State annuity protection

Idaho Annuity Guaranty Protection: $250,000 Per Contract and $300,000 Per-Life Aggregate

Idaho provides up to $250,000 per qualifying annuity contract, while all covered benefits with respect to one life remain subject to a $300,000 aggregate.

Idaho annuity protection at a glance

Per qualifying annuity contract
$250,000
Each qualifying Idaho annuity contract is tested against this contract-level ceiling.
Aggregate with respect to one life
$300,000
All covered benefits with respect to one life remain subject to this aggregate.
Who provides protection
Idaho Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association
Idaho’s association takes each qualifying contract through the state’s unusual contract-based limit after its issuer fails.
Insurer requirement
Member insurer
The issuer must qualify as an Idaho member insurer.

How the $250,000 limit works

Idaho first limits each eligible annuity contract to $250,000 in present value. Those covered amounts then count toward a $300,000 aggregate for one life.

Idaho’s contract unit means separate contract analysis matters; it should not be replaced with an imported per-life assumption.

Contracts at different member insurers also proceed in their respective carrier failures.

The $300,000 per-life aggregate applies after the $250,000 contract-level annuity amounts are calculated.

A $300,000 annuity example

Assume one eligible Idaho annuity contract has $300,000 of present value.

Annuity value

$300,000

Potential protection

$250,000

Possible receivership claim

$50,000

$250,000 enters the association calculation and $50,000 remains in the estate.

This illustration uses one contract. With several Idaho contracts, all protected amounts tied to the same life still share the $300,000 aggregate.

Which annuities are covered?

  • Fixed annuity

    Generally covered

    Each qualifying fixed annuity contract is subject to a $250,000 contract-level ceiling, while all covered benefits with respect to one life remain subject to the $300,000 aggregate.

  • Fixed indexed annuity (FIA)

    Generally covered

    An Idaho FIA may contribute guaranteed value after exclusions. For a strategy crediting less frequently than once a year, accrued index value is calculated as if the failure date were its scheduled crediting date.

  • Multi-year guaranteed annuity (MYGA)

    Generally covered

    An eligible Idaho MYGA first faces the $250,000 per-contract ceiling; its covered amount also counts toward the $300,000 limit for one life.

  • Variable annuity

    Guaranteed portions may be covered

    Variable market risk is outside an insurer guarantee.

  • Registered index-linked annuity (RILA)

    Contract-specific

    A RILA contributes only the floor or other promise the Idaho issuer contractually guarantees.

  • Unallocated annuity contract

    Limited situations

    Unallocated annuity contracts are generally excluded, except to the extent annuity benefits are specifically guaranteed to an individual.

Who may qualify?

  • Residence is determined on the date a court order determines the insurer to be impaired or insolvent.
  • The owner ordinarily controls an individual contract; payees and participants have specialized rules.
  • Idaho’s domicile fallback applies when a nonresident’s home jurisdiction has a comparable association yet denies protection because the failed carrier lacked the needed license there.
  • Idaho coordinates rather than duplicates another association’s coverage.
  • The issuer must qualify as an Idaho member insurer.

What is not covered?

  • Nonguaranteed value is excluded.
  • Excess interest does not count.
  • If an Idaho index strategy waits more than a year between credits, accrued value is measured by treating insurer failure as that strategy’s scheduled crediting event.
  • Idaho excludes sales-practice and misrepresentation claims, extra-contractual remedies, penalties, and indirect damages.

What happens after an insurer fails?

  1. 1

    Identify each contract

    Idaho’s unusual unit makes the contract inventory material.

  2. 2

    Determine eligibility

    Residence, ownership, membership, and contract type are checked.

  3. 3

    Apply the contract and per-life limits

    Idaho applies each $250,000 contract ceiling before testing covered benefits against the $300,000 per-life aggregate.

  4. 4

    Handle amounts above guaranty protection

    The receiver handles obligations outside association protection.

How the guaranty system is financed

Assessment calls on Idaho carriers supply the money needed for obligations assigned to the association.

Assessment allocation
Member insurers
Calls follow statutory accounts and relevant Idaho premiums.
Annual assessment cap
Defined by state law
Idaho allows a given account to call no more than 2% during the calendar year, calculated from that carrier’s applicable covered Idaho premium in the prior year.
Premium-tax treatment
State-specific rule
A member insurer may offset a qualifying non-Class-A assessment against Idaho premium tax at 20% per year for five years, beginning in the year of payment.
Idaho assessment accounts
Assessment funding does not change the statute’s per-contract coverage unit.

What to know before buying

  • Track each qualifying contract, but also total covered benefits with respect to one life against Idaho’s $300,000 aggregate.
  • Idaho restricts using the guaranty association to induce a sale.

How state protection differs from FDIC insurance

  • What it covers
    State protection: Idaho guaranty protection covers eligible benefits promised in a qualifying annuity contract.
    FDIC: Deposit insurance covers eligible funds held in an insured bank account.
  • What system stands behind it
    State protection: Idaho member insurers support the association that answers for covered carrier failures.
    FDIC: Federally insured banking institutions support the FDIC fund.
  • Coverage-limit basis
    State protection: Idaho applies $250,000 per qualifying annuity contract within a $300,000 aggregate for one life.
    FDIC: FDIC limits aggregate deposits by depositor, bank, and ownership category.
  • Whether it applies to annuities
    State protection: A qualifying Idaho annuity contract may receive state association protection.
    FDIC: That annuity is not a deposit and therefore has no FDIC insurance.

Sources and last verified

Last verified: September 2, 2026