James Hunt

  • 1995 - JIR / NAIC - Life Cost Disclosure: Prospects for True Reform, by James H. Hunt - 20p
  • JIR
  • Consumer Federation of America
  • Insurance Commissioner - Vermont?
  • 1982 NAIC Proceedings - UL = WL
  • 199x NAIC Proceedings - LIBG - Call UL Permanent

STATEMENT OF JAMES HUNT, FSA, DIRECTOR NATIONAL INSURANCE CONSUMER ORGANIZATION BEFORE THE NAIC TASK FORCE ON LIFE INSURANCE COST DISCLOSURE - December 15, 1981

  • With the advent of universal life, a form of whole life, it is now possible to say that only coincidently may the NAIC Interest-adjusted method be used to compare whole life and universal life.  (p397)

1982-1, NAIC Proceedings

  • Senator Howard METZENBAUM (D-OH): Mr. Hunt, you made a statement that concerns me greatly.
    • You said in the 1980's, replacement life insurance policies began to proliferate.
    • Insurance companies are encouraging their policyholders to cash in their life insurance to buy new and often less secure products with the proceeds.
    • Why are so many policyholders cashing in their life insurance and buying new products?
  • [Bonk: Mr. Hunt = James Hunt]

1992 0623 - GOV (Senate) - Consumer Disclosure of Insurance, Metzenbaum - [PDF-323p-GooglePlay,

  • Abstract
    • In the last ten years, life insurance consumers have endured unprecedented raiding of their policy cash values by replacing agents, have suffered through insolvencies of major companies, have been promised more than could be delivered in computer illustrations and agents' sales pitches, and still lack any tools to comparison shop for cash value life insurance policies.
    • Litigation is rampant; the lawyers have discovered new targets.
    • The image of the business appears at its lowest ebb since the Armstrong Investigation of 1905. Insurance commissioners are at work to devise remedies for some of these problems, but appear to lack power to effect meaningful reforms.
    • Life insurers retain the upper hand politically, which gets in the way of necessary reforms that put consumers first.
    • Until consumers are served, rather than manipulated, life insurers will continue to lose market share to the mutual fund business.

1995 - JIR / NAIC - Life Cost Disclosure: Prospects for True Reform, By James H. Hunt, Consumer Federation of America Insurance Group formerly National Insurance Consumer Organization, CFA / NICO - 20p

  • 1996 - NAIC - Variable Life Illustrations Subgroup of the Life Disclosure (A) Working Group - June 2, 1996
    • Mr. Morse reported that under the current rules, a personalized illustration may be prepared using 0% and 12%.
    • The 12% includes the current morality and expenses and the 0% illustration uses the maximum mortality and expenses allowed in the contract.
    • Mr. Morse opined that this approach does not do consumers the best service.
      • He saw two problems with this approach:
        1. it does not do a good job of showing a consumer what the risks and results might be. The risks in a variable life product include:
          investment risks, a risk that the cost of insurance charges may go up, and a risk that the mortality costs may go up as time passes;
        2. not all purchasers invest in an aggressive stock investment option.
      • If 50% of the investment goes into treasury bills and 50% in stocks, the return shown should be 8% or 9% rather than 12%.
    • James Hunt (Consumer Federation of America) said that the illustrations of variable life that he had seen had been relatively cleaner than those illustrations of nonvariable life.
      • He was unaware of the reason why the SEC chose 12%, because the highest average return he had seen for historical returns on stock funds was approximately 10%.