Non-Traditional

  • The obvious question that springs to mind when asked to consider non-traditional life products is what is meant by “non-traditional”?
  • Upon reflection, virtually every product of significance in today’s market can be termed non-traditional in one way or another.

— Trevor C. Howes

1984 – SOA – Non-Traditional Life Insurance Products–Canada, Society of Actuaries – 28p

  • Let us agree on our terms.
    • What I mean by traditional life policies is the life insurance product stereotypes.
    • A stereotype policy is one which is indivisible and wholly defined, by its terms, at issue.

—  George R Dinney

1982 – SOA – Programs to Conserve Traditional Life Insurance Policies, Society of Actuaries – 18p

  • (p34) – With respect to NT products, the investment guarantee products, and the universal insurance are all systematic trigger factors.
  • [Bonk: NT = non-traditional]

2020 02 – SOA – Systemic Risk in China’s Insurance Industry, Society of Actuaries – 55p

  • 3.2 Non-traditional and non-insurance business activities
  • 28. In contrast, there are business activities that either deviate from, or miss entirely some of, the criteria mentioned above.
  • In life insurance, for example, noninsurance features, such as different types of guarantees or the absence of penalties for early surrenders, have been added to traditional products.
    • These non-traditional features materially change the risk profile of the combined product.
  • Similarly, life insurance products with savings and investment features are characterised as non-traditional by a number of supervisors.
  • As for reinsurance, the underwriting of reinsurance contracts is a traditional function.
    • However, reinsurance contracts with limited or no risk transfers can change the risk profile, making at least part of the insurance business non-traditional or even non-insurance.

2011 11 – IAIS – Insurance and Financial Stability – 47p

  • At your June meeting, your task force received a draft of a proposed revision of the NAIC Life Insurance Solicitation Model Regulation.
    • This proposal would incorporate the following new features into the model regulation:
    • 2. A special plans section to accommodate the unique features of nontraditional plans such as universal life insurance.

—  Statement on Behalf of the American Council Of Life Insurance (ACLI To The NAIC (A) Committee’s Life Cost Disclosure Task Force – November 29, 1982 – p523

1983-1, NAIC Proceedings

  • Finally, there are issues of adequacy.
  • Are the state guarantee funds adequate to deal with a major failure?
  • I don’t believe that Executive Life was a major failure.
  • I believe that there are major failures waiting for us, because of the life insurance industry’s switch from the product that it was selling.
  • When I was taking actuarial exams, the product that was being sold was the guarantee about human mortality.
  • That was what we sold then, and now we’re selling investments.
    • We’re selling universal life, and we’re selling GICs.
    • These have very little to do with what we originally started from, and what the industry built on.

Now we’re competing with banks and brokerage houses and stock markets for investment dollars.

—  James A. Kenney, Consulting Actuary, Coates and Kenney Associates in Berkeley, California

1992 – SOA – Is There Life After Executive Life? Retirement Plan Participants and The Guarantees Of Insurance Companies, Society of Actuaries – 22p