Description: Discusses the reasons for changing emphasis on reserve strengthening programs and looks at methods adopted to emphasize the reserve character of undistributed surplus.

Description: This is a short response to the paper, 'Group Conversion Charges - Accounting for Annual Statement' by Dickinson C. Duffield, which discusses an alternative way to account for group conversion charges.

Description: This section presents and summarizes major life insurance-related legal cases from 1956, including claims issues, contract interpretation and misrepresentation by applicants.

Description: This discussion reviews changes in practices and procedures which have been made with resulting reduction of expense in connection with the following: Administration and valuation of supplementary contracts, collection of monthly premiums, underwriting of new applicants, and preparation and printing of rare books and policies.

Description: Discusses basic principles which should be observed in the selection of risks for individual health insurance, substandard underwriting, and how sales policies and claim administration practices are related to underwriting.

Description: Discusses the trend for insurance companies to become primarily annuity companies - partly due to settlement options - and the financial implications of this, the probable course of annuitant mortality, and what characteristics of the various group pension methods tend to solve the problem of improved mortality among annuitants.

Description: Discusses cost-benefit decision-making for acquiring electronic data-processing equipment and installation issues, ability of small companies to compete in pension trust arena, effectiveness of various agency compensation programs in stimulating sales and improving persistency, success of sales to substandard risks and rating methods, and pricing, reinsurance and experience with individual hospital and medical policies.

Description: From the 1960 Transactions Vol. 12 No. 32, this ‘Digest of Smaller Company Forum’ presentation discusses changes in office methods made or contemplated by smaller insurance companies to control costs, including use of electronic machinery, simplification of policies and policy issue, and changes in underwriting rules, e.g. nonmedical.

Description: This is a discussion about new product developments, supplementary benefits - Accidental Death, Guaranteed Insurability and automatic inclusion of supplementary benefits rather than optional, product expense trends, considerations in setting commissions for policies with different characteristics, and analyzing and entering new markets.

Description: Discusses the modification of underwriting practices because of the 1951 Medical Impairment Study, classification adjustments, competitive pressures on ratings and expansion of substandard business.