Description: Non-guaranteed elements are parameters of life insurance and annuity polices that are not fixed when the policy is issued but may be changed from time to time by the insurance company. They emerged in the United States and other countries as features of Universal Life and similar products designed to make insurance more competitive in an environment where fully guaranteed products did not have sufficient flexibility to respond to rapidly changing conditions. This overview covers professional guidance, regulations and practical issues with reviewing and revising non-guaranteed parameters.

Description: This session will present results of the most recent SOA/LIMRA studies of variable and fixed-indexed annuity policyholder behavior including withdrawal behavior, guaranteed living benefit elections and surrender activity. Conducted annually since 2006, a discussion on the results of these studies show how they have changed over time, as well as areas where the analysis will need to change or expand. After that, the presenters will focus on dynamic lapse for hot money businesses, which is an important topic for fixed deferred annuity. Key takeaways from this area will include an understanding how to differentiate between hot money and warm money, the different formulas used in the industry, and how to adjust an asset portfolio to protect against the risks associated with hot money businesses.

Description: The American Academy of Actuaries will present on current initiatives that impact the U.S. statutory reserving methodology for non-variable annuity contracts. In particular, the development of a principle-based reserving framework on non-variable annuity contracts will be discussed, including framework elements, assumptions, and methodology. The session will provide an update on the status of regulatory discussions and the timeline for future changes to reserves. By the end of the session, attendees will understand what changes are being made to non-variable annuity reserves, details underlying existing proposals, and the anticipated timing of such emerging changes. This session is intended to the meet the needs of actuaries focused on annuity reserve calculations, financial reporting, and valuation.

Description: VA reserve and capital reforms are effective 1/1/20 and the first year of reporting under the new framework requires several key milestones for annuity valuation actuaries to achieve. Discuss key implementation issues, including the new standard projection, optionality around hedge treatment and taxation, discuss disclosure requirements as well as the PBR report requirements. Overall focus on decisions to be taken by a valuation actuary with respect to reporting under the new framework.

Description: Hear from companies & consultants that early adopted VM-21 for year-end 2019. Learn from their experiences in preparing for the significant additional work required for implementation - updating models, assumptions, documentation, etc. Hear about the NAIC review and feedback (if available).

Description: This session will have two sections: General consideration of IFRS17 implementation for VA writers and reinsurers A case study of IFRS17 implementation for a reinsurer The first section will go over VFA and GM approaches that are available for VA writers. Both approaches have their own challenges. We will highlight some of the challenges and how to approach/overcome them. Additionally, we will discuss how hedging/ALM can help smooth the transition. The second section will go over the details of implementation process of a VA reinsurer. The case study will explore valuation challenges unique to reinsurers assuming business that would otherwise be valued under the VFA. It will also go over some of the modeling difficulties, project management, and database requirement.

Description: There has been significant discussion of PBR for Life Insurance, but there has also been progress in development of PBR for annuities; including VM-21, VM-22, and future VM-23. The presenters will look at the progress in PBR for annuities and what the future may hold.

Description: The presenters will review and discuss the recent trend of FIA and Structured Annuities new product development, illustrate the differences and similarities between these two types of products, and discuss how insurance carriers may effectively manage the capital market risk from derivative hedging perspective. Special emphases will be on (1) the performance of customized FIA indices during the recent economic cycles, relative to benchmark equity indices such as S&P 500, and (2) the latest product designs of Structured Annuities and offering rates by insurance carriers.

Description: The insurance industry has a lot to learn from academia's missteps. With predictive analytics assuming an ever-expanding role in risk modeling, carriers would be well-served to establish practices that mitigate the creation of faulty models. Hear practical advice on how to mitigate the risks of overfitting, with a focus on how to translate complex policyholder behavior experience data for long-term products into behavioral models using company- and industry-level data.

Description: The article shared results from a survey conducted in May of best-estimate VA assumptions as of year-end 2018. Specifically, the discussion focused on lapse, utilization and separate account return assumptions. The results show that a considerable range of practice across assumptions used by the industry for variable annuities. There is a propensity to use complex assumptions to better match the underlying complexity in the products with the behavior expected from policyholders in a dynamic and volatile economic environment.

Description: In this session, a company will share its experience on managing risks underlying the equity-linked insurance guarantees and what lessons were learned over these years as it adapted its strategies to suit the current market environment.

Description: An exploration of drivers, cohorts and dynamics for policyholder behavior for VA and FIA based on industry experience data, including changes in recent years and the emergence of long-term data in key areas. We will also discuss critical elements to developing a sustainable and coherent framework to translate this complex experience data into assumption models.

Description: The speakers will discuss the replication of long-term options, including a discussion of issues such as liquidity, transaction costs, slippage, impact of policyholder behavior, and machine learning algorithms to improve hedge effectiveness.

Description: The proposed revisions to the variable annuity statutory framework and the FASB targeted improvement for long duration contract, motivate life insurance companies to re-evaluate their hedging strategy. Recently proposed revisions of AG 43/VM-21 and C3 Phase II, reward companies that have a clearly defined hedging strategy, if the companies can demonstrate that the valuation model and capital model can estimate real hedge performance accurately. The speakers of this session will discuss the hedging implication of the proposed AG 43/VM-21 and C3 Phase II framework. Additionally, methodology computational requirements, back-testing results under different economic scenarios and the resulting hedge credits of different hedging strategies will be compared, including explicit dynamic hedge and implicit dynamic hedge. The speakers will also touch on the impact of rebalance frequency on the performance of dynamic hedge. Case studies will be presented to provide guidance on practical implementation.

