vimf497k.htm

497K 1 vimf497k.htm AMERICAN FUNDS INSURANCE SERIES - MORTGAGE FUND vimf497k.htm

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[LOGO] American Funds/R/ The right choice for the long term/R/

MORTGAGE FUND/SM/ American Funds Insurance Series/R/

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS CLASS 4 SHARES DECEMBER 14, 2012

BEFORE YOU INVEST, YOU MAY WANT TO REVIEW THE FUND'S PROSPECTUS AND STATEMENT
OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, WHICH CONTAIN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND AND
ITS RISKS. YOU CAN FIND THE FUND'S PROSPECTUS, STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND ONLINE AT
AMERICANFUNDS.COM/AFIS. YOU CAN ALSO GET THIS INFORMATION AT NO COST BY
CALLING 800/421-9900, EXT. 65413 OR BY SENDING AN EMAIL REQUEST TO
AFISCLASS4@AMERICANFUNDS.COM. THE CURRENT PROSPECTUS AND STATEMENT OF
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, DATED DECEMBER 14, 2012, ARE INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
INTO THIS SUMMARY PROSPECTUS.

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The fund's investment objective is to provide current income and preservation
of capital.

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold
an interest in Class 4 shares of the fund. It does not reflect insurance
contract fees and expenses. If insurance contract fees and expenses were
reflected, expenses shown would be higher.

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (EXPENSES THAT YOU PAY EACH YEAR AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE VALUE OF YOUR INVESTMENT)* CLASS 4
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Management fee.............................................................. 0.42%
Distribution fees........................................................... 0.25
Other expenses.............................................................. 0.25
Total annual fund operating expenses........................................ 0.92

* Estimated by annualizing actual expenses for a partial year.

EXAMPLE

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in
Class 4 shares of the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods
indicated and then redeem your shares at the end of the periods. The example
also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's
operating expenses remain the same. The example does not reflect insurance
contract expenses. If insurance contract expenses were reflected, expenses
shown would be higher.

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions,
your costs would be:

1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS
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Class 4 $94 $293 $509 $1,131

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate
may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's investment
results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate
was 480% of the average value of its portfolio.

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

Normally, at least 80% of the fund's assets is invested in mortgage-related
securities, including securities collateralized by mortgage loans and contracts
for future delivery of such securities (such as to be announced contracts and
mortgage dollar rolls). The contracts for

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AMERICAN FUNDS INSURANCE SERIES MORTGAGE FUND / SUMMARY PROSPECTUS 1
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future delivery are normally of short duration and are replaced by another
contract prior to maturity. Each such transaction is reflected as turnover in
the fund's portfolio resulting in a higher portfolio turnover rate than funds
that do not employ this investment strategy. The fund invests primarily in
mortgage-related securities that are sponsored or guaranteed by the U.S.
government, such as securities issued by government-sponsored entities that are
not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, and
non-government mortgage-related securities that are rated in the Aaa or AAA
rating category (by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations
designated by the fund's investment adviser) or unrated but determined to be of
equivalent quality by the fund's investment adviser. The fund may also invest a
portion of its assets in debt issued by federal agencies.

The investment adviser uses a system of multiple portfolio counselors in
managing the fund's assets. Under this approach, the portfolio of the fund is
divided into segments managed by individual counselors who decide how their
respective segments will be invested.

The fund relies on the professional judgment of its investment adviser to make
decisions about the fund's portfolio investments. The basic investment
philosophy of the investment adviser is to seek to invest in attractively
valued securities that, in its opinion, represent good, long-term investment
opportunities. The investment adviser believes that an important way to
accomplish this is by analyzing various factors, which may include the credit
strength of the issuer, prices of similar securities issued by comparable
issuers, anticipated changes in interest rates, general market conditions and
other factors pertinent to the particular security being evaluated. Securities
may be sold when the investment adviser believes that they no longer represent
relatively attractive investment opportunities.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

THIS SECTION DESCRIBES THE PRINCIPAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FUND'S PRINCIPAL
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES.

