Description: A detailed discussion on Private Letter Ruling 20123009 which states that owners of life insurance contracts in some circumstances want to decrease their death benefits and that the decreases contemplated are not ones resulting from application of a formula or other provision set forth in the contracts.

Description: Discusses the meaning of statutory reserves with respect to a pending IRS ruling, in the case where different levels of statutory reserves are required in different states.

Description: The different broad purposes served by the material change concept under federal tax law are outlined. More specific material change and similar issues that are pertinent to particular Code provisions and guidance from the IRS that has addressed those issues are also addressed. In the final part of this article, authors comment on whether any overarching principles can be gleaned that can assist insurers and policy owners in making decisions about whether particular changes can safely be made, and thoughts are offered with respect to future potential IRS guidance that would be helpful as taxpayers navigate these often uncertain waters.

Description: An extensive look at Actuarial Guideline 38, "The Application of the Valuation of Life Insurance Policies Model Regulation."

Description: This article is a companion to “They Go Bump in the Night: Life Insurance Policies and the Law of Material Change,” an article written by John T. Adney and Craig R. Springfield (May 2012 Taxing Times Supplement) that describes the various material change rules found in the Code, highlighting the complexities insurers face in navigating through these rules when a life insurance contract is materially changed. The Adney and Springfield article also addresses the difficulties in interpreting the tax law requirements under the various effective date rules contained in the Code sections affecting life insurance contracts.

Description: This article discusses the important lessons for insurance companies that participate in drafting settlement agreements designed to achieve favorable tax treatment of the settlement payments.

Description: Two relatively recent developments have heightened tax managers’ anxiety concerning the possible disclosure of tax accrual workpapers.

Description: This article discusses the implications of a principle-based reserve PBR system with respect to federal income taxation of life insurance companies, particularly with respect to tax reserves and their deductibility for tax purposes. The article discusses potential problems with existing tax rules for reserve deduction, what courses of action the IRS could take, and suggestions for design features of a PBR approach that would make it more consistent with current tax rules. Life insurance product tax implications are also discussed.

Description: The Impact of Tax Reform on Federal LTCI Deductibility for Business Owners.