2012 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 38 - Insurance
Chapter 63 - INDIVIDUAL LIFE INSURANCE
Section 38-63-600 - Basis for calculating adjusted premiums and present values of policies issued on or after date of election of compliance by insurer or January 1, 1989, if later.

(1) This section applies to all policies issued on or after the operative date of this section as defined herein. Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section, the adjusted premiums for any policy must be calculated on an annual basis and must be such uniform percentage of the respective premiums specified in the policy for each policy year, excluding amounts payable as extra premiums to cover impairments or special hazards and also excluding any uniform annual contract charge or policy fee specified in the policy in a statement of the method to be used in calculating the cash surrender values and paid-up nonforfeiture benefits, that the present value, at the date of issue of the policy, of all adjusted premiums must be equal to the sum of (i) the then present value of the future guaranteed benefits provided for by the policy; (ii) one percent of either the amount of insurance, if the insurance is uniform in amount, or the average amount of insurance at the beginning of each of the first ten policy years; and (iii) one hundred twenty-five percent of the nonforfeiture net level premium as hereinafter defined. In applying the percentage specified in (iii) above, no nonforfeiture net level premium may be considered to exceed four percent of either the amount of insurance, if the insurance is uniform in amount, or the average amount of insurance at the beginning of each of the first ten policy years. The date of issue of a policy for the purpose of this section is the date as of which the rated age of the insured is determined.

(2) The nonforfeiture net level premium must be equal to the present value, at the date of issue of the policy, of the guaranteed benefits provided for by the policy divided by the present value, at the date of issue of the policy, of an annuity of one per annum payable on the date of issue of the policy and on each anniversary of the policy on which a premium falls due.

(3) In the case of policies which cause on a basis guaranteed in the policy unscheduled changes in benefits or premiums, or which provide an option for changes in benefits or premiums other than a change to a new policy, the adjusted premiums and present values must initially be calculated on the assumption that future benefits and premiums do not change from those stipulated at the date of issue of the policy. At the time of any such change in the benefits or premiums the future adjusted premiums, nonforfeiture net level premiums, and present values must be recalculated on the assumption that future benefits and premiums do not change from those stipulated by the policy immediately after the change.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7) of this section, the recalculated future adjusted premiums for any such policy must be such uniform percentage of the respective future premiums specified in the policy for each policy year, excluding amounts payable as extra premiums to cover impairments and special hazards and also excluding any uniform annual contract charge or policy fee specified by the policy in a statement of the method to be used in calculating the cash surrender values and paid-up nonforfeiture benefits, that the present value, at the time of change to the newly defined benefits or premiums, of all such future adjusted premiums must be equal to the excess of (A) the sum of (i) the then present value of the then future guaranteed benefits provided for by the policy and (ii) the additional expense allowance, if any, over (B) the then cash surrender value, if any, or present value of any paid-up nonforfeiture benefit under the policy.

(5) The additional expense allowance, at the time of the change to the newly defined benefits or premiums, must be the sum of (i) one percent of the excess, if positive, of the average amount of insurance at the beginning of each of the first ten policy years subsequent to the change over the average amount of insurance prior to the change at the beginning of each of the first ten policy years subsequent to the time of the most recent previous change or, if there has been no previous change, the date of issue of the policy; and (ii) one hundred twenty-five percent of the increase, if positive, in the nonforfeiture net level premium.

(6) The recalculated nonforfeiture net level premium must be equal to the result obtained by dividing (A) by (B) where (A) equals the sum of (i) the nonforfeiture net level premium applicable prior to the change times the present value of an annuity of one per annum payable on each anniversary of the policy on or subsequent to the date of the change on which a premium would have fallen due had the change not occurred, and (ii) the present value of the increase in future guaranteed benefits provided for by the policy, and (B) equals the present value of an annuity of one per annum payable on each anniversary of the policy on or subsequent to the date of change on which a premium falls due.

(7) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section to the contrary, in the case of a policy issued on a substandard basis which provides reduced graded amounts of insurance so that, in each policy year, the policy has the same tabular mortality cost as an otherwise similar policy issued on the standard basis which provides higher uniform amounts of insurance, adjusted premiums and present values for the substandard policy may be calculated as if it were issued to provide the higher uniform amounts of insurance on the standard basis.

(8) All adjusted premiums and present values referred to in this article:

(A) must for all policies of ordinary insurance be calculated on the basis of (i) the Commissioners' 1980 Standard Ordinary Mortality Table or (ii) at the election of the insurer for any one or more specified plans of life insurance, the Commissioners' 1980 Standard Ordinary Mortality Table with Ten-Year Select Mortality Factors;

(B) must for all policies of industrial insurance be calculated on the basis of the Commissioners' 1961 Standard Industrial Mortality Table; and

(C) must for all policies issued in a particular calendar year be calculated on the basis of a rate of interest not exceeding the nonforfeiture interest rate as defined in this section for policies issued in that calendar year. However:

(a) At the option of the insurer, calculations for all policies issued in a particular calendar year may be made on the basis of a rate of interest not exceeding the nonforfeiture interest rate, as defined in this section, for policies issued in the immediately preceding calendar year.

(b) Under any paid-up nonforfeiture benefit, including any paid-up dividend additions, any cash surrender value available, whether or not required by Section 38-63-520, must be calculated on the basis of the mortality table and rate of interest used in determining the amount of the paid-up nonforfeiture benefit and paid-up dividend additions, if any.

(c) An insurer may calculate the amount of any guaranteed paid-up nonforfeiture benefit including any paid-up additions under the policy on the basis of an interest rate no lower than that specified in the policy for calculating cash surrender values.

(d) In calculating the present value of any paid-up term insurance with accompanying pure endowment, if any, offered as a nonforfeiture benefit, the rates of mortality assumed may be not more than those shown in the Commissioners' 1980 Extended Term Insurance Table for policies of ordinary insurance and not more than the Commissioners' 1961 Industrial Extended Term Insurance Table for policies of industrial insurance.

(e) For insurance issued on a substandard basis, the calculation of any such adjusted premiums and present values may be based on appropriate modifications of the aforementioned tables.

(f) Any ordinary mortality tables, adopted after 1980 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, that are approved by regulation promulgated by the department for use in determining the minimum nonforfeiture standard may be substituted for the Commissioners' 1980 Standard Ordinary Mortality Table with or without Ten-Year Select Mortality Factors or for the Commissioners' 1980 Extended Term Insurance Table.

(g) Any industrial mortality tables, adopted after 1980 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, that are approved by regulation promulgated by the department for use in determining the minimum nonforfeiture standard may be substituted for the Commissioners' 1961 Standard Industrial Mortality Table or the Commissioners' 1961 Industrial Extended Term Insurance Table.

(9) The nonforfeiture interest rate per annum for any policy issued in a particular calendar year must be equal to one hundred twenty-five percent of the calendar year statutory valuation interest rate for the policy as defined in the Standard Valuation Law rounded to the nearest one-quarter of one percent.

(10) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any refiling of nonforfeiture values or their methods of computation for any previously approved policy form which involves only a change in the interest rate or mortality table used to compute nonforfeiture values does not require refiling of any other provisions of that policy form.

(11) After the effective date of this section, any insurer may file with the department a written notice of its election to comply with the provisions of this section after a specified date before January 1, 1989, which shall be the operative date of this section for that insurer. If an insurer does not make that election, the operative date of this section for that insurer is January 1, 1989.

HISTORY: Former 1976 Code Section 38-7-91 [1982 Act No. 403, Section 7] recodified as Section 38-63-600 by 1987 Act No. 155, Section 1; 1993 Act No. 181, Sections 730, 731.