Description: The Society of Actuaries are once again offering a seminar that investigates all aspects of life insurance, annuity and long term care product tax compliance. Developed by the Taxation Section, participants will be brought up-to-date on recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and learn about the newest tax issues related to product design and administration. Legal, IRS and product development experts will provide vital insights into the challenges of developing and administering products within the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), and allow ample opportunities for networking, questions and information exchange.

Description: Provide high level summary of predictive modelling.

Description: This report is a summary based on current actuarial practices around the development and use of policyholder behavior assumptions including the use of dynamic modeling approaches. The research team surveyed and evaluated current practices in the industry; and highlighted current thinking on modeling human behaviors outside the life insurance industry. This project was sponsored by the SOA’s Financial Reporting Section and the Committee on Life Insurance Research.

Description: Owners of nonqualified annuity contracts, individuals under qualified retirement plans, and annuity issuers are left without any published guidance on when annuity payments can be used to satisfy the SEPP [Substantially Equal Periodic Payments] exceptions to the 10 percent penalty tax under sections 72q2D and 72t2Aiv. This article discusses that problem. The insurance industry requested guidance on this issue.8

Description: New chairperson’s column discussing his goals for the Product Development Section.

Description: In session 64PD of the New Orleans Life Spring Meeting Panelists discuss the current market for annuities and different product designs and features. Also covered the the effect of the standard non-forfeiture law on annuities.

Description: Panelists at this session of the SOA 2003 Washington, DC Spring Meeting discuss how changes in interest rates affect the assets and liabilities of a life insurance company and what a company can do to prepare. This session examines historical trends in interest rates and how companies have reacted to both sudden and gradual changes.

Description: The panel at this session of the SOA 2003 Washington, DC Spring Meeting look at the product development process with a focus on improving the success rate for new products and process improvement strategies.

Description: Panelists at this session of the SOA 2003 Washington, DC Spring Meeting give an historical perspective and discuss actual and proposed changes to the Standard Nonforfeiture Law for annuities and life insurance.

Description: From session 63 PD at the Spring regional meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in Atlanta, Georgia, May 24-25, 1999, panelists discuss current issues including adoption status and proposals for various regulations critical to product development efforts. Impact of XXX on product design and reserves is also discussed. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 25, No. 1.

Description: this session from the 1995 SOA New Orleans Meeting discusses alternatives for illustrations and non-forfeiture values and considers current practices and proposals for life insurance and annuities in the US. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 1.

Description: This panel discussion is from the 1991 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held May 16-17 in New York. The panelists discuss product design issues for annuities, including “CD annuities,” which are like individual guaranteed investment contracts, traditional single premium deferred annuities, ‘SPDAs,’ two-tiered annuities, immediate annuities, and others. They also discuss tax developments, investment strategies, and reserve issues. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 2.

Description: This session at the SOA 1990 San Francisco Regional Meeting is about annuity product development and includes an overview of variable annuity products, fixed product designs, and marketing and distribution issues.

Description: This session discussion is about market developments, federal income tax outlook, investment strategy/crediting strategy, pricing considerations, valuation, nonforfeiture, and state filing considerations. Survivorship life also was discussed in the Q&A. From the 1987 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 13, No. 4B.

Description: New York’s Regulation 126 effectively requires all companies doing business in New York to file an actuarial opinion and memorandum on their annuity and GIC business. This article attempts to answer 13 of the most commonly asked questions about this regulation.

Description: This session from the 1984 SOA Salt Lake City Meeting discusses the latest Exposure Draft of the Committee on Theory of Dividends and other Non-Guaranteed Elements in Life Insurance and Annuities and of other related developments in this area.

Description: This session from the 1984 SOA Atlanta Meeting reviews individual annuities, specifically IRA sales by insurance companies, separate account options, the brokerage market, bail-out options, SPDA's and accounting issues.

Description: This is a panel discussion session on dividends and non-guaranteed elements in individual life insurance and annuities.

Description: This panel discussion, which occurred at the October 1982 Society of Actuaries Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., presented information on the implementation of the 1980 amendments to the Standard Valuation Law. Topics included:1. Status of Enactment, 2. Guidelines For Interpretation, 3. Model Regulations including indeterminate premium plans, indexed plans and universal life., and 4. Computer Specifications for reserves and nonforfeiture values using the 1980 CSO Tables. From Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 8, No. 4.

Description: This session looked at techniques suitable, practical or useful in recognizing future improvement in mortality, the projected mortality vs. Actuary's Opinion and should valuation mortality tables be updated frequently.

Description: This 1980 session covers amendments to the SNL and SVL and the anticipated revision to the CSO Mortality Table. Questions discussed: 1. What changes can be expected in requirements in the1980's? 2. What changes in products design will likely emerge from these? 3. What will be the effect on future gross premium, cash value, and reserve levels? 4. Will these changes be compatible with all economic forecast scenarios? 5. Will these changes create a need for increased gross premium rates or for higher company surplus levels? 6. Should attention to solvency measures be increased? 7. Are the allowable valuation interest rates sufficiently liberal?