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Over the past decade, sales of individual Indexed Universal Life (IUL) insurance policies have grown with great rapidity in the US. Why is IUL so popular, and why have its sales increased so rapidly and significantly? Read More

Facultative life underwriting in reinsurance has become a standard line in many of the more developed markets, although it is still relatively new in emerging markets. Mr. Oscar Smith of RGA looks at how facultative underwriting has evolved over the years.   Read More

The long-standing motto of the Society of Actuaries, from John Ruskin, is “The work of science is to substitute facts for appearances and demonstrations for impressions.” We have always had the IMPRESSSION that it means our job, as actuarial scientists, is to pursue fac... Read More

Bancassurance’s attractiveness in Asia continues to strengthen, as insurance consumers from all demographic and income cohorts increasingly turn to banks for their life protection needs. Read More

Prescription opioid abuse is increasing at an alarming rate in the U.S. as is the incidence of fatal overdose. In this article we will define the scope of the problem, provide a rational approach to underwriting and explore the resources available to ...

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Over the past few years, the concept of predictive modeling (PM) has entered the lexicon of many life insurance underwriting departments. This article discusses some of the issues to resolve in assessing the usefulness and the business case for im...

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Interest rate movements (or lack thereof) can present problems for insurers that underwrite and sell long-term care insurance (LTCI), but only under particular circumstances.

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In January 2012 the Society of Actuaries published Report of the Society of Actuaries Predictive Modeling Sub Committee, which looked into predictive modeling in life insurance. Read More

RGA debunks myths, offers evidence, and explores explanations for mortality seasonality.

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One of the main challenges today for reinsurers and direct writers is mapping their accepted long-term care insurance applications into optimally appropriate underwriting risk classes. Underwriting manuals provide not just procedures and assumptions, but also an instruc... Read More

Prescription histories have long served as valuable evidence for assessing the mortality risk of insurance applicants. The introduction of electronic prescription histories now enables this information to be accessed in a more structured, verifiable, and cost-effec... Read More

This paper analyzes the all-cause mortality experience of a large cohort of applicants linked to the number and severity of their recent driving infractions. The study verifies that significant excess mortality risk exists for applicants with a recent history of either ... Read More

NASCAR drivers have historically presented a high mortality risk, but recent data suggests that NASCAR mortality has improved over the last decade. This article examines the relationship between major safety changes implemented by NASCAR within the last 10 ...

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In the Asia Pacific market, the Severity-Based Critical Illness insurance product is fast emerging as a strong offering, benefiting both consumers who want flexible protection and insurers wanting to mitigate claims risk. Mr Jerome Matrundola of RGA International Corp e... Read More

Applicants who routinely replace policies and agents who churn their book of business for commission purposes can prove to be quite expensive for an insurance company falling victim to this fraud. RGA recently completed a study with MIB G... Read More

The UK’s fast-growing underwritten annuity market shows few signs of slowing, but local and global economic and regulatory changes could lead to substantial alterations in how providers price, underwrite, and distribute this product line. Jason Hurley outlines how insur... Read More

The UK’s fast-growing underwritten annuity market shows few signs of slowing, but local and global economic and regulatory changes could lead to substantial alterations in how providers price, underwrite, and distribute this product line. Jason Hurley outlines how insur... Read More

Both insurers and brokers must learn from the past in order to boost future sales of group voluntary benefits. Read More

A key lesson from the financial crisis is that insurers, by adding capital-motivated reinsurance, obtain broader access to capital. Read More