Description: Table of Contents for News Direct - Number 55, January 2007.

Description: The Mortality Improvement Survey Subcommittee of the Society's Committee on Life Insurance Mortality & Underwriting Surveys has completed its report on the results of a survey to examine mortality improvement practices with respect to life insurance pricing in both the US and Canada. A few questions were asked about functions other than pricing.

Description: Align carrier, agent, and consumer definition(s) of DTC to establish a collective understanding for the affected parties. Understand why a direct-to-consumer approach may be important for carriers’ and distributors’ growth and development goals, tactics and strategies. Use the agreed-upon baseline and understanding of DTC’s importance to establish and agree upon reasonable expectations for its role in marketing, distribution, and product development and performance. Position carriers and distributors together to align sales, marketing and performance expectations and incentives for all parties to increase the possibility of outperforming in (and outside of) the DTC space; design sales, marketing and distribution systems and approaches to meet consumers where they are at; and expand current sales and cultivate new markets to remain relevant and magnify profiles in an ever-changing industry.

Description: Research report on business decision practices of direct companies as part of the underwriting process. This Subcommittee also surveyed reinsurers for their practices in this regard in a separate survey. The two surveys are compared in this report.

Description: Actuarial Professionalism with a Long-Term Care Focus Webcast

Description: This article examines the shared challenges for primary writers and reinsurance including the older population, marketing, admin expenses, and regulations. Article from The Actuary, Volume 24, Issue 4

Description: This article takes a look at direct response marketing the associated costs, and the tools necessary to start building a company’s presence in this developing market.

Description: This report presents the results of a survey conducted in August and September of 2008 on foreign travel underwriting practices of direct writing companies.

Description: Panelists at this session of the SOA 2001 Toronto Spring Meeting discuss incorporating reinsurance costs into the pricing of their retail products. Panelists also discuss the different effects of various reinsurance arrangements.

Description: This article presents the mathematics for evaluating direct marketing test programs.