Description: This article examines the impact of a changing smoking rate on population-level mortality improvement and the importance of taking this driver into account.

Description: Discussion of work site mortality— including risk classification and underwriting methodology decisions which affect the appropriate mortality assumptions

Description: Discussion of a direct writer survey and a reinsurer survey conducted in the fall of 2002 by the Society of Actuaries. The surveys asked a number of questions about underwriting criteria needed to qualify for preferred risk. They also asked questions about the percentage of issues in each underwriting category and the mortality assumptions for the different categories.

Description: Discussion the issues/difficulties associated with setting mortality assumptions for the later durations of life insurance illustrations. Because some UL products incorporate low cost of insurance charges in late durations as part of the current scale in the product design, some conclude that mortality improvement assumptions are being employed in the disciplined current scale, in violation of the Model Illustrations Regulation.

Description: Discussion of the Society of Actuaries Report on Mortality Improvement Survey from March 2003 survey from the summer of 2000