Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America has helped Americans manage retirement risk since 1896. The company paid out more than $18.7 billion in policyholder distributions in 2025. Its core offerings include fixed index annuities, registered index-linked annuities (RILAs), and indexed universal life insurance. Two proprietary features, Performance Lock and Index Lock, give clients control over capturing potential gains during volatile markets. Allianz Life operates as part of Allianz SE, a global organization spanning nearly 70 countries with more than 156,000 employees.
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America is headquartered at 5701 Golden Hills Drive in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1896, the company employs 2,358 people and operates as a subsidiary of Allianz SE. Its core product lines are fixed index annuities, registered index-linked annuities (RILAs), and indexed universal life insurance. A wholly owned subsidiary, Allianz Investment Management (AllianzIM), manages a suite of exchange-traded funds. Allianz Life is recognized on the Ethisphere World's Most Ethical Companies list. The company also sponsors Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, home of Minnesota United of Major League Soccer. Consumers and financial professionals can reach Allianz Life at allianzlife.com or by calling 800 542 5427.
The 2026 Annual Retirement Study from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement found that 74 percent of Americans would rather have financial products that protect against significant losses than products with the potential for substantial gains. That preference for protection over growth directly shapes how Allianz Life designs its annuity and life insurance offerings. Demand for retirement risk management solutions, including annuities and life insurance, continues to grow as Americans work to secure their financial futures. Allianz Life's fixed index annuities and RILAs are positioned to address this preference, pairing downside protection with market-linked growth potential. The study results confirm that loss aversion, not return maximization, is the dominant driver for many American retirement savers in 2026.
Performance Lock is available on Allianz Life's registered index-linked annuities. It allows clients to lock in gains at any point during an index year, helping to limit losses while retaining full flexibility over what happens next. Unlike many competing RILAs, clients do not have to sit on the sidelines after locking in a gain. They can lock and get back in immediately by reallocating to a new index option on the same day, and a new term begins right away. The updated contract value becomes the starting point for the new term, meaning features such as the buffer apply to that new, potentially higher value. This structure lets clients act on favorable market conditions without forfeiting future participation.
Index Lock is available on Allianz Life's fixed index annuities and indexed universal life insurance products. It allows clients to lock in a positive index value once per crediting period, before a contract anniversary. This applies even when a multiyear point-to-point crediting method is selected, removing any requirement to wait until the end of a crediting period to capture a gain. The indexed interest credit is calculated using the locked index value and the participation rate for the contract year in which Index Lock is activated. Any resulting indexed interest credit is then applied at the next contract anniversary. After that, clients can reallocate to a new allocation option and begin a fresh crediting period under current market conditions.
In 2025, Allianz Life increased the number of times per index year that a contract owner can use Early Reallocation, its lock-and-reallocate feature on RILAs. The limit rose from two times per index year to 12, giving clients substantially more flexibility to act on favorable index performance throughout the year. The company also introduced new tools that make it easier for financial professionals to proactively review index options across client accounts. These tools support timely discussions about executing Performance Locks and Index Locks with clients before a market move reverses. Allianz Life first introduced Performance Lock on its RILAs more than a decade ago, but usage has grown significantly in recent years as more consumers seek protection from market volatility.
Allianz Life has built a set of practice management tools specifically for financial professionals working with its annuity and life insurance products. For Performance Lock on RILAs, the online lock execution process supports both automatic and manual target-setting, so advisors can choose the approach that fits their practice. Financial professionals can track account values across their book and receive automated Performance Lock report emails. For Index Lock on fixed index annuities and indexed universal life insurance, the company provides tools that help advisors monitor policies at the book-of-business level. Daily updated index values are available to inform lock decisions, and Index Lock Reports can be generated across the full book. Dedicated administrative support assists with execution across both lock types.
Allianz Life was an early innovator in bringing lock capabilities to annuity and life insurance products, and it has continued to expand both access and usability over more than a decade of refinement. The 2025 increase from two to 12 Early Reallocations per index year on its RILAs is a concrete example of that ongoing product development. Clients pursuing a multi-year growth strategy can now secure gains at up to 12 points along the way, rather than waiting for a single annual crediting event. This flexibility is backed by more than 125 years of risk management expertise within the broader Allianz organization and the financial scale of a global insurer operating across nearly 70 countries. In 2025 alone, Allianz Life paid out more than $18.7 billion in policyholder distributions.