Denali 10 review

It depends — and the main variable is how much the carrier rating matters to you. If carrier financial strength is at the top of your criteria, a B-rated insurer holding your money for 10 years is a hard sell. If you've weighed that risk and decided the product mechanics justify it, Denali 10-Year has real merit: a broad crediting menu, zero floor on all indexed strategies, a competitive fixed rate, and illness waivers built in at no explicit charge. It is not a bad product. It requires a buyer who understands what they're accepting.

The practical reason to buy this over a higher-rated competitor is often access to a strategy that isn't available elsewhere — particularly the participation-rate options on proprietary indices like Barclays Atlas 5, Bloomberg Versa 10, and Nasdaq Generations 5, which can carry participation rates up to 225% in some configurations (as of the 2026-06-29 rate sheet). Someone who has already satisfied their carrier-quality concerns and is optimizing for crediting potential might find the menu here more attractive than what a larger carrier's 10-year FIA offers. The $10,000 minimum is also lower than many peers, which opens the door to buyers with smaller initial allocations.

I think Denali 10-Year is best for a buyer in their 50s or early 60s with a genuine 10-year horizon, a qualified account (the RMD-friendly provisions matter here), and a clear-eyed view of SILAC's financial strength profile. It is less suitable for someone who might need more than RMDs in the first year, anyone who prioritizes A-rated or better carriers, or someone who wants the simplicity of a straightforward capped-index structure without the added complexity of recapture provisions.

You are buying an insurance contract that credits interest based on the performance of selected market indices while protecting your principal from negative index returns. You do not participate directly in the market — instead, your return is shaped by caps, participation rates, or spreads depending on which strategy you choose. The 0% annual floor means you cannot lose credited gains due to index performance, but you can still lose money if you exit early through surrender charges, the Market Value Adjustment, or the Interest Bonus Recovery recapture. Those exit costs are the real risk in this contract, not the indices themselves.

Denali 10-Year offers 12 indexed strategies plus a fixed account. Indexed strategies span four methods — annual point-to-point, monthly point-to-point, monthly averaging, and point-to-point with participation rates — across six indices: S&P 500, Barclays Atlas 5, Bloomberg Versa 10, Nasdaq Generations 5, S&P 500 Duo Swift, and S&P 500 RavenPack Artificial Intelligence.

The S&P 500 annual point-to-point strategy is offered in both capped and uncapped-participation versions: caps currently range from 7.75% to 10% depending on contract variant, and the uncapped participation version currently ranges from 47% to 57% (as of the 2026-06-29 rate sheet). The proprietary indices — Barclays Atlas 5, Bloomberg Versa 10, and Nasdaq Generations 5 — use spread-based crediting, where SILAC subtracts a spread (currently ranging from roughly 2.75% to 4.50% depending on index and contract variant) from the index return before crediting interest. On those strategies, the index needs to meaningfully outperform the spread before any interest is credited. These indices are designed with volatility controls, which generally means smoother but lower returns than a raw S&P 500 strategy.

The monthly point-to-point strategy on the S&P 500 has a monthly cap currently ranging from 2.5% to 3.25% depending on contract variant, with no monthly downside cap, which means a single bad month can wipe gains from positive months — a mechanic worth understanding before allocating there. The fixed account option (currently ranging from 3.5% to 4.25% depending on contract variant, as of the 2026-06-29 rate sheet) provides a straightforward alternative for buyers who prefer a declared rate.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the trio of built-in illness waivers: a Terminal Illness Benefit, a Nursing Home Benefit, and a Home Health Care Benefit — all included at no additional cost. For a 10-year product, this matters more than it would for a shorter duration. Each becomes available after the first policy year: the Terminal Illness Benefit allows up to 100% of Account Value if diagnosed with a life expectancy of 12 months or less; the Nursing Home Benefit allows up to 100% of Account Value after 90 consecutive days confined to a qualified care facility (subject to a 1-year waiting period from issue); and the Home Health Care Benefit allows up to 20% of Account Value per year, for up to 5 policy years, if the owner is unable to perform 2 of 6 Activities of Daily Living. None of these benefits trigger the surrender charge, MVA, or recapture fees. That is real protection for a real risk at a 10-year time horizon, and the fact that it comes without a rider fee is a genuine benefit.

