State annuity protection

Wyoming Annuity Guaranty Protection: $250,000 Annuity Limit and $500,000 Aggregate

Wyoming generally provides up to $250,000 in protection for the present value of covered annuity benefits with respect to one life. A separate $500,000 aggregate applies across the covered benefit categories listed in the statute.

Wyoming annuity protection at a glance

Annuity-specific limit
$250,000
Present value of covered annuity benefits, including eligible net cash surrender and withdrawal values
Overall benefit cap
$500,000
The Association generally cannot cover more than $500,000 in aggregate benefits with respect to one life, regardless of the number of covered policies or contracts.
Who provides protection
Wyoming Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
The Association may provide assistance while a member insurer is impaired and has broader statutory duties once a court enters a liquidation order with a finding of insolvency.
Insurer requirement
Member insurer
The issuing insurer must qualify as a Wyoming member insurer, and the policy or contract must fall within a type of coverage protected by Chapter 42.

How the $250,000 limit works

Wyoming’s annuity-specific limit is $250,000 in present value. The separate $500,000 aggregate does not increase that annuity-specific limit.

Multiple covered annuity contracts with the same impaired or insolvent member insurer generally share one $250,000 annuity limit with respect to the same life.

Coverage is generally evaluated separately for each impaired or insolvent member insurer using the residency and eligibility rules applicable to that proceeding.

The Association generally cannot cover more than $500,000 in aggregate benefits with respect to one life, regardless of the number of covered policies or contracts.

  • A qualifying structured-settlement payee, or beneficiary of a deceased payee, may receive up to $250,000 in present-value annuity benefits. Rights acquired through a structured-settlement factoring transaction are excluded.

A $300,000 annuity example

Assume a Wyoming resident owns an eligible fixed annuity with a covered present value of $300,000 when the member insurer fails, with no other covered benefits affecting the aggregate limit.

Illustrative covered annuity value

$300,000

Maximum illustrated annuity protection

$250,000

Illustrative amount above the annuity limit

$50,000

In this example, up to $250,000 falls within the annuity-specific guaranty limit. The separate $500,000 aggregate does not increase the annuity-specific protection, so the remaining $50,000 may remain a claim against the insurer’s receivership estate.

This example illustrates only the annuity-specific limit and assumes that the insurer, claimant, contract, and residency requirements are satisfied.

Which annuities are covered?

  • Fixed annuity

    Generally covered

    Fixed annuities are generally covered up to Wyoming’s applicable annuity limit when the insurer, claimant, and contract satisfy the statutory eligibility requirements.

  • Fixed indexed annuity (FIA)

    Generally covered

    FIAs are generally covered, although certain nonguaranteed, excess, uncredited, or forfeitable index-linked amounts may be excluded. When index-linked value is credited less frequently than annually, Wyoming treats the earlier impairment or insolvency date as the contractual crediting date for determining credited, nonforfeitable value.

  • Multi-year guaranteed annuity (MYGA)

    Generally covered

    MYGAs are generally treated as fixed deferred annuities and are subject to Wyoming’s $250,000 annuity limit and statutory interest-rate restrictions.

  • Variable annuity

    Guaranteed portions may be covered

    Only insurer-guaranteed benefits may qualify; investment gains or losses borne by the contract owner through a separate account are generally excluded.

  • Registered index-linked annuity (RILA)

    Contract-specific

    For a RILA, only insurer-guaranteed obligations may qualify; portions where the contract owner bears market or index risk are generally excluded.

  • Unallocated annuity contract

    Generally excluded

    Unallocated annuity contracts are generally excluded, except to the extent specific annuity benefits are guaranteed to an individual under the contract or certificate.

Who may qualify?

  • Residency is generally determined on the date of the court order that determines the member insurer to be impaired or insolvent.
  • The ordinary annuity limit is stated with respect to one life, while a qualifying structured-settlement payee or beneficiary has a separate $250,000 present-value limit.
  • A nonresident may qualify in limited circumstances when the failed insurer is Wyoming-domiciled, the person’s state of residence has a similar guaranty association, and the person is not eligible there because the insurer or HMO lacked the required license or authority.
  • Wyoming’s interstate coordination rules generally look first to the guaranty association in the person’s state of residence and are designed to avoid duplicate coverage.
  • The issuing insurer must qualify as a Wyoming member insurer, and the policy or contract must fall within a type of coverage protected by Chapter 42.

What is not covered?

  • Unallocated annuity contracts are generally excluded, except to the extent specific annuity benefits are guaranteed to an individual.
  • An annuity contract or group annuity certificate issued by a nonprofit insurance company exclusively for the benefit of nonprofit educational institutions and their employees for retirement purposes is excluded.
  • Structured-settlement payment rights transferred through a structured-settlement factoring transaction are excluded, while an otherwise eligible original payee or beneficiary may qualify under the separate structured-settlement rules.
  • Nonguaranteed benefits, portions where the contract owner bears the investment risk, interest or crediting above Wyoming’s statutory limits, and certain uncredited or forfeitable index-linked amounts may be excluded. Special treatment applies when index-linked value is credited less frequently than annually.
  • The Association generally does not cover claims based on marketing materials, misrepresentations, unapproved side letters or riders, extra-contractual claims including bad-faith claims, punitive or exemplary damages, attorney fees and costs, penalties, or consequential or incidental damages.
  • Wyoming coordinates its coverage with other state guaranty associations so that an eligible person generally receives protection from only one association and duplicate recovery is avoided.
  • A policy or contract issued in Wyoming at a time when the member insurer was not licensed or did not hold the required certificate of authority to issue that coverage is excluded.
  • Dividends, experience-rating credits, voting rights, and certain fees or allowances connected with servicing or administering a policy or contract are not covered obligations.
  • Self-funded or uninsured employer or association benefit arrangements, including specified MEWAs, minimum-premium plans, stop-loss plans, and administrative-services-only arrangements, are excluded to the extent the employer or association bears the obligation.
  • Certain contractual agreements that guarantee book-value accounting treatment for defined-contribution plan participants by reference to plan-owned assets are excluded.
  • Policies or contracts providing hospital, medical, prescription-drug, or other health benefits under Medicare Part C, Medicare Part D, or Medicaid are excluded from Association coverage.