YOU MAY LOSE MONEY BY INVESTING IN THE FUND. THE LIKELIHOOD OF LOSS MAY BE
GREATER IF YOU INVEST FOR A SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME.

Investing in mortgage-related securities -- Mortgage-related securities are
subject to prepayment risk, as well as the risks associated with investing in
debt securities in general. If interest rates fall and the loans underlying
these securities are prepaid faster than expected, the fund may have to
reinvest the prepaid principal in lower yielding securities, thus reducing the
fund's income. Conversely, if interest rates increase and the loans underlying
the securities are prepaid more slowly than expected, the expected duration of
the securities may be extended. This reduces the potential for the fund to
invest the principal in higher yielding securities.

Investing in future delivery contracts -- Contracts for future delivery of
mortgage-related securities, such as to be announced contracts and mortgage
dollar rolls, involve the fund selling mortgage-related securities and
simultaneously contracting to repurchase similar securities for delivery at a
future date at a predetermined price. This can increase the fund's market
exposure, and the market price of the securities the fund contracts to
repurchase could drop below their purchase price. While the fund can preserve
capital and generate gains through the use of such contracts by, for example,
realizing the difference between the sale price and the future purchase price,
the income generated by the fund may be reduced by engaging in such
transactions. In addition, these transactions may increase the turnover rate of
the fund.

Investing in bonds -- Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of
bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be
subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the
possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer
of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest
and the security will go into default.

Investing in securities backed by the U.S. government -- Securities backed by
the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are
guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to
maturity. Accordingly, the current market values for these securities will
fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Securities issued by
government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that
are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are neither
issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government.

Market conditions -- The prices of, and the income generated by, the securities
held by the fund may decline due to market conditions and other factors,
including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the fund.

Thinly traded securities -- There may be little trading in the secondary market
for particular bonds or other debt securities, which may make them more
difficult to value, acquire or sell.

Management -- The investment adviser to the fund actively manages the fund's
investments. Consequently, the fund is subject to the risk that the methods and
analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the
desired results. This could cause the fund to lose value or its investment
results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

It is important to note that neither your investment in the fund nor the fund's
yield is guaranteed by the U.S. government. Your investment in the fund is not
a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation or any other government agency, entity or person.

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INVESTMENT RESULTS

Because the fund began investment operations on May 2, 2011, information
regarding full calendar year investment results is not available as of the date
of this prospectus.

MANAGEMENT

INVESTMENT ADVISER

Capital Research and Management Company

PORTFOLIO COUNSELORS

The individuals primarily responsible for the portfolio management of the fund
are:

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PORTFOLIO COUNSELOR PORTFOLIO COUNSELOR EXPERIENCE PRIMARY TITLE WITH INVESTMENT ADVISER
Series title (if applicable) IN THIS FUND
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FERGUS N. MACDONALD 1 year Senior Vice President - Fixed Income, Capital Research
(since the fund's inception) Company
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WESLEY K.-S. PHOA 1 year Senior Vice President - Fixed Income, Capital Research
(since the fund's inception) Company
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TAX INFORMATION

See your variable insurance contract prospectus for information regarding the
federal income tax treatment of the contracts and distributions to the separate
accounts.

PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial
intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund's distributor or its
affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related
services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the
broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to
recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial
adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
The fund is not sold directly to the general public but instead is offered as
an underlying investment option for variable insurance contracts. In addition
to payments described above, the fund and its related companies may make
payments to the sponsoring insurance company (or its affiliates) for
distribution and/or other services. These payments may be a factor that the
insurance company considers in including the fund as an underlying investment
option in the variable insurance contract. The prospectus (or other offering
document) for your variable insurance contract may contain additional
information about these payments.

INA4IPX-052-1212P Litho in USA CGD/8024 Investment Company File No. 811-03857
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THE CAPITAL GROUP COMPANIES
American Funds Capital Research and Management Capital International Capital Guardian Capital Bank and Trust

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