Description: In May of 2006 the Life Insurance Mortality and Underwriting Survey Committee of the SOA surveyed both reinsurers and direct companies about their practices with respect to making business decisions in the underwriting process. This article highlights the comparison of the results of the two surveys.

Description: This report presents the results of the Survey on the Business Decision practices of direct companies conducted by the Society of Actuaries Committee on Life Insurance Mortality and Underwriting Surveys. A survey of reinsurers is reported separately.

Description: This report presents the results of the Survey on Business Decision practices of reinsurers conducted by the Society of Actuaries Committee on Life Insurance Mortality and Underwriting Surveys . A survey of direct writers of life insurance is reported separately.

Description: Essay reforming healthcare where participants have a vested interest in reaching the best answer.

Description: This article notes the available pulications from Hank George, an underwriting expert, that will help keep you up to date on the subject.

Description: This session at the SOA 2004 Annual Meeting looks at current underwriting issues including the tools underwriters now use for appraising risk in various markets, the impact of preferred exceptions and business decisions from a pricing and claims perspective, and new ideas for assessing risk at older ages.

Description: This 1978 panel discussed risk classification systems for a variety of products. Topics covered included: 1. regulatory and social policy encroachment on risk classification systems 2. possible changes in underwriting/marketing strategy because of changed regulatory requirements 3. use of the social imperative via regulation or legislation to mandate availability of coverage to high risk classifications 4. implied use of the risk classification system to provide incentives to control socially undesirable behavior 5. potential use of private mass coverage to minimize the impact on risk classification systems for coverages mandated by law or social policy 6. the ultimate in risk classification systems: self-insurance

Description: Medical and underwriting experts discuss medical developments and underwriting practices that could improve mortality rates and risk classification, respectively, in the future. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 3.

Description: This article summarizes a session at a recent SOA meeting that featured numerous short presentations on underwriting ideas. The focus was on areas such as, process improvement, improved underwriting information, middle market penetration, and organizational issues.

Description: This presentation from Session 20PD of the SOA 1996 Orlando Annual Meeting examines the major trends in insurance laboratory testing from 1980 to 1985, with an emphasis on why blood testing thresholds were lowered dramatically in the mid-1980s and why those thresholds will persist into the next century. The value of liver function testing is examined as a case study in protective value. Issues addressed include: 1. What is the real impact of human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]-1 testing [sentinel effect]? 2. The unique pay-offs from liver function tests, 3. Clinical medicine mortality versus underwritten mortality: overcoming problems caused by different perspectives, and 4. Cotinine pays the freight? From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 22, No. 3.