Note: the Nursing Home Benefit and Home Health Care Benefit are not available in South Dakota.

This contract is built for patient, long-term capital. In the first policy year, the only penalty-free access is Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) — there is no standard 5% or 10% free-withdrawal option. Starting after the first policy year, up to 5% of account value can be withdrawn annually (one withdrawal per year) without triggering charges. RMDs are always treated as free withdrawals and can exceed 5%; none of the contract's exit charges (surrender charge, MVA, or the recapture charge described below) apply to death benefits, RMDs, or free withdrawals.

Only one of the optional Elevation Rider (0.50% annual spread, enhanced liquidity only, no premium bonus) or Elevation Plus Rider (1.00% annual spread, enhanced liquidity plus a premium bonus — see Fees and Tradeoffs) may be elected. Either rider expands free access to 10% annually with up to 30% cumulative carryover if unused. The spread is deducted only during the withdrawal charge period and never exceeds the interest credited for the year, but neither rider can be removed once elected.

The surrender schedule starts at 12% for the first two years, which is heavier than the 10% opening seen on most 10-year peers. On top of that, SILAC applies a **Fixed & Indexed Gain Recapture Charge** (formerly called the Interest Bonus Recovery) on any full or partial withdrawal subject to a withdrawal charge. This recapture begins at 100% in Year 1 and steps down to 50% in Year 10, then 0% in Year 11 and beyond — meaning SILAC can recover a portion of any interest previously credited when you take an otherwise-penalized withdrawal. If the Elevation Plus Rider's premium bonus was elected, the same recovery schedule also applies to that bonus. Combine this with the MVA — which can move either direction depending on interest rate conditions — and an early exit is meaningfully more costly here than on many competitor contracts.

The base contract carries no annual fee. Only one of the two optional riders may be elected: the Elevation Rider costs 0.50% as an annual spread on Account Value and provides enhanced liquidity only, with no premium bonus. The Elevation Plus Rider costs 1.00% and adds a one-time 5% premium bonus on first-year premiums on top of the same enhanced liquidity (the bonus vests on a schedule — 0% in year 1, graduating to fully vested by year 11+, and fully vested immediately at death). Both riders must be elected at issue, cannot be terminated at the client's request, and the spread is deducted only during the withdrawal charge period, never exceeding the interest credited for the year. That said, the 1.00% annual drag on Elevation Plus over the withdrawal charge period is meaningful and should be weighed against the enhanced liquidity and bonus it provides.

The spread-based proprietary index strategies currently have embedded spreads ranging from roughly 2.75% to 4.50% depending on index and contract variant, which function similarly to a fee — the index must exceed the spread before any interest is credited. This is not unusual for volatility-controlled indices, but buyers should model scenarios before relying on those strategies for accumulation.

The Fixed & Indexed Gain Recapture Charge (formerly called the Interest Bonus Recovery) adds complexity that is easy to underestimate. It is not a fee in the traditional sense, but it is a cost: taking a withdrawal subject to a withdrawal charge means SILAC can recapture a portion of interest it previously credited — and if the Elevation Plus premium bonus was elected, that recapture applies to the bonus too. That is an unusual provision that most competitors do not include, and it makes the true cost of early exit harder to calculate at the time of purchase.

Legal Entity: SILAC Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: B

SILAC Insurance Company is a smaller regional carrier. The B rating from A.M. Best indicates fair financial strength — below the investment-grade threshold that larger annuity carriers typically hold. For a product with a 5-year surrender period, a B rating is worth noting. For a 10-year commitment, it is a primary consideration. SILAC is not unrated or in financial distress, but buyers should factor carrier strength into their analysis alongside product features, particularly given the long surrender duration.