26-6-205. Computation of minimum standard; reserve valuation method, life insurance and endowment benefits; annuity and pure endowment benefits; minimum reserves; reserve calculation; indeterminate plans.

(a) Repealed by Laws 1994, ch. 76, § 3.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in W.S. 26-6-206 and 26-6-207 the minimum standard for the valuation of all policies and contracts subject to this article issued prior to the effective date of the standard valuation law shall be that provided by the laws in effect immediately prior to that date. Except as otherwise provided in W.S. 26-6-206 and 26-6-207 the minimum standard for the valuation of all policies and contracts subject to this article issued on or after the effective date of the standard valuation law and prior to the operative date of the valuation manual shall be the commissioners' reserve valuation method defined in subsections (c) and (e) of this section, W.S. 26-6-203 and 26-6-207, three and one-half percent (3 1/2%) interest or four percent (4%) interest for life insurance policies and contracts other than annuity and pure endowment contracts issued on or after July 1, 1975 and prior to May 20, 1981, five and one-half percent (5 1/2%) interest for single premium life insurance policies, and four and one-half percent (4 1/2%) interest for all other such policies issued on or after May 20, 1981, and the following tables:

(i) For ordinary policies of life insurance issued on the standard basis, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits in those policies:

(A) The commissioners' 1941 standard ordinary mortality table for such policies issued prior to the effective date of W.S. 26-16-208(a);

(B) The commissioners' 1958 standard ordinary mortality table for such policies issued on or after the effective date of W.S. 26-16-208(a) and prior to the operative date of W.S. 26-16-209, provided that for any category of such policies issued on female risks all modified net premiums and present values referred to in this subsection may be calculated according to an age not more than six (6) years younger than the actual age of the insured; and

(C) For such policies issued on or after the operative date of W.S. 26-16-209:

(I) The commissioners' 1980 standard ordinary mortality table; or

(II) At the election of the company for any one (1) or more specified plans of life insurance, the commissioners' 1980 standard ordinary mortality table with ten (10) year select mortality factors; or

(III) Any ordinary mortality table adopted after 1980 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and approved by regulation the commissioner promulgates for use in determining the minimum standard of valuation for those policies.

(ii) For industrial life insurance policies issued on the standard basis, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits in those policies:

(A) The 1941 standard industrial life insurance policies for such policies issued prior to the effective date of W.S. 26-16-208(b);

(B) For such policies issued on or after the effective date of W.S. 26-16-208(b), the commissioners' 1961 standard industrial mortality table or any industrial mortality table adopted after 1980 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and approved by regulation the commissioner promulgates for use in determining the minimum standard of valuation for those policies.

(iii) For individual annuity and pure endowment contracts, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits in those policies, the 1937 standard annuity mortality table, or, at the insurer's option, the annuity mortality table for 1949, ultimate, or any modification of either of these tables the commissioner approves;

(iv) For group annuity and pure endowment contracts, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits in those policies, the group annuity mortality table for 1951, any modification of that table the commissioner approves, or, at the insurer's option, any of the tables or modifications of tables specified for individual annuity and pure endowment contracts;

(v) For total and permanent disability benefits in or supplementary to ordinary policies or contracts, the following tables, provided any such table, for active lives, shall be combined with a mortality table permitted for calculating the reserves for life insurance policies:

(A) For policies or contracts issued on or after January 1, 1966, the tables of period 2 disablement rates and the 1930 to 1950 termination rates of the 1952 disability study of the Society of Actuaries, with due regard to the type of benefit, or any table of disablement rates and termination rates the National Association of Insurance Commissioners adopts after 1980 and is approved by regulation the commissioner promulgates for use in determining the minimum standard of valuation for those policies;

(B) For policies or contracts issued on or after January 1, 1961 and prior to January 1, 1966, either such tables or, at the option of the company, the Class 3 Disability Table of 1926; and

(C) For policies issued prior to January 1, 1961, the Class 3 Disability Table of 1926.

(vi) For accidental death benefits in or supplementary to policies, the following tables, provided any table shall be combined with a mortality table for calculating the reserves for life insurance policies:

(A) For policies issued on or after January 1, 1966, the 1959 accidental death benefits table or any accidental death benefits table the National Association of Insurance Commissioners adopts after 1980 and is approved by regulation the commissioner promulgates for use in determining the minimum standard of valuation of those policies;

(B) For policies issued on or after January 1, 1961 and prior to January 1, 1966, either such table or, at the option of the company, the Inter-Company Double Indemnity Mortality Table;

(C) For policies issued prior to January 1, 1961, the Inter-Company Double Indemnity Mortality Table.

(vii) For group life insurance, life insurance issued on the substandard basis and other special benefits, any tables the commissioner approves.

