Description: Continuing a line which started in Vienna as far back as 1927, COINTRA an acronym for “Cooperation Internationale pour les Assurances des Risclues Aggraves” held its 14th conference in Stockholm from 9th to 12th June, 1981. Some 110 representatives from life assurance and reassurance companies, established in more than a dozen countries, were in attendance for the purpose of exchanging information and reviewing developments in substandard life assurance.

Description: This article discusses the three main taxation proposals affecting holders of life insurance and deferred annuity policies announced on Friday, November 13, 1981 by the Federal Finance Minister in Canada. The main proposals are 1 taxation of accrued investment income on life and annuity policies, 2 changes in the adjusted cost basis at disposition of policies and 3 treatment of life insurance policies not registered as retirement savings plans.

Description: This article discusses a paper entitled, “Looking at Canada in 1980.” The author of this article, editor of The Actuary, notes that the paper’s author, A. Peter Hardy, F.I.A., who had called upon his own experiences in Canada in 1976-79 to write it, provided a copy, excerpts from which are included in the discussion. Three of the areas Mr. Hardy addressed for comparison between Canada and UK practice are discussed in this article: taxation, guaranteed cash surrender values, and life insurance commission and the field force.