Notice of Proposed Rule

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
OIR – Insurance Regulation
RULE NO.: RULE TITLE:
69O-162.203: Adoption of 2001 Commissioners Standard Ordinary (CSO) Preferred Mortality Tables for Determining Reserve Liabilities for Ordinary Life Insurance.
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: To adopt changes to the NAIC Model Regulation and explain the conditions for use of the preferred class structure mortality tables and to permit use of the mortality tables for policies issued prior to the adoption date of the original rule.
SUMMARY: Section 625.121(5), F.S., provides that the Commission may adopt by rule the NAIC Model Regulations for valuation of life insurance policies. This rule does that. This rule is being amended due to changes made to the NAIC Model Regulation. The amendment explains the conditions for use of the preferred class structure mortality tables, and permits use of the mortality tables for policies issued prior to the adoption date of the original rule.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:
The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the agency.
The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs or if no SERC is required, the information expressly relied upon and described herein: Agency personnel familiar with the subject matter of the rule amendment have performed an economic analysis of the rule amendment that shows that the rule amendment is unlikely to have an adverse impact on the State economy in excess of the criteria established in Section 120.541(2)(a), Florida Statutes.
Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 624.308(1), 625.121 FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 624.307 (1), 625.121 FS.
IF REQUESTED WITHIN 21 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE,TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW(IF NOT REQUESTED, THIS HEARING WILL NOT BE HELD):
DATE AND TIME: February 28, 2012, 9:30 a.m.
PLACE: Room 142, Larson Building, 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida
Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 5 days before the workshop/meeting by contacting: Kerry Krantz, Office of Insurance Regulation, E-mail Kerry.Krantz@floir.com. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Kerry Krantz, Office of Insurance Regulation, E-mail Kerry.Krantz@floir.com

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

69O-162.203 Adoption of 2001 Commissioners Standard Ordinary (CSO) Preferred Mortality Tables for Determining Reserve Liabilities for Ordinary Life Insurance.

(1) Scope. This rule shall govern mortality tables for use in reserves as set forth in Section 625.121, F.S.

(2) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to recognize, permit and prescribe the use of mortality tables that reflect differences in mortality between Preferred and Standard lives in determining minimum reserve liabilities in accordance with Section 625.121(5)(a)3., F.S., and subsection 69O-164.020(5), F.A.C.

(3) Definitions.

(a) “2001 CSO Mortality Table” means that mortality table, consisting of separate rates of mortality for male and female lives, developed by the American Academy of Actuaries CSO Task Force from the Valuation Basic Mortality Table developed by the Society of Actuaries Individual Life Insurance Valuation Mortality Task Force, and adopted by the NAIC in December 2002. The 2001 CSO Mortality Table is included in the Proceedings of the NAIC (2nd Quarter 2002) and supplemented by the 2001 CSO Preferred Class Structure Mortality Table defined below in Subsection (b). Unless the context indicates otherwise, the “2001 CSO Mortality Table” includes both the ultimate form of that table and the select and ultimate form of that table and includes both the smoker and nonsmoker mortality tables and the composite mortality tables. It also includes both the age-nearest-birthday and age-last-birthday bases of the mortality tables. Mortality tables in the 2001 CSO Mortality Table include the following:

1. “2001 CSO Mortality Table (F)” means that mortality table consisting of the rates of mortality for female lives from the 2001 CSO Mortality Table.

2. “2001 CSO Mortality Table (M)” means that mortality table consisting of the rates of mortality for male lives from the 2001 CSO Mortality Table.

3. “Composite mortality tables” means mortality tables with rates of mortality that do not distinguish between smokers and nonsmokers.

4. “Smoker and nonsmoker mortality tables” means mortality tables with separate rates of mortality for smokers and nonsmokers.

(b) “2001 CSO Preferred Class Structure Mortality Table” means mortality tables with separate rates of mortality for Super Preferred Nonsmokers, Preferred Nonsmokers, Residual Standard Nonsmokers, Preferred Smokers, and Residual Standard Smoker splits of the 2001 CSO Nonsmoker and Smoker tables as adopted by the NAIC September 10, 2006, which is available in the NAIC Proceedings (3rd Quarter 2006) which is adopted herein and incorporated by reference. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the “2001 CSO Preferred Class Structure Mortality Table” includes both the ultimate form of that table and the select and ultimate form of that table. It includes both the smoker and nonsmoker mortality tables. It includes both the male and female mortality tables and the gender composite mortality tables. It also includes both the age-nearest-birthday and age-last-birthday bases of the mortality table.

(c) “Statistical agent” means an entity with proven systems for protecting the confidentiality of individual insured and insurer information; demonstrated resources for and history of ongoing electronic communications and data transfer ensuring data integrity with insurers, which are its members or subscribers; and a history of and means for aggregation of data and accurate promulgation of the experience modifications in a timely manner.

(4) 2001 CSO Preferred Class Structure Table.

(a) At the election of the company, for each calendar year of issue, for any one or more specified plans of insurance and subject to satisfying the conditions stated in this rule, the 2001 CSO Preferred Class Structure Mortality Table may be substituted in place of the 2001 CSO Smoker or Nonsmoker Mortality Table as the minimum valuation standard for policies issued on or after January 1, 2007.

