Life

This article will explore the past, present, and future of clinical laboratory and biometric testing as they apply to life, disability, and long-term care insurance underwriting.

As the life insurance industry continues to look for innovative ways to respond to the changing needs, expectations and buying preferences of 21st century consumers, insurance companies and their reinsurance partners have responded by expanding research and development capabilities. As a key area of research within the industry, cross-functional R&D teams of actuaries, underwriters, data scientists and statisticians are focusing on providing value-added intelligence and advice around the mortality risk implications of using risk scores and new data sources in accelerated and enhanced underwriting programs.

Click on "Issue 107, June." Article states on page 10

Peeing in a cup, giving blood samples, getting blood pressure checked and stepping on the scale were once unavoidable (and often dreaded) parts of applying for life insurance. But data services and technology are gradually replacing the life insurance medical exam.

From the initial recognition of HIV virus in 1981, HIV infection has turned from an almost universally fatal infection, to one that could be managed with medication to extend life, to a disease which can be controlled with newer and revolutionary medication therapies.  While many companies continue to see the HIV virus as uninsurable, that corner has also been turned, and life insurance in selected cases of treated HIV infection is now possible.  Even though the conditions that must be met are numerous and the criteria stringent, applicants with HIV now have the possibility of acceptable insurance offers.

Disruptive innovation are revolutionizing many industries. How will it affect insurance?

Click on "Issue 88, July." Article states on page 20.

In 2015 we published a white paper with an underwriting perspective on marijuana use. The following paper takes a look at the developing landscape after two years.

Life insurance underwriting isn’t just a job – it’s an art, a science and, at times, a puzzle. To piece together a particularly complex or challenging case, it often makes sense to seek facultative consideration from a reinsurer. Find tips and tools here to make the process easier, including a sample cover letter.

This paper seeks to understand the unique set of circumstances that led to the dramatic rise in opioid prescriptions over the last few decades, and provide a brief overview of the resultant morbidity and mortality for the insured population.

How much is a life worth? That is a difficult question to answer. Addressing it from a social, emotional, or spiritual perspective can provide a wide range of responses – if in fact the question is answerable at all. From a strictly fiscal perspective, however, determining a person’s long-term financial value is exactly what financial underwriting in life insurance seeks to do.