Adam, a new producer, is in a discussion with Theodore, his manager, about equity$-$indexed annuities. Adam has invested his own money before and is fully aware that the stock market can go up and down. He also has been around long enough to know that interest rates rise and fall too. So he asks Theodore for a definition of the floor, in regards to equity$-$indexed annuities, what should Theodore tell him?

A$)$ The floor is the minimum credited rate applied to the account value, regardless of index changes, and can be as low as $0\%$ during a period of low interest rates.

B$)$ The floor is the worst case scenario interest rate that the insurance company can credit to the policy and is set by state insurance rules and regulations at $3\%.$

C$)$ The floor is the guaranteed minimum interest rate the policy has as an option for policyowners who do not want to have their interest contingent upon the performance of an index and is typically set at $\frac{41}{2}\%$

D$)$ The floor is the minimum interest rate that can be credited to the policy, less internal expenses, which is $-3\%$ during periods of falling interest rates.