(a) Except as provided in § 56-1-906, the minimum standard of valuation for individual annuity and pure endowment contracts issued on or after the operative date of this section and for annuities and pure endowments purchased on or after the operative date under group annuity and pure endowment contracts, shall be the commissioner's reserve valuation methods defined in §§ 56-1-907 and 56-1-908 and the following tables and interest rates:

(1) For individual annuity and pure endowment contracts issued prior to March 13, 1978, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits in those contracts: the 1971 Individual Annuity Mortality Table, or any modification of this table approved by the commissioner, and six percent (6%) interest for single premium immediate annuity contracts and four percent (4%) interest for all other individual annuity and pure endowment contracts;

(2) For individual single premium immediate annuity contracts issued on or after March 13, 1978, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits in those contracts: the 1971 Individual Annuity Mortality Table or any individual annuity mortality table adopted after 1980 by the NAIC that is approved by regulation promulgated by the commissioner for use in determining the minimum standard of valuation for these contracts, or any modification of these tables approved by the commissioner, and seven and one half percent (7.5%) interest;

(3) For individual annuity and pure endowment contracts issued on or after March 13, 1978, other than single premium immediate annuity contracts, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits in those contracts: the 1971 Individual Annuity Mortality Table or any individual annuity mortality table adopted after 1980 by the NAIC that is approved by regulation promulgated by the commissioner for use in determining the minimum standard of valuation for those contracts, or any modification of these tables approved by the commissioner, and five and one half percent (5.5%) interest for single premium deferred annuity and pure endowment contracts and four and one half percent (4.5%) interest for all other individual annuity and pure endowment contracts;

(4) For annuities and pure endowments purchased prior to March 13, 1978, under group annuity and pure endowment contracts, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits purchased under those contracts: the 1971 Group Annuity Mortality Table or any modification of this table approved by the commissioner, and six percent (6%) interest; and

(5) For annuities and pure endowments purchased on or after March 13, 1978, under group annuity and pure endowment contracts, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits purchased under those contracts: the 1971 Group Annuity Mortality Table, or any group annuity mortality table adopted after 1980 by the NAIC that is approved by regulation promulgated by the commissioner for use in determining the minimum standard of valuation for annuities and pure endowments, or any modification of these tables approved by the commissioner, and seven and one half percent (7.5%) interest.

(b) After May 6, 1973, any company may file with the commissioner a written notice of its election to comply with this section after a specified date before January 1, 1979, which shall be the operative date of this section for that company. If a company makes no election, the operative date of this section for that company shall be January 1, 1979.