Description: The Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and Society of Actuaries (SOA) engaged RGA Reinsurance Company (RGA) to undertake a research project on level premium term life insurance products with a particular focus on the magnitude and impact of the “shock lapse” at the end of the level premium period. This project is similar to the SOA-sponsored research completed by RGA in 2014 for USA business.

Description: This report examines historical U.S. motor vehicle accident mortality experience by age, gender, region, and other factors.

Description: This article details different methods for calculating mortality impact associated with new underwriting programs. A common simplified calculation is compared and contrasted with two first principles approaches. The strengths and weaknesses of both approaches are discussed.

Description: Future mortality improvement has been a common assumption in life insurance and annuity pricing and forecasting for many years. However, experience over the last decade suggests this might be an assumption that merits reconsideration in the United States. This article will take a closer look at factors that impact mortality improvement trends and discuss why insurers may want to reevaluate product designs to better manage the associated mortality risk. We then introduce a product idea with this in mind, where premiums are based on a life expectancy index and insurers share the risk (and opportunity) or mortality improvement with policyholders.

Description: Based on work performed by Bob Howard, a former member of RPEC, the SOA developed a spreadsheet-based program that allows users to create a customized mortality improvement scale using the RPEC_2014 model. The RPEC_O2_v2018 model found here utilizes the same projection methodology underpinning the RPEC_2014 model except that the historical rates have been developed using “order-2” Whittaker-Henderson graduation rather than “order-3”.