Description: This article contains a summary of some of the presentations given at the May 2013 SOA Life & Annuity Symposium. This article does not cover all sessions that are related to product development, but shares observations that have been made by various members of the SOA Product Development Section Council.

Description: Article Description * “Agile” development is all the buzz in the IT world. You may have heard your IT teams talk about scrums, sprints, and the war room and wondered if they were playing a strange new sport. Or perhaps you are already applying agile techniques in your product development. This article will discuss what agile methodology is, pros and cons, and how you might apply it to insurance product development.

Description: A review of the unique product needs of the senior market and how distribution can work to meet them.

Description: This article summarizes the findings of the 2020/2021 Milliman UL/IUL/VUL survey. The survey covers a range of specific product and actuarial issues and the results provide a good tool for benchmarking

Description: The article summarizes some of the key changes in modeling, assumptions, underwriting, and design for long term care combo products over the past 30+ years. The objective is to inspire an innovative spirit that adapts to changing market needs, for example, dealing with long COVID

Description: Recently the interest rates have been slowly trending up from the lowest point in August 2020. The focus of this article is on current market trends for long-duration products —including life insurance, annuities, and long-term care insurance —following an extended period of low interest rates, and lessons carriers can learn from similar historical periods of rising interest rates. Innovative and flexible product features will continue to be essential, as the current interest trend may not substantially increase insurers’ portfolio rates. When designing or modifying product features, insurers should consider profitability in a wide breadth of interest rate scenarios and be particularly mindful of the impact that crediting rates and asset durations will have on earnings.

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

Description: Discussion of growth in popularity of UL products designed to focus on the guarantee of death benefit protection rather than cash value accumulation and some of the pricing and reserving issues with respect to those products

Description: NAIC Update on Issues Affecting Life and Annuity Product Development

Description: This article presents the author's views on how direct writers of term insurance should view and monitor their reinsurance.