What happens after an insurer fails?

  1. A rehabilitation or conservation order establishes impairment; a liquidation order with a finding of insolvency establishes insolvency

    The first applicable court order determines residency. A rehabilitation or conservation order may establish impairment before any later liquidation order.

  2. Eligibility and covered benefits are reviewed

    The Association reviews insurer membership, claimant eligibility, residency, contract guarantees, statutory exclusions, and any special structured-settlement or unallocated-annuity rules that apply.

  3. The Association’s role depends on whether the insurer is impaired or insolvent

    While a member insurer is impaired, the Association may guarantee, assume, reissue, reinsure, or financially support covered contracts. Once the insurer becomes insolvent, the Association has broader mandatory responsibilities under Wyoming law.

  4. Coverage limits are applied and covered obligations are addressed

    The applicable annuity or structured-settlement limit, statutory exclusions, and $500,000 aggregate are applied. Amounts above guaranty protection may remain claims against the failed insurer’s receivership estate.

How the guaranty system is financed

The Association is funded through statutory assessments of member insurers as needed. Class A assessments generally fund administrative and legal expenses, while Class B assessments fund obligations related to specific impaired or insolvent member insurers.

Assessment allocation
Member insurers
Class B assessments are allocated among member insurers based on Wyoming premiums for business covered by the applicable account during the three most recent calendar years for which information is available preceding the year of impairment or insolvency. If assessments are authorized in the same calendar year for insurers that became impaired or insolvent in different years, Wyoming uses the higher applicable three-year average premium base when applying the annual assessment limit.
Annual assessment cap
2%
Annual assessment cap — 2%. For each account, a member insurer generally cannot be assessed more than 2% in a calendar year of its average annual Wyoming premiums on covered policies and contracts during the three calendar years preceding the year of impairment or insolvency. If assessments are authorized in the same calendar year for insurers that became impaired or insolvent in different years, Wyoming uses the higher applicable three-year average premium base when applying the annual assessment limit.
Premium-tax offset
10% per year for 10 years
Premium-tax offset — 10% per year for 10 years. A qualifying non-Class-A assessment may generally offset Wyoming premium-tax liability at 10% of the assessment in each of the 10 calendar years following the year of payment. If a member insurer ceases doing business, remaining uncredited assessments may be used in that final year.
Wyoming-specific limits and prospective application
Wyoming applies separate $250,000 limits to ordinary annuity benefits and qualifying structured-settlement benefits, subject to a $500,000 aggregate with respect to one life. The statutory limits describe maximum Association benefits before coordination with assets attributable to covered policies and the Association’s subrogation or assignment rights. The Association is a nonprofit legal entity created by statute and supervised by the Insurance Commissioner. The current Act generally applies to member insurers placed under a liquidation order with a finding of insolvency on or after July 1, 2014; the 2019 amendments do not apply to member insurers placed into liquidation with a finding of insolvency before July 1, 2019.

What to know before buying

  • For existing coverage, remember that the $250,000 annuity-specific limit operates within a separate $500,000 per-life aggregate across applicable benefit categories.
  • Wyoming prohibits using the existence of the Guaranty Association for sales, solicitation, or inducement. Member insurers must deliver the approved guaranty-association summary and disclaimer before or at delivery of a covered policy or contract. The notice warns that coverage may be unavailable or substantially limited, may depend on continued Wyoming residence, and should not be relied on when selecting an insurer or HMO.

How state protection differs from FDIC insurance

  • What it covers
    State protection: The Wyoming Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association provides statutory protection for covered obligations of impaired or insolvent member insurers.
    FDIC: The FDIC protects eligible bank deposits when an insured depository institution fails.
  • What system stands behind it
    State protection: The Wyoming Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association is a nonprofit legal entity funded primarily through assessments of member insurers and supervised by the Insurance Commissioner.
    FDIC: FDIC deposit insurance is funded through assessments on insured depository institutions and is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
  • Coverage-limit basis
    State protection: Wyoming generally limits covered annuity benefits to $250,000 in present value with respect to one life, subject to the separate $500,000 aggregate.
    FDIC: Federal deposit-insurance coverage depends on the depositor, insured bank, and ownership category.
  • Whether it applies to annuities
    State protection: Eligible annuity benefits may receive Wyoming guaranty association protection, subject to statutory limits and exclusions.
    FDIC: Annuities are not FDIC-insured deposits.

Sources and last verified

Last verified: October 14, 2026