Description: October 2012 issue of the Product Development Section newsletter, Product Matters!

Description: This article gives the highlights of the 88-page report including detailed assumptions for products including universal life with secondary guarantees (ULSG), cash accumulation universal life (CashAccum), current assumption universal life (CAUL), indexed universal life (IUL) and variable universal life (VUL). The 29 companies and 83 products represented in the report allow for an interesting perspective on premium persistency assumptions used in pricing, cash flow testing (CFT) and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)/international financial reporting standard (IFRS) functions. This article covers some general results and ULSG-specific results.

Description: International case study discussing an innovative distribution method in South Korea.

Description: This article discusses The Compact is an agreement between member states to develop and use a single set of uniform standards as the guidelines to be followed for forms to be approved, including any actuarial-type requirements.

Description: This article covers the results of the elections for the 2013 product development section council. In particular, it gives the background on the following individuals who were newly elected to a 3-year term on the council: Vera Ljucovic, Jim Filmore, and Joe Kordovi. It also gives the background on Dave Moran who was chosen by the council for a 1-year term to replace a council member that had to step down prior to completing their 3-year term.

Description: Overview of a recent visit to silicon valley and how the learnings from this trip can be applied in an insurance setting.

Description: The internal rate of return (IRR) for a policy is a single interest rate that discounts all policy cash flows back to the issue date of the policy, such that the sum of discounted cash flows equals zero. “Cash flows” include statutory income, taxes, required capital, and imputed interest on required capital. An insurer will often require thatproducts be priced to achieve a certain minimum IRR threshold.

Description: Letter from the Chair of the Product Development Council. Challenging times bring opportunities. Today's low interest environment is a rallying cry for our industry to transform our products and the way we do business

Description: This article discusses reaction to the requirement by the European Union for gender neutral pricing. One UK insuring is providing rates that are lower if you "Drive Like a Girl". The benefit to the consumer is lower rates as females tend to have better auto insurance experience as compared to males. Nothing is preventing males from applying for the coverage. However, it is clearly marketed to females as one can see from their branding materials. A black box attached behind the dashboard of the car monitors the driving (speed, acceleration, etc.) to confirm that they are indeed "Driving Like a Girl" as their insurance assumes.

Description: An interview with Joe Gilmour to share his views on the future innovations in underwriting that will help grow the individual life insurance business.