Description: Consumer groups fear that the use of genetic testing information in insurance underwriting might lead to the creation of an underclass of individuals who cannot obtain insurance. Thus, these groups want to ban insurance companies from accessing genetic test results. Insurers contend that such a ban might lead to adverse selection that could threaten their financial solvency. To investigate the potential effect of adverse selection in a term life insurance market, a discrete-time, discrete-state, Markov chain is used to track the evolution of 12 closed cohorts of women, differentiated by family history of breast and ovarian cancer and age-at-issue of a 20-year annually renewable term life insurance policy. The insurance demand behavior of these women is tracked, incorporating elastic demand for insurance. During the 20-year period, women may get tested for BRCA 1/2 mutations. Each year, the insurer calculates profits/losses to date and expected future benefit payouts which determines the following year’s premium schedule. At the end of each policy year, women can change their life insurance benefit, influenced by their testing status and premium changes. Adverse selection could result from differentiated: 1. benefits following test results, 2. lapse rates according to test results, and 3. reactions to price increases. It is concluded that with realistic estimates of behavioral parameters, adverse selection should be a manageable problem for insurers. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 2004, Vol. 1.

Description: This report presents the results of the Survey on the Business Decision practices of direct companies conducted by the Society of Actuaries Committee on Life Insurance Mortality and Underwriting Surveys. A survey of reinsurers is reported separately.

Description: This article explores implications for the future of improving the application of existing underwriting techniques and and taking maximum advantage of new technologies.

Description: This presentation is a concurrent session from the 1991 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held April 18-19 in New Orleans. The panelists discuss level term insurance, preferred risk underwriting, and the impact of proposed NAIC Actuarial Guideline XXX on statutory reserves. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 1.

Description: Recent Population Cause of Death Trends and Implications for Life Insurance

Description: Read the Quo Vadis Reinsurance.

Description: The SOA Research Institute engaged Milliman to perform a study examining life insurer practices on accelerated underwriting and how COVID-19 has impacted them. This effort included a separate outreach to actuaries working for twelve different state insurance departments. At the time of this report, three responses to our regulatory survey had been received. Therefore, the results of the three-question survey are discussed in broad terms, rather than using numerical measurements.

Description: The authors present a ‘theoretical basis for a computerized methodology for estimating biological age - a measure of time to death.’ The authors discuss how they reproduce the human underwriting of a life insurance company using a computerized methodology. Includes discussion and author’s review of discussion. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1983 Volume 35.

Description: This discussion at a 1959 Regional Meeting examines underwriting issues including expense reduction, nonmedical limits, and the use of inspection reports.

Description: This discussion examined underwriting and if the present method of classifying substandard risks as a percentage of standard can be improved and if the basis of dividing standard from substandard risks can be changed. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1950, Vol. 2, No. 2.