Description: The Universal Life Work Group ULWG of the American Academy of Actuaries’ AAA Life Valuation Subcommittee was formed in July 2004. Its charge is to develop a new “principle-based” approach definition follows for statutory reserves and capital requirements for life products with certain types of benefits and guarantees, where the value of the contract obligations vary significantly due to such things as future interest rates or equity returns.

Description: The author discusses an interpretation of the surrender charge limitations specified in New York’s Regulation 77 which increases the maximum allowable surrender charges for renewal years. This interpretation was presented to and accepted by the New York State Insurance Department.

Description: The chairperson reviewed the accomplishments from the prior year and provided a preview of upcoming events.

Description: A follow-up to the article “Comfort Food for an Actuary: Cognitive Testing in Underwriting the Elderly,” published in the May 2006 edition of Product Matters! This article presents the updated results, based upon three more years of data, of the Delayed Word Recall DWR Test mortality study. mortality study.

Description: The National Center For Health Statistics recently came out with preliminary 2006 U.S. population mortality statistics—showing lower mortality and a record life expectancy!

Description: This article discusses the characteristics of companies dedicated to being leaders in the Term market and the role that reinsurers play.

Description: New Chairperson’s Corner

Description: This article highlights the interaction between pricing and corporate. There is a move toward principle-based reserving standards in the United States.

Description: In actuarial work, we are frequently confronted with problems with more than one apparently reasonable answer. This article deals with one of these, where the Federal DAC cost can be applied in an apparently reasonable, but incorrect, manner.

Description: This article discusses the The Assumption Development and Governance Group (sponsored by the Financial Reporting and Product Development Sections).