Featured Article

Melanoma Underwriting

Fri, 05/18/2018

Slides from Hank's lecture on state-of-the-art melanoma underwriting at the 2018 AHOU conference.

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Life

life insurance

Underwriting

melanoma

skin cancer

News

Life Insurance and the Internet of Thinking

Fri, 08/10/2018

The RNS is not something from science fiction. It is one of a growing number of technologies that combine robotics, artificial intelligence, and connected devices to bring a new level of technological sophistication to the physical world. Such tools will have huge implications for the life insurance industry.

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Life Insurance and the Internet of Thinking

Can Genetic Testing Improve Mortality Risk?

Fri, 08/10/2018

Genetic testing is now available for many disorders. We have known for centuries that heredity is involved in many diseases. However, 15 years ago the Human Genome project was completed, and the sequence of human DNA is now known. This major accomplishment has caused an explosion of new information about genetic diseases, confirming previous suspicions in many diseases and identifying the genetic contribution in others.

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Can Genetic Testing Improve Mortality Risk?

Insurance Medicine

Genetics

mortality

Going Beyond Biometrical Underwriting

Fri, 08/10/2018

Either through online application processes and simplified underwriting, or by more advanced data analysis – using, for example, facial recognition – the underwriting process is going to change. What the exact developments will be and how they finally affect our industry is not yet 100% clear.

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Going Beyond Biometrical Underwriting

The Vape Debate

Fri, 08/10/2018

Smoking cessation has been a large contributor to improving mortality over the past few decades and tobacco use, amongst adults and teens, is at an all-time low. However, the trend of vaping and e-cigarettes has exploded. What are the implications for insurers?

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Underwriting Update from America (ALUCA RiskeBusiness)

Fri, 08/10/2018

This update is based largely upon findings from our 2018 New Business Critical Issues Survey. It was conducted over a span of six months stating in October 2017. Chief underwriters from 93 insurers offering individually underwritten life insurance participated in this survey.

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Underwriting Update from America (ALUCA RiskeBusiness)

The Casual Liver Enzyme Elevation

Fri, 08/10/2018

Liver enzyme testing (LFTs) are part of virtually every blood profile obtained on a potential insured. They are also one of the leading causes of a completely unexpected rating or decline on a case. Most clients do not provide a specific history for an elevation, and no broker or agent expects such an outcome with what seemed to be a clean history. Knowing how to approach this situation can be key to a favorable underwriting outcome.

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The Casual Liver Enzyme Elevation

Wearable Technology in Life Insurance: Gadget or Gimmick?

Fri, 08/10/2018

Is the promise of wearable technology too good to be true? Inclusion of wearables in life insurance products to date has not matched the interest. But advances hold great promise. RGA’s Julianne Callaway explores the power and perils of these promising devices in Digital Insurance.

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Wearable Technology in Life Insurance: Gadget or Gimmick?

Influenza: The Insurers' Perspective (ALUCA RiskeBusiness)

Fri, 08/10/2018

Seasonal influenza is a unique public health conundrum: its epidemics are annual, yet even with the wealth of epidemiologic data now collected on it, predicting its activity and severity still remains a significant challenge. Recent modeling suggests that the global burden of influenza is worse than previously thought, accounting for up to 600,000 deaths annually.

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Influenza: The Insurers' Perspective (ALUCA RiskeBusiness)

LOMA Resource: Global Update - Pressures and Possibilities

Fri, 08/10/2018

What effect will changing—and challenging—economies, politics, and regulations have on life insurance companies worldwide?

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LOMA Resource: Global Update - Pressures and Possibilities

Articles

The “Invasive” Hoax

Sun, 04/01/2018

Have you noticed that the word invasive is being bandied about more and more often in underwriting-related articles and commentaries published online and in various industry publications? This is mainly being done by those advocating radical changes in underwriting practices.

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Underwriting

Life

life insurance

accelerated underwriting

Low ALT: RED FLAG in Elderly Applicants

Thu, 03/15/2018

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the insurability implications of low normal/ below normal ALT in the elderly… in the hope that insurers will consider adding appropriate guidelines for this finding at older ages.