Description: This article is part of the Digest of Informal Discussion, which took place at the 1957 Society of Actuaries Eastern Spring Meeting, held March 21-22 in New York City. The article identifies the participants and summarizes each person’s comments. The participants discuss varying premium rates by policy size and sex, including regulatory requirements and practical issues. Expense trends are also discussed, and their relationship to average policy size and premium structure graded by policy amount. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1957 Volume 9, Number 24.

Description: Discusses reasons for recent extensive industry changes in premium rates and expected trends, merits of different types of federal income tax treatment in financial statements, and discussion of merits of proposed state regulations regarding classification and allocation of income and expenses.

Description: Discussion of issues of particular interest to small insurance companies. Includes the following topics: A. Considerations governing the mortality bases used in determining for ordinary insurance for nonparticipating premium rates and for dividends. Mortality studies available to assess the suitability of available mortality tables or modifications of them. B. Advantages and disadvantages of special termination dividends or special quinquennial dividends. C. Desirability and feasibility of having separate dividend scales for policies which include disability benefits, double indemnity benefits or both. D. Relative advantages of a three-factor dividend system versus an experience premium system. Discussion of how the latter is applied.

Description: This discussion examines new products and marketing issues pertaining to individual life insurance. Topics include: A. Proper role for and impact of higher minimum amount and preferred risk policies. B. Changes made in recent years in the distribution of new issues by plan of insurance and mode of premium payment, C. Advantages and disadvantages of issuing to women a special life insurance policy, or class of policies, involving different basic assumptions from those used for other policies D. Plans marketing policies for which the insurance premiums are paid by 1 bank loans arranged with the assistance of the agent, 2 premium deposit plans, 3 bank drafts and postdated checks.

Description: Discusses the extent to which various influences are reflected in premiums, dividends and settlement options: improved mortality, interest rate trends, federal taxes, agent compensation and increasing expenses.

Description: This discussion on premium differentials examines if a graduation of premium rates by policy size is feasible or desirable as well as if it is practical to give lower premium rates to females.

Description: This discussion looks at the main trends in substandard insurance, including: changes in medical impairments subject to substandard ratings or declination, increased availability of substandard insurance and reinsurance, changes in occupational and special hazard ratings, and progress with offerings of substandard individual health and accident coverages.

Description: This is a discussion from the Dallas Regional Meeting 1961 covering: 1. The extent to which reductions in whole life and term insurance premium rates are due to better mortality, lower expense, higher interest earnings and reduction in company profit margins 2. Graded premium scales issues 3. FIT assumptions.