Description: To understand the relationship between lifestyle behaviors and mortality, RGA investigated a national, health-related, mortality-linked data set provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). RGA Strategic Research Actuary Julianne Callaway discusses the company's findings.

Description: An analysis of US population mortality trends and the impact of COVID.

Description: This is the second article in a four–part series. In this article, the industry's products are examined.

Description: Outlines a generic business model for a life insurance company and concludes with thoughts on future trends and prospects.

Description: This is a table from an article in The Actuary Magazine entitled A Strategic Analysis of the U.S. Life Insurance Industry Part II: Products.

Description: The article summarizes the results of the 2022 U.S. and Canadian Life Reinsurance Survey, for both Individual Life and Group Life business, conducted by the Reinsurance Section of the Society of Actuaries.

Description: Businesses across the board have been drastically impacted by the effects of COVID-19 over the course of 2020, and insurance was not immune. Perhaps most relevant to this industry’s current capital and liquidity concern is the prevailing low interest rate environment. This has been a global trend in the last decade, and treasury rates in much of the developed world are at or near zero. Reduced investment returns limit an insurer’s ability to achieve their desired return on equity, eliminating previously profitable strategies that depended on the leverage of life and annuity balance sheets. Focus and activity have instead shifted to other methods to counteract the low interest rate markets and accompanying capital strain. Examples include increased mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity within the insurance industry and an increasing focus by private equity firms in the insurance market for asset-intensive products, both of which reflect the goal of increasing yield rates on capital.

Description: There are growing concerns that the Asian bird flu virus will evolve into a form that can be transmitted from human to human, thus unleashing a new global flu pandemic. This article uses the Spanish flu epidemic and the German life insurance portfolio to analyze the additional claims expenditure due to a pandemic.

Description: Latest outlook on the market size and recent trends associated with the U.S. and Canada Life Reinsurance markets. The SOA Life Reinsurance Survey is an annual survey that exhibits individual and group life data from U.S. and Canadian life reinsurers. Survey results are based on financial information self-reported by reinsurance entities and include new business production and inforce figures.

Description: The paper describes a cost-benefit analysis to determine the value of electronic health records (EHRs) in life insurance accelerated underwriting programs. Sample cases from a carrier were underwritten pre-EHR and post-EHR and the mortality savings estimates from risk class changes using EHRs was compared to procurement costs. Results were developed to cover a range of scenarios. Factors to consider for carriers evaluating the cost-effectiveness of using EHRs in their own accelerated underwriting programs are also described.