Description: After years of discussion and debate, PrinciplesBased Reserving (PBR) is finally a reality. Small insurance companies have a unique opportunity to decide between electing for the company-wide exemption or adopting the PBR methods. This article discusses the benefits and challenges of the options available to small insurers under VM-20 as well as best practices that have been found along the way.

Description: Future mortality improvement has been a common assumption in life insurance and annuity pricing and forecasting for many years. However, experience over the last decade suggests this might be an assumption that merits reconsideration in the United States. This article will take a closer look at factors that impact mortality improvement trends and discuss why insurers may want to reevaluate product designs to better manage the associated mortality risk. We then introduce a product idea with this in mind, where premiums are based on a life expectancy index and insurers share the risk (and opportunity) or mortality improvement with policyholders.

Description: Highlights of the 1999 Manulife/SOA annual large amount/older age mortality study

Description: Highlights of the 2001 Manulife Reinsurance Mortality Study conducted in conjunction with the Reinsurance Section on the mortality experience of large amount and older age policies.

Description: This article describes the activities and results of an SOA Task Force on Expansion of Mortality and Morbidity Statistics which was formed to review the mortality and morbidity research undertaken and the statistics published outside the recognized actuarial organizations.

Description: Review of a new text on mortality measurement, 'Mortality Table Construction' by Robert W. Batten.

Description: This article details different methods for calculating mortality impact associated with new underwriting programs. A common simplified calculation is compared and contrasted with two first principles approaches. The strengths and weaknesses of both approaches are discussed.

Description: Historically, male mortality rates were below those of females. However, that trend has been reversed within the last 100 to 150 years, causing revolutionary changes in the role of women. This subject was examined in a paper on “Mortality Trends of Males and Females Over the Ages” by Barnet N. Berin, George J. Stolnitz and Aaron Tenenbein, presented at the Centennial meeting.

Description: Milliman was engaged by the SOA to conduct two Accelerated Underwriting (AU) surveys, one of direct companies and another of reinsurers. The surveys explored actual results from 2019–2021 and expected results from 2022.

Description: This article discusses the concept of Conservation of Mortality ("Conservation"). Conservation is the modeling principle that ensures consistency between assumptions of the total mortality of a population and mortality among population subsets. This article discusses the use cases for Conservation and the many ways that one could implement it in a model or an experience study. This article also discusses the potential issues that arise when using Conservation, and how one might solve or alleviate these issues.