Description: The Society of Actuaries' Committee on Life Insurance Research, Product Development Section and Reinsurance Section are pleased to make the following report available. Authored by Allen Klein and Karen Rudolph of Milliman, this paper presents the results of research that identifies laboratory tests that are not widely used in the life insurance industry but could have potential benefits for use in the life insurance underwriting process. In addition, the authors have provided an Excel workbook illustrating the calculation for determining mortality savings.

Description: These are the slides that go with the paper 'Mortality Modeling using Projection Pursuit Regression.' In that paper, the authors develop sixteen separate mortality models based on the current SOA mortality data being used for the preferred life study. The models are constructed using projection pursuit regression. The sixteen models arise from all combinations of sex, smoker status, select and ultimate status, and per life vs. per dollar mortality rates. In general the models confirm the following four facts: 1 Mortality rates increase as attained age increases. 2 Mortality rates increase as duration increases. 3 Mortality rates decrease as Face Amount Bands increase. 4. Mortality rates decrease if preferred underwriting is present.

Description: This discussion provides an overview of the SOA research process, reviews the new turnover tables and efforts to model probable outcomes of proposed legislation on the U.S. economy. From Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 22, No. 3.

Description: Panelists at this session of the SOA 1998 Maui II Spring Meeting discuss details of the turnover assumption for the valuation of pension plans. A recently released SOA Turnover Study is discussed.