1. On valuation dates beginning with December 31, 2010, for policies issued on or after January 1, 2005 for policies not issued in this state, and on or after June 8, 2005, for policies issued in this state, and prior to January 1, 2007 wherever issued, these tables may be substituted at the option of the insurer and subject to the conditions of subsection (5), if the Regulatory Asset Adequacy Issues Summary required by rule Chapter 69O-138, F.A.C. includes, if applicable, the impact of the insufficiency of assets to support the payment of benefits and expenses and the establishment of statutory reserves during one or more interim periods.

2. On valuation dates beginning with December 31, 2010, these tables may be substituted by an insurer not domiciled in this state at its option to value the policies identified in (a)(1). if the insurer provides the office with a statement from the commissioner of its state of domicile that the conditions for substituting these tables required by that state have been met.

(b) No such election shall be made until the company demonstrates at least 20% of the business to be valued on this table is in one or more of the preferred classes.

(c) A table from the 2001 CSO Preferred Class Structure Mortality Table used in place of a 2001 CSO Mortality Table, pursuant to the requirements of this rule, will be treated as part of the 2001 CSO Mortality Table only for purposes of reserve valuation pursuant to the requirements of Rule 69O-162.201, F.A.C., Adoption of 2001 Commissioners Standard Ordinary (CSO) Mortality Tables.

(5) Conditions.

(a) For each plan of insurance with separate rates for Preferred and Standard Nonsmoker lives, an insurer may use the Super Preferred Nonsmoker, Preferred Nonsmoker, and Residual Standard Nonsmoker tables to substitute for the Nonsmoker mortality table found in the 2001 CSO Mortality Table to determine minimum reserves. At the time of election and annually thereafter, except for business valued under the Residual Standard Nonsmoker Table, the appointed actuary shall certify that:

1. The present value of death benefits over the next ten years after the valuation date, using the anticipated mortality experience without recognition of mortality improvement beyond the valuation date for each class, is less than the present value of death benefits using the valuation basic table corresponding to the valuation table being used for that class.

2. The present value of death benefits over the future life of the contracts, using anticipated mortality experience without recognition of mortality improvement beyond the valuation date for each class, is less than the present value of death benefits using the valuation basic table corresponding to the valuation table being used for that class.

(b) For each plan of insurance with separate rates for Preferred and Standard Smoker lives, an insurer may use the Preferred Smoker and Residual Standard Smoker tables to substitute for the Smoker mortality table found in the 2001 CSO Mortality Table to determine minimum reserves. At the time of election and annually thereafter, for business valued under the Preferred Smoker Table, the appointed actuary shall certify that:

1. The present value of death benefits over the next ten years after the valuation date, using the anticipated mortality experience without recognition of mortality improvement beyond the valuation date for each class, is less than the present value of death benefits using the Preferred Smoker valuation basic table corresponding to the valuation table being used for that class.

2. The present value of death benefits over the future life of the contracts, using anticipated mortality experience without recognition of mortality improvement beyond the valuation date for each class, is less than the present value of death benefits using the Preferred Smoker valuation basic table.

(c) The use of the 2001 CSO Preferred Class Structure Table for the valuation of policies issued prior to January 1, 2007 shall not be permitted in any statutory financial statement in which a company reports, with respect to any policy or portion of a policy coinsured, either of the following:

1. In cases where the mode of payment of the reinsurance premium is less frequent than the mode of payment of the policy premium, a reserve credit that exceeds, by more than the amount specified in this paragraph as Y, the gross reserve calculated before reinsurance. Y is the amount of the gross reinsurance premium that (a) provides coverage for the period from the next policy premium due date to the earlier of the end of the policy year and the next reinsurance premium due date, and (b) would be refunded to the ceding entity upon the termination of the policy.

2.a. In cases where the mode of payment of the reinsurance premium is more frequent than the mode of payment of the policy premium, a reserve credit that is less than the gross reserve, calculated before reinsurance, by an amount that is less than the amount specified in this paragraph as Z. Z is the amount of the gross reinsurance premium that the ceding entity would need to pay the assuming company to provide reinsurance coverage from the period of the next reinsurance premium due date to the next policy premium due date minus any liability established for the proportionate amount not remitted to the reinsurer.

b. For purposes of this condition, the reserve (i) for the mean reserve method shall be defined as the mean reserve minus the deferred premium asset, and (ii) for the midterminal reserve method shall include the unearned premium reserve. A company may estimate and adjust its accounting on an aggregate basis in order to meet the conditions to use the 2001 CSO Preferred Class Structure Table.

(6) Effective Date. This rule shall be effective for policies issued on or after January 1, 2007, for valuation dates on or after the date this rule becomes effective.

Rulemaking Specific Authority 624.308(1), 625.121 FS. Law Implemented 624.307(1), 625.121 FS. History–New 1-16-08, Amended________.


NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Kerry Krantz, Office of Insurance Regulation, E-mail Kerry.Krantz@floir.com
NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Financial Services Commission
DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: June 16, 2011
DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: June 11, 2010