Easy - Don’t buy annuities.
Don't buy an annuity from a salesperson.
The surrender charge pays back the company for fronting a commission to the salesperson if you leave early.Low cost annuities sold through Schwab, Fidelity, etc are both low cost and have no surrender charges.
Example: https://www.schwab.com/annuities/variable-annuities
This is not a recommendation, nor does it benefit me any way, thankfully.