Description: The purpose of this paper was to examine the job and compensation of the ordinary life insurance agent in relation to commissions and expense regulation and to examine how well the industry responds to customer needs, and consider how the system might be changed. The paper establishes some criteria for evaluating appropriateness of systems of both agent compensation and expense regulation. The paper is followed by submitted discussion papers

Description: From the Record 1977 Vol. 3, No. 3, this presentation is from a concurrent session at the Society of Actuaries 1977 Regional Meeting, held in St. Louis June 16-17. In this presentation the panelists address life insurance company expenses. Analysis of expenses, including standards against which they are measured, and expense allocation are discussed. Inconsistencies in allocations for different purposes, e.g. statutory vs. GAAP, and pricing vs. financial reporting, as well as allocation of marketing expenses, are also discussed.