Bill Text: NY S04043 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relates to requirements imposed for the valuation of the reserve liabilities of life insurance policies and contracts.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO INSURANCE [S04043 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S04043-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4043

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 1, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. BRESLIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance

        AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to the valuation of  life
          insurance policies and contracts

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph 1 of subsection (a) of section 4217 of the insur-
     2  ance law, as amended by chapter 22 of the laws of 1994,  is  amended  to
     3  read as follows:
     4    (1)  The  superintendent  shall  annually [value, or] cause every life
     5  insurance company doing business in this state to [be valued,] value the
     6  reserve liabilities (hereinafter called reserves) for all its  outstand-
     7  ing  insurance  policies  and contracts [of every life insurance company
     8  doing business in this state], except that, in  the  case  of  an  alien
     9  company, such valuation shall be limited to its United States business[,
    10  and  may].  The  superintendent  shall  certify  the  amount of any such
    11  reserves, specifying the mortality table or tables,  rate  or  rates  of
    12  interest  and  methods  (net  level premium method or other) used in the
    13  calculation of such reserves, unless the superintendent determines  that
    14  the memorandum prepared pursuant to paragraph three of subsection (e) of
    15  this  section  to  support the actuarial opinion of reserves required by
    16  paragraph one of subsection (e) of this section fails to meet the stand-
    17  ards prescribed by regulation.    In  calculating  such  reserves,  [the
    18  superintendent]  life  insurance  companies  may  use  group methods and
    19  approximate averages for fractions of a year or otherwise.
    20    § 2. Paragraph 1 of subsection (e) of section 4217  of  the  insurance
    21  law,  as  added by chapter 22 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as
    22  follows:
    23    (1) General. Every life insurance company doing business in this state
    24  shall annually submit the opinion of a qualified actuary as  to  whether
    25  the reserves and related actuarial items held in support of the policies

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07448-01-1
        S. 4043                             2

     1  and contracts specified by the superintendent by regulation are computed
     2  appropriately,  are  based  on  assumptions  which  satisfy  contractual
     3  provisions, are consistent with prior reported amounts and  comply  with
     4  applicable  laws of this state. The superintendent [by regulation] shall
     5  define the specifics of this opinion and add any other items  deemed  to
     6  be necessary to its scope solely by regulation.
     7    § 3. Subparagraph (C) of paragraph 4 of subsection (e) of section 4217
     8  of  the  insurance  law,  as added by chapter 22 of the laws of 1994, is
     9  amended to read as follows:
    10    (C) The opinion shall be based on standards adopted from time to  time
    11  by the Actuarial Standards Board and on such additional standards as the
    12  superintendent  may  by regulation prescribe.   The superintendent shall
    13  not prescribe any assumptions or other additional standards to  be  used
    14  by   the  qualified  actuary  when  forming  the  opinion  beyond  those
    15  prescribed by regulation.
    16    § 4. Paragraph 4 of subsection (f) of section 4217  of  the  insurance
    17  law,  as  added by chapter 22 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as
    18  follows:
    19    (4) [Without the specific approval of the  superintendent  subject  to
    20  such  conditions  as  he may prescribe and as provided by regulation, an
    21  insurer shall not] An insurer may aggregate the reserves referred to  in
    22  [two  or  more  of paragraph] paragraphs one, two [or] and three of this
    23  subsection. [Such regulation may prescribe the  conditions  under  which
    24  the  valuation  of  two  or more classes of business of insurance or the
    25  valuation of all of its insurance business to which this section applies
    26  may be combined.] The superintendent may, solely by regulation,  require
    27  insurers  to  show  the  results  of  asset  adequacy analysis as to the
    28  adequacy of reserves referred to in paragraphs one,  two  and  three  of
    29  this subsection separately in the actuarial memorandum prepared pursuant
    30  to  paragraph  three  of  subsection  (e)  of  this section, but may not
    31  prohibit insurers from aggregating the reserves  referred  to  in  para-
    32  graphs one, two and three of this subsection for the purposes of meeting
    33  the  minimum  standards  for  the  valuation of life insurance policies,
    34  annuities and guaranteed investment contracts, and individual and  group
    35  accident and health insurance policies.
    36    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.