Description: From a session at the Spring regional meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in Atlanta, Georgia, May 24-25, 1999 Panelists address a range of issues related to product development in life insurance companies.

Description: Panelists discuss: [1] the basics of intellectual property, particularly patent law, and the distinctions among patents, trademarks, and copyrights, [2] what may make a new insurance-product idea patentable, and [3] an actuarial perspective on inventing insurance products. From the 2002 Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 28, No. 3. Session 30PD of the Boston Annual Meeting.

Description: This presentation, session number 90PD, took place at the 1999 Spring Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held May 24-25 in Atlanta. The last two years witnessed a proliferation of guarantees on variable annuities and competing investment products: guaranteed living benefits and death benefits on variable annuities, as well as mutual fund death benefits and Canadian segregated funds. “To estimate costs of these benefits, companies have moved away from stochastic modeling to capital market pricing approaches. A panel of experts identify the various risks associated with these guarantees, provide an overview of the different pricing methodologies used in determining the costs, discuss whether companies are charging enough for these risks, and forecast the next wave of guarantee designs.” From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 25, No. 1.

Description: Discussion of LTC insurance product developments being spurred by recent demographic and regulatory trends, especially combination products such as LTC benefits with disability income, annuities, and life insurance. Several viable product styles are considered, along with the pros and cons of each.

Description: Panelists discuss the challenges of managing the financial risks of guaranteed minimum death benefits [GMDBs] and guaranteed living benefits [GLBs] on variable annuity contracts. In particular, they discuss managing these risks through product design and through hedging. From the 2002 Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 28, No. 3. Session 31PD of the Boston Annual Meeting.