Investors are on a seemingly endless quest for a safe haven for their fixed-income dollars, preferably one with a better return than the certificate of deposit offerings at the corner bank. When it comes to CDs, there's a horse of a different color out there; it's called a CD-type annuity. They sometimes offer better rates and helpful tax advantages, but they are also much harder to get out of, and they are not protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. CD-type annuities are interest rate investments issued by insurance companies. Since they pay a locked-in interest rate for a specific term, they are often compared to CDs as "CD-Type." Like CD's, you put your money in and then collect your interest. At the end of the term, you have free access to your principal and interest without penalties. The CD-type annuity was developed to solve the problem of insurers making empty promises to continue paying a high rate after the guaranteed period. Rates were falling and customers weren't getting what they expected, so they paid a penalty to get out of the investment.