Description: The Society of Actuaries are once again offering a seminar that investigates all aspects of life insurance, annuity and long term care product tax compliance. Developed by the Taxation Section, participants will be brought up-to-date on recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and learn about the newest tax issues related to product design and administration. Legal, IRS and product development experts will provide vital insights into the challenges of developing and administering products within the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), and allow ample opportunities for networking, questions and information exchange.

Description: 1998 SOA Spring Meeting, Maui. Panelists discussed recent product development, tax law changes, and increased competition in the annuity market, and some consequences for reinsurers and annuity writers.

Description: This overview shows considerations for consumers when reviewing the Life and Annuity Living Benefit Riders study.

Description: To better understand the product development process and practices currently used at insurance companies, the Society of Actuaries Marketing and Distribution Section Council initiated a Product Development Survey in the summer of 2006. The goal of the survey was to identify company practices for product development by asking individuals with product implementation responsibilities about the process followed at their companies. For this survey, the “product development process” was viewed holistically – encompassing everything from how ideas are generated through to how products are monitored post-launch. Also, all aspects of the product development process were considered – marketing, actuarial, underwriting, finance, customer service, IT, legal/compliance, etc.

Description: This report is a summary based on current actuarial practices around the development and use of policyholder behavior assumptions including the use of dynamic modeling approaches. The research team surveyed and evaluated current practices in the industry; and highlighted current thinking on modeling human behaviors outside the life insurance industry. This project was sponsored by the SOA’s Financial Reporting Section and the Committee on Life Insurance Research.

Description: This appendix II Report on the Life and Annuity Living Benefits Survey provides supplemental information for the Report on Life and Annuity Living Benefit Riders: Considerations for Insurers and Resinsurers. Appendix A gives a list of 34 participants and Appendix B provides a glossary of terms used in the report. The report utilizes a literature review, company survey, company interviews and/or other methods to catalog a listing of common living benefit riders. It was sponsored by the Product Development and Reinsurance Sections along with the Committee on Life Insurance Research.

Description: Chairperson’s column likening product development to campaigning.

Description: This is the tenth experience study conducted by the SOA’s Committee on Life Insurance Company Expenses on inter-company expenses. Contributions of individual life and annuity expense data were received from 13 US life insurance companies.

Description: This article examines the changes in U.S. regulatory reserve and risk-based capital requirements that will significantly impact the insurance industry and practicing actuaries. It summarizes activity related to principles-based reserves and risk-based capital initiatives during 2005.

Description: Initiated by the Financial Reporting Section, this paper explores rising interest rates. Following this path, the paper will look at implications of interest rate changes for the life insurance industry, current stress testing practices, and how a risk manager can proactively prepare for an uncertain future. A paper published in 2014 focused on why rates could stay low, and some aspects of this paper are similar (e.g., description of insurance products). This paper also uses a sample model office to help practitioners look at their own exposures. It includes typical interest-sensitive insurance products and how they might perform across various scenarios, as well as a survey to establish current practices for how insurers are testing interest rate risk currently.