Q: What came first Universal Life or Adjustable Life?

  • 1981 0511 - Ventura County Star / NYT - 'Universal' insurance making gains - newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star/146622810/
    • The Life Insurance Co. of California was the first to sell the universal policies, in January 1979. Its name later was changed to Hutton Life.
  • Unfortunately the terminology that has developed to describe adjustable life and universal life has been confusing.
    • Many insurers have used the word adjustable in the title or name for their universal life policies.
    • Consequently many agents have come to regard adjustable life as simply an alternate name for universal life.
    • Many of them are unaware that generic adjustable life policies predate universal life.

McGill's Life Insurance - [link-Adjustable Life]

  • Cannibal Life is a medium-size stock life insurance company owned by a powerful non-financial company.
    • Its management and that of its parent company are aggressive and non-traditional; its agency organization is traditional and commission-oriented.
    • At the urging of its parent company, Cannibal Life decides to adopt a completely new marketing strategy designed to achieve major market penetration.
    • It decides to withdraw all currently issued life insurance plans and to offer only the Universal Life Insurance Policy, notwithstanding the risk of losing its entire agency organization.

1975/1999 - SOA - The Universal Life Insurance Policy, by James C. H. Anderson, Society of Actuaries - 10p

  • Tom BAKOS: Well, I guess I'd just like to mention that I think actually UL was developed in 1960-something-or-other.
  • FROM THE FLOOR: That was adjustable life.
  • Tom BAKOS: I think Cannibal Life was the precursor.

2003 - SOA - Do You Know How Much You're Spending? The Hidden Costs of Product Complexity, Society of Actuaries - 19p