Description: Life and annuity markets around the world have seen increasingly complex investment-combined products, including universal life, fixed indexed annuities, variable annuities with a wide variety of guaranteed benefits, indexed variable annuities, etc. Insurance companies are facing unprecedented exposure to financial risks in addition to traditional mortality and longevity risks. The risk assessment and modeling for such complex designs by conventional methods often focus heavily on their market competitiveness and profitability. However, there seems to be a lack of quantifiable and systematic approach to assess investment risks associated with investment combined products. The objective of the proposed work is to develop a framework for quantifying and analyzing various forms of contractual designs and showcase different techniques to assess the trade-off between competitive contractual designs and their practical implications with regard to the difficulty of risk management.

Description: 2003 Valuation Actuary Symposium, San Diego, CA. This session provided an overview of current statutory valuation issues pertaining to life and annuity products. Topics included: 1. Actuarial opinion and memorandum regulation amendments. 2. Progress on variable products reserving standards. 3. Regulation XXX mortality factors. 4. Adoption of the 2001 CSO. 5. Progress on the C-3 Phase II RBC project. 6. An update on annuity and life nonforfeiture.

Description: After nearly a decade of work by ACLI and representatives of its member companies, the Society of Actuaries SOA, the American Academy of Actuaries Academy, and the NAIC’s Life and Health Actuarial Task Force LHATF, on Sept. 24, 2008, the NAIC adopted a new actuarial guideline for applying the method of computing statutory reserves for variable annuity contracts AG VACARVM.

Description: 2003 Valuation Actuary Symposium, San Diego, CA. This session provided an update on the current status of the actuarial guidelines on VA death and living benefits, the Academy's work on a non-formulaic, RBC standard and GAAP developments.

Description: This article provides the reader with some insights regarding tax planning under the new required methodology.

Description: ASU 2018-12 introduced a new concept called “market risk benefits” (MRBs). MRBs are a new accounting classification for benefits within deposit contracts, offering protection from “other than nominal market risk.” This applies to products with account values, including variable and indexed annuities with guaranteed living or death benefits attached (aka GMxBs). ASU 2018-12 Section 944-40-30-19D mentions both a non-option and an option-based valuation approach to account for MRBs. This article considers the option-based approach. The purpose is to highlight weaknesses in the current application of the option approach to MRBs, propose an alternative method, and consider the benefits of the new approach. The intent of this article is to persuade practictioners / actuaries / accountants that this is a better approach for applying the fair value option method to market risk benefits.