(c) Except as provided in W.S. 26-6-203, 26-6-207 and subsection (e) of this section reserves according to the commissioners' reserve valuation method:

(i) For the life insurance and endowment benefits of policies providing for a uniform amount of insurance and requiring the payment of uniform premiums, shall be the excess, if any, of the present value, at the date of valuation, of the future guaranteed benefits provided by those policies, over the then present value of any future modified net policy premiums. The modified net premiums for any such policy shall be a uniform percentage of the contract premiums for the benefits such that the present value, at the date of issue of the policy, of all the modified net premiums shall be equal to the sum of the then present value of the benefits provided by the policy and the excess of (1) over (2) as follows: (1) A net level annual premium equal to the present value, at the date of issue, of the benefits provided after the first policy year, divided by the present value at the date of issue, of an annuity of one (1) per annum payable on each policy anniversary on which a premium falls due. The net level annual premium shall not exceed the net level annual premium on the nineteen (19) year premium whole life plan for insurance of the same amount at an age one (1) year higher than the age at issue of the policy; (2) A net one (1) year term premium for benefits provided in the first policy year;

(ii) For any life insurance policy issued on or after January 1, 1998 for which the contract premium in the first policy year exceeds that of the second year and for which no comparable additional benefit is provided in the first year for the excess and which provides an endowment benefit or a cash surrender value or a combination thereof in an amount greater than the excess premium, the reserve according to the commissioners' reserve valuation method as of any policy anniversary occurring on or before the assumed ending date defined herein as the first policy anniversary on which the sum of any endowment benefit and any cash surrender value then available is greater than the excess premium, except as otherwise provided in W.S. 26-6-203, shall be the greater of the reserve as of the policy anniversary calculated as described in paragraph (i) of this subsection and the reserve as of the policy anniversary calculated as described in that paragraph, but with:

(A) The value defined in subdivision (1) of paragraph (i) of this subsection being reduced by fifteen percent (15%) of the amount of such excess first year premium;

(B) All present values of benefits and premiums being determined without reference to premiums or benefits provided for by the policy after the assumed ending date;

(C) The policy being assumed to mature on such date as an endowment;

(D) The cash surrender value provided on such date being considered as an endowment benefit; and

(E) In making the comparison specified in this paragraph the mortality and interest bases stated in subsections (b) and (h) of this section shall be used.

(d) Reserves according to the commissioners' reserve valuation method for benefits provided by the following policies or contracts shall be calculated by a method consistent with the principles of subsection (c) of this section:

(i) Life insurance policies providing for a varying amount of insurance or requiring the payment of varying premiums;

(ii) Group annuity and pure endowment contracts purchased under a retirement or deferred compensation plan established or maintained by an employer, an employee organization or both, other than a plan providing individual retirement accounts or annuities under section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code;

(iii) Disability and accidental death benefits in all policies and contracts; and

(iv) All other benefits, except life insurance and endowment benefits in life insurance policies and benefits provided by other annuity and pure endowment contracts.

(e) This section applies to annuity and pure endowment contracts other than group annuity and pure endowment contracts purchased under a retirement or deferred compensation plan established or maintained by an employer, including a partnership or sole proprietorship, an employee organization, or both, and other than a plan providing individual retirement accounts or annuities under section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code. Reserves according to the commissioners' annuity reserve method for benefits under annuity or pure endowment contracts, excluding disability and accidental death benefits in those contracts, shall be the greatest of the excesses of the present values, at the date of valuation, of any future guaranteed benefits, including guaranteed nonforfeiture benefits, provided by those contracts at the end of each contract year, over the present value, at the date of valuation, of any future valuation considerations derived from future gross considerations required by the terms of the contract that are payable prior to the end of the contract year. The future guaranteed benefits shall be determined by using the mortality table and the interest rates specified in the contracts for determining guaranteed benefits. The valuation considerations are the portions of the gross considerations applied under the contracts to determine nonforfeiture values.

(f) No insurer's aggregate reserves for all life insurance policies, excluding disability and accidental death benefits, shall be less than the aggregate reserves calculated in accordance with the method set forth in subsections (b), (c), (d), (e) and (h) of this section and W.S. 26-6-203, and the mortality tables and rates of interest used in calculating nonforfeiture benefits for those policies. In no event shall the aggregate reserves for all policies, contracts and benefits be less than the aggregate reserves determined by the appointed actuary to be necessary to render the opinion required by W.S. 26-6-208.

(g) Repealed by Laws 1994, ch. 76, § 3.

(h) For any plan of life insurance which provides that the amounts of future premiums will be determined by the insurance company based on the then estimates of future experience or which is of a nature that minimum reserves cannot be determined by the methods described in subsections (c), (d) and (e) of this section and W.S. 26-6-203, the commissioner shall promulgate regulations for determining the reserves so they are:

(i) Appropriate in relation to the benefits and the pattern of premiums for that plan; and

(ii) Computed by a method which is consistent with the principles of this article.