Both the SEC and NASD have posted on their websites educational material pertaining to variable products.   On the SEC website are: Variable Annuities and Variable Life Products: Questions to Ask, at http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/varaquestions.htm, and   Variable Annuities: What You Should Know, at http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/varannty.htm.

The NASD website has: Variable Annuities: Beyond the Hard Sell, at http://www.nasd.com/Investor/Alerts/alert_variable_annuities.htm; Should You Exchange Your Variable Annuity? at http://www.nasd.com/Investor/Alerts/alert_annuityexchanges.htm, and Should You Exchange Your Life Insurance Policy? at http://www.nasd.com/Investor/Alerts/alert_exchange_lifeinsurance.htm