Section 2004.20 Active Life
Reserves – Individual Policies
a) General Provisions
Active life
reserves are required for all in force policies and are in addition to any
reserves required in connection with claims. For policy types in subsections
(b)(1)-(3) of this Section, the minimum reserve shall be determined as
specified in this Part. It should be emphasized, however, that these are
minimum standards and higher, adequate reserves shall be established by the
company in any case in which experience indicates that these minimum standards
do not place a sound value on the liabilities under the policy. For policy
types in subsection (b)(4) of this Section, the minimum reserve shall be the
gross pro rata unearned premium.
b) Types of individual accident and health insurance policies
1) Policies that are noncancellable or noncancellable and
guaranteed renewable for life or to a specified age, such as 60 or 65.
2) Policies that are guaranteed renewable for life or to a
specified age, such as 60 or 65, but under which the company reserves the right
to change the scale of premiums.
3) Policies in which the company has reserved the right to cancel
or refuse renewal for one or more reasons, but has agreed implicitly or
explicitly that, prior to a specified time or age, it will not cancel or
decline renewal solely because of deterioration of health after issue; however,
policies shall not be considered of this type if the company has reserved the
right to refuse renewal provided the right is to be exercised at the same time
for all policies in the same category, unless premiums are based on the level
premium principle.
4) All other individual policies.
5) Notices:
A) This subsection (b) does not classify "franchise" as
a type of policy. Such policies are frequently written under an agreement
limiting the company's right to cancel or refuse renewal. Usually the right is
reserved to refuse renewal of all policies in the group or other categories
such as those ceasing to be members of the association, and this would place
those policies, in subsection (b)(4) of this Section in accordance with the
last clause under subsection (b)(3) of this Section. However, if premiums are
based on the level premium principle or if the renewal privilege granted to the
individual insured meets the requirements for policies in subsections
(b)(1)-(3) of this Section, the franchise policy shall be so classified for
reserve purposes.
B) "Family group accident and health insurance
policies", as defined in Section 367(4) of the Code [215 ILCS 5/367(4)],
should have active life reserves determined under this Section.
C) A policy may have guarantees qualifying it as a policy listed
in subsections (b)(1)-(3) of this Section until a specified age or duration,
after which the guarantees, or lack of guarantees, may qualify it as a policy
such as listed in subsections (b)(1)-(4) of this Section. In such case, the
policy in each period shall be considered for reserve purposes according to the
type to which it then belongs.
D) Where all of the benefits of a policy, as provided by rider or
otherwise, are not of the same type as listed in this subsection (b), each
benefit shall be considered for reserve purposes according to the type to which
it belongs.
c) Reserve standards for policies in subsections (b)(1)-(3) of
this Section.
1) Interest. The maximum interest rate for reserves shall be 3½%
compounded annually.
2) Mortality:
A) 1941 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Table, or
B) 1958 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Table, or
C) 1941 Standard Industrial Mortality Table, or
D) Commissioners 1961 Standard Industrial Mortality Table, or
E) Such other table as may be approved by the Director of the
Department of Insurance (Director).
3) Morbidity or Other Contingency:
A) Total disability due to accident or sickness. The minimum
standard shall be the 1964 Commissioners Disability Table.
B) Hospital Expense Benefits. The minimum standard shall be the
1956 Inter-company Hospital Table.
C) Surgical Expense Benefits. The minimum standard shall be the
1956 Inter-company Surgical Table.
D) Accidental Death Benefits. The minimum standard shall be the
1959 Accidental Death Benefits Table.
E) All other benefits. The company shall adopt standards to
produce reserves which place a sound value on the liabilities under such
benefit.
4) Negative Reserves. Negative reserves on any benefit may be
offset against positive reserves for other benefits in the same policy, but the
mean reserve on any policy shall never be taken as less than one-half the
valuation net premium.
5) Preliminary Term. The minimum reserve shall be on the basis
of a two-year preliminary term.
6) Reserve Method. Mean reserves diminished by appropriate
credit for valuation net deferred premiums, or, mid-terminal reserves plus
gross or net pro rata unearned premium reserves. In no event, however, may the
aggregate reserve for all policies be less than the gross pro rata unearned
premium under those policies.
7) Alternative Valuation Procedures and Assumptions. Provided
the reserve on all policies to which the method or basis is applied is not less
in the aggregate than the amount determined according to the applicable
standards specified above, the company may use any reasonable assumptions as to
the interest rate, mortality rates, or the rates of morbidity or other
contingency, and may introduce an assumption as to the voluntary termination of
policies. Also, subject to the preceding condition, the company may employ
methods other than the methods stated above in determining a sound value of its
liabilities under such policies, including but not limited to the following:
A) Optional use of either the level premium, the one-year
preliminary term, or the two-year preliminary term method.
B) Prospective valuation on the basis of actual gross premiums
with reasonable allowance for future expenses.
C) The use of approximations such as those involving age
groupings, groupings of several years of issue or average amounts of indemnity.
D) The computation of the reserve for one policy benefit as a
percentage of, or by other relation to, the aggregate policy reserves,
exclusive of the benefit or benefits so valued.
E) The use of a composite annual claim cost for all or any
combination of the benefits included in the policies valued.
8) For statement purposes, the net reserve liability may be shown
as the excess of the mean reserve over the amount of net unpaid and deferred
premiums, or, regardless of the underlying method of calculation, it may be
divided between the gross pro rata unearned premium reserve and a balancing
item for the "additional reserve".
(Source: Amended at 32 Ill.
Reg. 13191, effective July 25, 2008)