Description: From a session at the 2001 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, November 29-30, 2001 Teaching session covering the development of realistic liability models for use in asset adequacy analysis, asset/liability management, pricing/repricing, financial reporting or other corporate purposes. The primary focus is modeling issues for variable product features, such as minimum living or death benefit guarantees on both variable life and annuities, annuity death benefit enhancements, and variable immediate annuities. Topics include: • Analysis of the special risks posed by these products • Selecting realistic dynamic assumptions • Techniques used in modeling these products • Scenario testing and result presentation to best communicate risks

Description: 1998 Valuation Actuary Symposium. The panelists addressed regulatory activity with respect to minimum guaranteed benefits for variable annuities: Specifically, AG XXXIV as it relates to minimum guaranteed death benefits and regulatory work that is being done in the guaranteed living benefits area.

Description: Life and annuity markets around the world have seen increasingly complex investment-combined products, including universal life, fixed indexed annuities, variable annuities with a wide variety of guaranteed benefits, indexed variable annuities, etc. Insurance companies are facing unprecedented exposure to financial risks in addition to traditional mortality and longevity risks. The risk assessment and modeling for such complex designs by conventional methods often focus heavily on their market competitiveness and profitability. However, there seems to be a lack of quantifiable and systematic approach to assess investment risks associated with investment combined products. The objective of the proposed work is to develop a framework for quantifying and analyzing various forms of contractual designs and showcase different techniques to assess the trade-off between competitive contractual designs and their practical implications with regard to the difficulty of risk management.

Description: This presentation is from session number 25, presented at the 1999 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held September 23-24 in Los Angeles. The panelists discuss Actuarial Guideline XXXIV, which was effective year-end 1998 and addresses reserving for minimum guaranteed death benefits associated with variable annuities, including the requirements of Actuarial Guideline XXXIII. Companies are now offering other guaranteed benefits such as guaranteed living benefits, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners [NAIC] and the American Academy of Actuaries are working to address reserving for these benefits. The panelists describe the minimum guaranteed benefits in the marketplace and the risks associated with them. Current reserving practices and the latest NAIC and Academy developments are discussed. Discussion from participants is included.

Description: 2003 Valuation Actuary Symposium, San Diego, CA. This session provided an update on the current status of the actuarial guidelines on VA death and living benefits, the Academy's work on a non-formulaic, RBC standard and GAAP developments.

Description: New Zealand is about to launch its first variable annuity with guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits. The product design is mindful of the lessons from the financial crisis in the United States, Europe and Japan.

Description: This article provides the reader with some insights regarding tax planning under the new required methodology.

Description: Panelists provide background and updates on a number of statutory issues relating to life and annuity products, including statutory codification implementation, Actuarial Guideline MMMM, Actuarial Guideline AXXX and implications of the movement to the 2001 CSO table. Changes to federal reporting requirements, through the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, are briefly discussed relative to the recent accounting problems in the news. From the 2002 Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 28, No. 3. Session 78OF of the Boston Annual Meeting.

Description: 2003 Valuation Actuary Symposium, San Diego, CA. This session provided an overview of current statutory valuation issues pertaining to life and annuity products. Topics included: 1. Actuarial opinion and memorandum regulation amendments. 2. Progress on variable products reserving standards. 3. Regulation XXX mortality factors. 4. Adoption of the 2001 CSO. 5. Progress on the C-3 Phase II RBC project. 6. An update on annuity and life nonforfeiture.