allows up to 10% of the contract value as a penalty-free withdrawal annually — a standard and competitive liquidity provision for the MYGA market. A market value adjustment may apply to surrenders beyond the free withdrawal amount, which means the amount returned on early exit could be more or less than the contract value depending on where interest rates are at the time of surrender. Our resource on what a market value adjustment is covers exactly how this works and when it matters.

What makes the MYGA Plus genuinely stand out is rate consistency. Ibexis frequently trades the top position in A-rated MYGA rate comparisons with carriers like F&G and Oceanview across multiple terms. For clients whose objective is straightforward guaranteed accumulation — maximizing the guaranteed yield from an A-rated carrier for a defined three-to-seven-year window — Ibexis is almost always on the shortlist, and often at the top of it. The product is also available in premium-banded tiers, meaning larger deposits may qualify for a higher guaranteed rate than the base tier. Our full product review of the Ibexis MYGA Plus covers the term options, rate tiers, free withdrawal provisions, surrender schedule, and how it compares in a live multi-carrier MYGA context. The carrier comparison context — showing Ibexis alongside F&G’s Guarantee-Platinum, Atlantic Coast Life, and Heritage Growth products — is covered in our resources on the F&G Guarantee-Platinum MYGA, Atlantic Coast Life Accumulation Protector Plus, and Heritage Growth Advantage Plus.

The FIA Plus: Indexed Growth Without an Income Rider

The FIA Plus is Ibexis’s fixed indexed annuity — and it is worth understanding carefully because it differs meaningfully from the typical FIA most consumers encounter. The FIA Plus is an accumulation-focused product. It offers indexed growth potential linked to multiple crediting strategies including the S&P 500, a Bank of America proprietary index, and an HSBC proprietary index, alongside a fixed account option. Clients can split their premium across multiple crediting strategies simultaneously. Principal is protected from negative index performance — the 0% floor means account value does not decline due to market losses. Some versions include additional floor options that provide higher accumulation potential by accepting slightly different crediting parameters.

What the FIA Plus does not have is an income rider. There is no guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB), no income base that accumulates for a future payout, no guaranteed minimum income benefit. The FIA Plus is designed to grow a lump sum with indexed upside potential and principal protection — not to convert that lump sum into a guaranteed lifetime income stream. This distinction matters significantly for retirement income planning. The majority of clients who seek a fixed indexed annuity are doing so specifically because they want guaranteed lifetime income as part of their retirement income floor. If that describes your objective, Ibexis cannot provide it. A carrier like Allianz, Athene, or North American — each of which offers FIA products with competitive income riders — would be more appropriate. Our resource on the Ibexis FIA Plus covers the crediting strategies, accumulation mechanics, and when the product makes sense. Our resource on 10% bonus annuities covers the bonus-FIA category that clients sometimes compare against accumulation-focused products like the FIA Plus when evaluating alternatives with income rider options.

What Ibexis Does Not Offer — And Why It Matters

The product gap at Ibexis is not a flaw in its design — it is a deliberate strategic choice. Ibexis built its entire identity around doing two things exceptionally well: competitive MYGA rates and an innovative accumulation FIA. That focus produces a cleaner liability structure, more predictable cash flows, and — arguably — better rates on the products it does offer. But that same focus means Ibexis cannot help with the majority of the retirement planning picture. There is no income rider on any Ibexis product. There is no life insurance of any kind. There is no long-term care benefit. There is no disability coverage. There is no Medicare advisory capability.

For a client sitting down to build a complete retirement income plan, Ibexis can fill one specific slot — the safe accumulation bucket, where guaranteed growth over a defined term is the objective. For everything surrounding that bucket — the income floor, the protection against longevity risk, the survivor benefit for a spouse, the long-term care cost risk — Ibexis contributes nothing. This is why the evaluation of any single carrier must happen in the context of the complete retirement income plan. A MYGA from Ibexis earning a top rate is excellent for what it is. It does not replace an income rider, a permanent life policy, or a long-term care plan. Our resources on American Equity IncomeShield 10 and Midland National Income Planning Annuity cover FIA products that combine income riders with LTC benefit provisions — a direct contrast to the accumulation-only approach Ibexis takes. Our resource on high-risk life insurance and accelerated death benefit riders cover the life insurance dimension that many annuity-focused clients are also navigating simultaneously.

Who Ibexis Fits Well

Ibexis makes the most sense for clients who have a clearly defined accumulation need, already have or are separately addressing their income planning needs, and want to maximize the guaranteed yield from an A-rated carrier on a three-to-seven-year fixed window. This profile includes clients laddering MYGAs to create a rolling guaranteed income structure — placing different tranches in different terms so that money becomes available on a staggered schedule — as well as clients who want indexed growth potential without the income rider fee drag that most FIA products carry. Ibexis is also a legitimate consideration for clients doing a qualified rollover into a safe accumulation vehicle prior to making a longer-term income planning decision, because the relatively clean surrender schedule and solid rating make it a reasonable intermediate holding. Our resource on F&G Prosperity Elite and F&G Performance Pro cover income-focused FIA alternatives from a carrier that also offers competitive MYGA rates, for clients who want both income and accumulation from the same carrier relationship.